Wonderland Pathway

 I opened my eyes to the sun seeping in through the windows, with big rays dancing on my face. Today was going to be a good day, I just knew it. Due to the big storm, school got canceled for the week, and we are trapped at home. Mom and dad this week were off for a business trip, so I am in charge of keeping Charlie, and Samantha in line. Mom told me to keep them doing school work, since school is canceled.

  "Kelly, come on, I'm bored!" Samantha screams from downstairs.

   "Wait a second, I just woke up."

   I scrambled to get some clothes on, I grabbed my mint green sweatshirt, boyfriend jeans, and white vans. I put my hair up in a messy bun, and secured it with bobby pins. I could hear Charlie screaming at Samantha to give his toy dinosaur back. He is attached to that thing, like Winnie the Pooh is to honey. I ran down the stairs and into the kitchen so that I could make breakfast. "What do you two want for breakfast? We only have eggs, and instant oatmeal."

   "But, I wanted to have your famous chocolate chip pancakes." Charlie wails.

    "Me too." Samantha agrees.

   I thought about what I could do to make what they want. Wait, we do have some pancake mix in the garage! "Okay, come with me to the garage if you want it that bad..." I rolled my eyes.

    "Okay, anything for that chocolaty, yummy, goodness!" Samantha says happily, her mouth watering.

   I pick up Charlie, and watch as Samantha skips ahead. She is always so bubbly, and happy. I unlock the garage door, and step carefully down the stairs. Once we get down I lift Charlie up high so he can turn on the lights.

     "Where is the pancake mix, Kelly?" Samantha asks.

     "It should be around here somewhere." I say unsure.

     I set Charlie down, and start lifting up boxes of old clutter dad insisted on bringing with us when we moved here. I see a cupboard hidden behind a giant fridge. I clear the cobwebs, and what I think is a dead rodent. 

       "Did you find the pancake mix yet, Kelly?" Charlie asks with a questioned look on his face.

       "No, not yet, but I think I might have found where it is hidden. Sit tight, it will only be a few minutes." I say. I try to pry the cupboard open, but am having no luck. After a few minutes of pulling, and prying, I give up.

      " Come help me Samantha, and Charlie!" I yell.

      " Coming!" They reply. “Wait, where are you?”

      “Back behind the fridge, I need help opening the cupboard back here!”

        I hear Charlie and Samantha shoving boxes over so that they can get to me. My dad really has a problem with hoarding. 

        “Okay, we are here, what should we do? Oh, we can grab your waist and pull all together. I don’t think that me and Charlie alone can pull it open any better than you are Kelly. So how about a team effort?” Samantha states maturely. 

     They both grab my hips and start pulling. We pull with all our strength and we finally get the cupboard open. But instead of it being filled with foods, and cans, it is a stairway. 

    “What’s in there Kelly?” Charlie asks.

    “Umm… well, you could say…” I stutter. “There is no pancake mix in here.”

    They come out from behind me and look into the cupboard. Their faces filled with shock. “Come on, Kelly! We have to go inside!” Samantha yelps with her high pitched voice. 

     “ No we should not go in there, who knows what is in there. Bugs, and rats!” I say. But instead of listening to me, Samantha starts pulling me into the secret passageway. I grab onto Charlie’s hand so he does not get left behind. Finally Samantha lets go of my hand, and I run to try to get out of there. But before I can reach the door, it slams shut. 

      “Look what you did now!” I scream. 

      “What? You know I love random passages!” Samantha says with a big grin. 

      All I can see is the light from my phone. It is dark, and I see no ways out, except for a stairway. I know that might be the only way out, so I grab onto both Samantha, and Charlie’s hand and start walking down the steps. The stairs are made out concrete, and are covered in moss. They are slippery, and Charlie is having trouble staying on his feet because of that.

    “Where are we going?” Charlie says scared. 

    “We are going somewhere that I don’t know, but do not worry, we will be fine.” I say reassuringly. 

 He looks up at me, and clenches my hand tighter. I smile at him, and then look at Samantha. Finally we have made it to the bottom of the never ending stairs. Now all that is in front of us is a single door, with a lock, but no key. I remember from earlier when I put bobby pins in my hair. Last summer I went to a camp with my best friend Jillian. She taught me how to pick locks with bobby pins. 

     “What are we going to do now? Kick the door down, or do something only a hero would?” Samantha says like Superman. 

     “Not quite…” I say.

   I grab one of the bobby pins from my hair, and insert it into the lock. I twist it, and turn it until I hear a click, and the door is open. My trusty bobby pin always works! I slowly open the door, and see hole in the dirt below us. I peek into it and see floating tables, and stopwatches. Samantha is still very energetic and ready to explode, so of course she bumps into me. I start to feel myself falling off of the ground, and into the pit. Before I fall in I manage to grab onto the edge of the ground. I claw my fingernails into grass and dirt, and fight to save myself. 

      “Kelly, I’m sorry for bumping you!” Samantha yells. She runs over to where I am hanging on for my life. “What can I do? I am not strong enough to pull you up….” she whispers to herself. Finally she grabs Charlie, and has him start pulling one arm, then she comes and pulls my other arm up. They get a slight amount of progress, but then they cannot keep their strength. They do one last tug, and then give up. I start slipping backwards into the pit. Samantha reacts too quickly, and starts falling to. Charlie is left behind up at the top, as we are falling.

      “Charlie, go get help!” I scream at the top of my lungs. But instead of going to go call someone he jumps into the pit as well. Great, just great. I think to myself. Suddenly I feel a giant thud. I glance around and see Samantha and Charlie laying flat on the floor and a single table. I regain balance and then attempt to stand. Once up, I walk to the table and see a bottle and a cookie. They both have words on them. The cookie has decorative frosting that reads, “Eat Me!”, and the bottle has a label that says, “Drink Me!” I think back to a movie we watched last weekend, “Alice In Wonderland.” It had a girl named Alice that fell into a rabbit hole, and drank out of a bottle, then shrank in size. 

      “What did you find Kelly?” Charlie asks.

 I cannot manage to get any words out, so I just point to the table. Once Samantha is conscious again she runs over to the table where me and Charlie are standing, looking down at the items in shock. I must be asleep. I think. I bring my arm up to my chest, and then pinch myself. I wait for something to happen, but I am still in this strange room with the cookie and bottle. Samantha grabs the bottle, opens the lid then starts drinking. She places the bottle back on the table, and puts the lid back on. “Tastes like cream soda!” she yips. 

       Seconds later she starts shrinking in size, first her hands, then arms, then the rest of her body. Before I can blink she is the size of a mouse. “Whoa, check this out!” she squeaks. She walks her tiny legs over to where a small door is located. I grab the bottle and chug some down, once I am done I hand it to Charlie. 

     “What do you want me to do?” he asks.

     “Drink!” I say. He brings the bottle to his mouth and takes a small sip. He grabs the cookie and hands it to me. I wonder why he wants us to keep it. Me and Charlie shrink as well to the size that Samantha is. It feels strange, but cool. I waddle over to the door that Samantha is at. I grab the knob then twist it, the door squeaks open. Once the door is open I see many crazy, wonky things. I see thousands of rose bushes planted, and clocks flying in the sky. Cards walking around with staffs, and hats everywhere. 

         “What is this place? It looks like we are in some sort of fantasy, upside down world!” Samantha says. She starts wandering around, taking in the new sights and smells. Charlie has found a table with snacks, and drinks pilling on top. 

       “This is way better than pancakes!” Charlie yells, his mouth stuffed with cookies. 

       “It might be, but we have to find our way out.” I say back. I glance at our surroundings and try to find a path, or door that leads out of here. In the distance behind the rows and rows of rose bushes, there is a small bunny, in a top hat. He hops into the darkness of a path. 

     “Follow me, and stay close. You never know what is in here!” I say to the kids. Charlie comes behind me and holds my hand. Samantha runs in front, as always. After a few minutes we made it to the pathway. It does not look as bright and cheerful as the rest of what I have seen, but it looks like it is our only possible way out. 

        “Samantha stop!” I yell. She is running faster than a cheetah ahead. It is hard to see her now. She does not respond. I grip tighter onto Charlie’s hand, and start running. All of a sudden I hear a scream from a mile away. I have very good hearing.

       “We're coming Samantha, you're going to be okay!” I scream at the top of my lungs. I turn a corner and am frightened by the sight of a large caterpillar. He is perched on a mushroom, and has a large cigar going in and out of his mouth. With each puff he produces, colors, and patterns are created with the smoke. He has Samantha sitting next to him, trembling. 

        “What do you wish of me?” he asks, puffing on the cigar.

        “I want my sister back for starters, and a way out of this weird place!” I holler.

        “ The only way to get what you seek, is to find a mushroom, and listen to me.” he says in the form of a riddle.

         “What do you even mean?” I ask.

        “To get what you want,” he puffs, “you must eat a mushroom to regain size, and find a path, not normal to human eyes.” I think about what he means. Basically what I am grasping onto is that if I want to grow, I must eat a mushroom, and to find a way out, I must find a path not normal to my eyes? Does not make any sense, but I guess it might be true.

      “Please give me my sister back, and I will do what you want!” I say. He allows my sister free of his grasp, and nods. He puffs a thumbs up, then disappears. Now we need to find a mushroom. Charlie's gaze goes to an area in the trees. 

     “Kelly, look at the cat!” he squeals with excitement. I turn attention to the trees, but I see nothing but leaves, and branches. 

     “Come on, follow me!” I command. The two trail behind me as I scavenge to find the mushroom. All of a sudden a purple cat appears in front of us. I stop the kids, and put my arms around them. 

     “I am the Cheshire cat, what is it that you seek?” he asks.

     “A mushroom, to change our size.” I reply. “We need a mushroom, and a way out.”

     “A mushroom is around the corner, take a bite and become shorter. But when you take two bites each, you will grow back to normal size.” he sings. He vanishes into the trees again, and becomes silent. I follow his words and guide Samantha and Charlie around the corner to where the Cheshire cat said that it would be. Once around the corner I see the mushroom, and it is covered in moss and slime. 

    “Ew, we have to eat this?” Samantha asks grossed out.

    “Here, hold my hand, both of you.” I say nicely. They both grab my hand and close their eyes. We all lean in and take two quick bites of the mushroom. Before I can think again, my whole time flashes before my eyes, and so much more. A crazy lady in a red heart dress, twins in colorful overalls, a bunny in a suit, hat, and stopwatch, and a mad hatter. Seconds later my eyes flick open. I am no longer in the fantasy world, I am in my basement lying there. 

       “Anyone up for pancakes?” I ask. Samantha’s eyes pop open.

        “You know me so well!” she says happily. We wake up Charlie and head upstairs to bake the pancakes. Whatever happened, all I know is that I am glad to be back home.