Chapter 87
Mrs. Tock and Mr. Tick watched the Cheshire fall to his knees, wondering if they should help him.
“It’s a shame that the evil cat was that much of a fool,” Mr. Tick said.
“Time befriends no one,” Mrs. Tock said. “But I really had so much fun today, Mr. Tick. It was a timely adventure.”
“Me too, Mrs. Tock.” He held her hand. “We should do this again some time.”
“Really?” Mrs. Tock’s eyes brightened. “When?”
“A couple of hundred years from now,” he said.
“Why not? We have all the time in the world.”
“Which is pretty boring,” he said. “But not as long as we’re together. Ticking and tocking all the time.”
Mrs. Tock laid her head on his chest and sighed. “Since you’ve finally admitted I make your life better, I have a confession, Mr. Tick.”
“After all this time?” he mocked her lovingly.
“I know why you can’t grow hair anymore.”
Mr. Tick grimaced. “You know?”
“I have to confess it’s because of me. I didn’t want you flirting with younger girls. So I —”
“So you did what?”
“It’s the tea you drink all night and day. It has a substance that causes baldness.”
Mr. Tick was shocked. Even upset. He pulled his arm away and paced away from her.
“Mr. Tick!” she called after him. “I can make it grow back. Black pepper and olive oil will fix it!”
She ran after him. The Cheshire was still choking to death behind her.
Chapter 88
THE PRESENT: ALICE’S FUNERAL, THE RIVER THAMES, A WEEK LATER.
The Queen had just finished her speech about Alice. The crowd and kids clapped, thinking she was talking about the stubborn seven-year-old Alice in the books. Every news reporter in the world wondered why the Queen wept.
“I will always miss Alice,” the Queen said, flashing cameras surrounding her. “She will be always a part of my past, present, and future.”
“Do you plan to build a statue of her?” a reporter asked.
The Queen thought it over for a moment. It seemed like a good idea, but hell no. She wouldn’t make the people of England think there was someone as important as her in this life. She suddenly realized she didn’t care about Alice. What was she doing?
Her face twitched and she yelled out, “Off with their heads.”
The kids began to laugh. “Why is the Queen of England acting as if she were the Queen of Hearts?”
“She is mad,” a child began to cheer. His friends liked the idea. Why couldn’t be they were all mad in this world? They began singing. “We’re all mad here.
***
Fabiola stood next to the March Hare. He had woken up after Mr Tick and Mrs Tock got what they wanted.
“I can’t believe she is the Real Bad Alice,” the March Hare said. “I thought she was a sweet girl who believed she was Alice. I liked the idea a lot.”
“You’re naïve, Jittery. That’s all. I will need you to grow up into a man.” Fabiola said. “Now that Alice is dead, the Wonderland Wars have just begun. Us against Black Chess.”
The March’s ears stood erect again. Fighting Black Chess without Alice scared him. “I wonder who this Mr. Jay really is.”
“I think I have an idea,” Fabiola said. “I won’t sleep well until I know who he is. So far he is the man behind Black Chess. We need to find him, or we will never win the war.”
“Things got a lot complicated,” The March said. “What are we going to do, White Queen? We’re almost powerless.”
“It’s a shame you’d say that knowing who I am.”
The March Hare shrugged. Of course he knew. The past was shadowing the future again. Clashes were unavoidable. Masks had been taken off, and there was no going back. “I know.” He nodded, about to cry. “I just can’t believe this sweet girl was Alice.”
Chapter 89
THE PRESENT: TOM TOWER, OXFORD
I’m up in Tom Tower, watching the world below. This is the place where the Pillar once stood, shouting and warning the world of an upcoming war, yet no one paid attention. Things have changed. The world is talking about the possibility of a Wonderland War now. If they only knew what’s coming.
But I’m not here to watch the world. I am standing here to watch Jack on the other side of the street. This is the present time. The now we should cherish. But it hurts so much. Jack is on the other side of the street, playing cards and hustling other people. I would love to run to him and throw myself in his arms. But I’d be ruining all that I worked for in the past.
I tell myself that I should be happy for him. He is alive and well. He isn’t a ghost of a boy who died in a bus accident anymore. Eventually I will let him go. I know that.
I am also grateful I’m alive. Even though I didn’t find my Wonder, somehow time let me live and return to the present moment.
I remember waking up in the Inklings room, all alone after Mr. Tick and Mrs. Tock had left. Even Fabiola had gone to do something. They thought I was already dead and were preparing to bury me. I woke up and left immediately.
In all cases, I’m everyone’s enemy now.
Black Chess will hunt me if they know I am back as the Good Alice. The Inklings will hunt me thinking I am the Bad Alive, and that I can never change.
Back to square one, I tell myself. Back to where I am the loneliest hero in the world.
How I survived without finding my Wonder, I still don’t know.
Silently, the Pillar arrives and stands next to me. We share the view of the world in silence. It’s still good to have someone whom I can enjoy the silence with.
“You’re a tock too late,” I say.
“Or a tick too soon,” he says.
“So you read the Alice Under Ground book, went mad, and still killed people,” I say. “Some things never change.”
“True,” the Pillar says. “Believe it or not, the things you changed are very little. In this new version of the future, everything is still almost the same.”
“That’s what Mrs Tock said.”
“In this version you and I still met in an asylum. I killed twelve people and entered as a patient. I asked Truckle for you and persuaded you that you were a hero. We saved so many lives, like in the earlier timeline.”
“How so? If the bus exploded without me, I couldn’t have ended up in the asylum again.”
“But you did. The people waiting at the station told the authorities about the mad girl running hysterically after the bus. The court suspected you were an accessory to whoever exploded it. Your lawyer pleaded insanity, and you ended up in Radcliffe Asylum again. Your sisters and mother still believe you blew up the bus.”
“So it’s true that the future always finds a way.”
“In a most wicked way. Like I said, nothing changed at all. I met you. We saved lives. Tom Truckle is still who he is, except that he remembers his mission clearer now. The Cheshire came to this world, the Muffin Man was killed, I tricked you into showing me the whereabouts of the keys by pretending to be the Hatter, and we were in Columbia a few weeks back.”
“So I really failed in changing anything.”
“All but him.” The Pillar points his cane at Jack across the street. “He looks happy.”
“Yes. He does.” I smile. “I am thankful that time let him live.”