CRUMB-SHADOWS
Bending low, Alice probed beneath the tablecloth, scrabbling at the floor, straining her eyes in search of cookies, peanut cookies.
Cookies. Peanut cookies.
"They can't t be invisible!" Alice complained.
She found a strand of white hair.
The Hatter's, the March Hare's, or White Rabbit's?
Withered, already unmoored from the head, the hair offered no answer.
The Hatter's, the March Hare's, or White Rabbit's?
Withered, already unmoored from the head, the hair offered no answer.
A penny lay half-hidden beneath the carpet.
The tarnished face of King William stared up.
From a table leg, Alice heard papery rustling.
Termites. A quarter the size of a penny.
One stared at Alice.
Two seconds—
Then resumed chewing.
Erasing.
"What's that?" Goosebumps stood up.
Bug detected.
She jerked her hand.
The hand jerked her body.
Her head knocked against the table. It was two inches lower than Alice's memory allowed.
Nothing stirred.
A crumb-shadow slipped into her right eye.
She rose.
The table groaned.
The tea shuddered.
The table groaned.
The tea shuddered.
The March Hare and the Hatter saw a head.
In the middle of the table—
Resembling King William on the penny.
Her right eyelid sank. Two shadows of the Hatter.
Left eyelid, lead. Two shadows of the March Hare.
One person. Two shadows.
Two heads.
One. Two.
Two strands of white hair.
Two loose threads.
One termite. Two seconds. Chewing. Erasing.
Cookies. Peanut cookies.
Two.
Previous Episode: Nobody But Alice
Next Episode: Oh, Carroll
He knitted his brows, preventing a signal only he could hear from grooving its way in.
A surreal chapter in Alice’s digital dreamscape.
This post is part of an ongoing original metafiction series exploring identity, systems, and absurdity through a digital Wonderland.
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