Wonderland

I blinked my eyes a few times, trying to make sense of my surroundings. I was lying in a forest, on my back. I looked up in the sky and saw stars through the many branches and leaves.

One of the most prominent features of the scene was the moon. It was a crescent, shining straight through a clearing in the mess of trees. I reached out to it, in my confused state of mind, as if I could actually touch it. I was surprised when my hand came in contact with something.

I quickly withdrew my fingers out of fear and confusion, but soon reached out again to see what I had touched. My hand came in contact with whatever it was again, and I decided that it was soft.

Soft and furry, maybe some kind of small animal? I didn't know, but I was determined to find out. Whatever it was, it was on a branch too high up for me to reach, and to far away to see in the dark.

Actually, I have no idea how I was able to feel it when the distance between it and myself was so large, but somehow I managed. Shouldn't I be able to get up there if my hand can?

I reached my hand up for a third time, attempting to grab hold of whatever branch it was sitting on, but I couldn't reach far enough. The realization of how far away it was seemed to have made it just to far away to touch.

So, I let my hand fall back to the ground beside me. It was more comfortable here on the ground, anyway, I suppose. I didn't need to be up in a tree when I could be on the soft moss and leaves.

"Well hello there, Ryan. We've been expecting you. What took you so long to arrive?" I heard someone speaking. The moon above me was moving along to the words being spoken, opening and closing, widening and thinning.

"Am I late?" I asked whatever was speaking to me. Suddenly, a figure began taking shape around the moon. It was a cat, a purple cat, and the moon was his smile.

"No, Ryan. You're not late at all." it said. "B-but you're a cat! H-how c-can you sp-speak?" I asked it. This really wasn't making any sense whatsoever.

"What? Just because you've never heard a talking cat, doesn't mean you haven't ever seen a talking cat." the animal said. He turned away from me, flicking my chin with his tail and walking into the dark.

I stared after him, confused as to what the hell just happened. About a minute later, a person came walking out of the woods.

It was a man, with very tan skin and black hair. He was wearing a purple hoodie, the same shade as the cat, with a white shirt underneath, and some dark blue skinny jeans.

"Don't look so surprised, Ryan. I told you we've been waiting for you. I wouldn't leave a guest alone, now, would I?" the man spoke with the same voice as the cat.

He laughed at something, I figured it was the dumbfounded expression on my face. When he was done laughing, he walked really close to me, our noses almost touching.

I leaned back, trying to get away from him, but he just leaned with me. "Ryan, I'm going to take you the the king and queen now. I think you'll like them." That being said, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me forward, causing me to stumble a little.

"Where are we going?" I asked him. I hadn't had much of an upbringing, but at least I'd been taught not to follow random cat-people through the woods to meet the 'king and queen.' I should ask cat person where the king and queen are first. Then I can follow him.

"To the mansion! It's a lovely place, you'll enjoy it, I'm sure." I was wary to follow him, as I didn't exactly know where the mansion was, but I continued walking beside the man anyway.

As the trees started thinning around us, I noticed light coming from ahead. "Are we almost there?" I asked him. He nodded in reply, walking faster than before, I assumed in excitement, anticipation.

We stepped out of the forest, and into a field. As opposed to the gloomy, dark night of the forest, out here the sun was shining, and the feeling was generally happier.

There was a huge tree beside us, bigger than all the other ones. It seemed to mark the end of the forest. As we kept walking, I noticed a glorious fountain bubbling up in the center of the field, and beside it there was a beautiful rose.

It wasn't the only flower. There were all kinds of flowers, of every color imaginable spread around the field, but the rose was visible from so far away, and I couldn't help but notice it above everything else.

"Don't stare at the rose for too long, Ryan. You'll never be able to look away." the man said. "It's the King and Queen's flower."

I somehow managed to tear my eyes away, regretfully, but before I could completely recover from my daze, I was being pulled again. "See that door up ahead?" the man asked me.

There was, indeed, a door up ahead. Just a door. It wasn't attached to a building or anything, it was just a lone door standing up somehow in the midst of the grass and flowers.

"Yeah, I see it. But, what exactly does that have to do with anything?" I asked. The man laughed, his bright white teeth contrasting with his tan skin. "To answer your question, Ryan," he said when his giggles had died down. "It has something to do with everything, and everything to do with something!"

He pulled me towards it, not giving me time to think about what he had said. When we reached the door, he pulled it open and stepped inside, then reached back through and pulled me in with him.

I did not expect what I saw when I stepped through the doorway.