Page 17 of Madness Becomes Her
“Oh, thank you. I really appreciate it.”
“You follow the path back the way you came, and that’s how you’ll find where you came from.”
My lips purse. This is a palm - forehead moment.
“That’s no help at all, actually.”
“Would you like another riddle?”
Pushing past him in a furious huff, I follow the path. “No! I don’t want another riddle. I’ve wasted enough time!”
I don’t know why I’m in such a rush. It’s as dark as night in the forest, so it’s not like I’m racing the daylight. Nor do I think Hatter would find me in a furious rage.
I wonder if Hatter’s ever felt rage before, honestly.
It’s not long before I reach a massive four-way in the path. Standing in the middle, I try to recall ever having been here.
When Lewis tugged me along with him, I was more focused on the fact that a rabbit the size of a human was dragging me through a forest teeming with various beasts, waiting to gobble me whole.
I spin, regretting the action when I can’t recall which of the four paths spat me out here in the first place.
“Oh no!”
“Lost?” a voice asks.
Turning, my eyes land on a tree from which the voice seemed to emanate. Surely, a tree hadn’t spoken to me.
The trees love flesh.
I swallow. “I am lost. I’d be very grateful if you could point me in the right direction.”
Great. Now I’m speaking to trees.
A face emerges from the tree before me. Wooden eyes flutter open, a mouth yawning wide as if to stretch. “I could give you much more than directions, miss. Just… come closer.”
“No,” I stammer out. “I’ll stay right here.”
The tree chuckles. “Heard about me, have you?”
“I’ve heard about your type. I know you like flesh.”
“It’s not all that scary. You might even like it… Step closer, and then you can decide if you’d still like to go.”
“Why wouldn’t I want to go?” I ask shakily.
“You might like what I have to offer. You might decide that you’re not lost, after all.”
Looking around, I determine that there’s nowhere I can go. I don’t know which path brought me from Hatter’s home, and I don’t know which path takes me back to where I fell through the earth.
The only thing I do know is that I’m not going near the trees.
Plopping down in the middle of the crossroads, I curl into myself and wait.
For what? I don’t know.
But it’s the only option I honestly have at the moment.
CHAPTER FIVE
