The Mushrooms in the Kew Garden
I have listened in detail to the March’s story about the children and what happened to Lewis — who confirmed the story, even though his addiction was getting worse.
Knowing that I did all of this is to save the children of the world from Mr. Jay’s dark influence is an honor. Though I am not sure I understand entirely, it makes the journey worth it.
Imagine some power that controls the heart and mind of those innocent creatures. No wonder Mr. Jay is so keen on owning this ability. No more training terrorists, no more creating armies, no more spying or meticulous technologies to control the world. Just have the power to control the children who will rule this world in a few years to come.
Imagine the power of influencing every teacher in the world to poison the minds of those children with all evil ideas.
“Alice?” Constance says.
“Just a moment, Constance,” I say. “I need to let this sink in.”
“There is nothing to sink in,” she says. “Mr. Jay is like the devil, and instead of manipulating people’s minds for years, he’d decided to go for the little peeps like me, mold and shape their minds to his needs and plans. It’s a perfect plan. All evil leaders in the past, tried it, Hitler and others. It’s an old trick, except that whatever that power is, it seems instant and efficient. Whoever possesses it, will not only rule children but the world.”
“Is that true?” I ask Lewis.
His back is to me, crouching over and holding onto the pain in his stomach, but I can see him nod.
“Its’ what Lewis had been fighting for all of his life,” Fabiola explains. “The books he wrote were an antidote for the power Mr. Jay is after.”
“Antidote?” I say.
“Why do you think Alice in Wonderland is the second most sold book after the Bible until today, Alice?” she says. “Why do you think it’s never been out of print? It’s not a coincidence.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
“Lewis wrote a book so powerful and close to children’s heart that it gives them resistance against Mr. Jay’s power if he ever has his hands on it,” Fabiola explains.
I turn and stare at Lewis. “Is this true, Lewis?” I move over and shake him, even in his pain. “I need to know. Is this true?”
“He is in pain, Alice,” Fabiola says.
“Is it true, Lewis?” I need to know. Am I just a character in a book? Am I not real?
“Stop it, Alice,” Constance says.
“Not until you answer me, Lewis,” I shake him harder. “Is it true.”
Suddenly Lewis replies, but in a gruff voice I haven’t heard before. Wait, I have heard this voice before. My God!
I pull back and fall on one hand, as I watch Lewis turn to face me. Face us. What an unpleasant surprise.
All of us shriek in one breath.
The ugly creature looking back to us isn’t Lewis. It’s Carolus.
“So it wasn’t addiction,” I say. “It was a migraine. Carolus has been controlling Lewis for the last hour.”
“Why?” Constance says.
Carolus smiles and wipes his dry mouth. Silently he walks over to the March and pulls him closer. The March wants to shake himself free but can’t.
“Missed me, Alice?” Carolus snickers with pointed teeth like vampires.
“Let him go!” I warn him. “Let the March go.”
“It’s too late,” Carolus says. “I’m much stronger now. I will take him with me, and he will tell me where the Keys are.”
Like a monkey on steroids, Carolus jumps toward the window, gripping the March like a bag of chips in his hands.
“He will not tell you, Carolus,” I shout at his back. “He doesn’t know. He’s seen the mushrooms, and he still doesn’t remember.”
Carolus stops and smirks again. “He didn’t remember because these aren’t the mushrooms he is supposed to see.”
“Yeah?” Constance says. “And you happen to know where the real mushrooms are?”
Carolus roars with laughter, so loud the poor mushrooms shrink all around us. “The real mushrooms are not here but there,” he says as the earth starts shaking again.
The place around us is collapsing to the recurring earthquake.
“Can’t you see planet earth is so pissed off it’s shaking?” he says.
“What do you mean?” I say.
“The mushrooms are all around us,” he says and jumps out of the window. Then from a distance, he says, “Look outside.”
Holding onto each other, we exit the building from the other side. And there we see what Carolus meant. The mushrooms are around us.