ASSAM LAKSA IN WONDERLAND
Alice finds it anyway, following the Dormouse’s snoring through Penang Branch.
The smell spreads—Georgetown rain on hot asphalt, the distant clatter of teh tarik being pulled like silk, and flaked mackerel dancing all day in the cauldron.
The steam rises in letters: tamarind.
The Hatter shows up, wiping sweat from his wilted collar.
“Is it 6 o’clock?”
“No,” the March Hare says, licking the back of the spoon. “It’s soup o’clock. Laksa time.”
The fat white rice noodles soak. They choke.
Alice lifts the chopsticks.
The broth has already flooded her mouth, riding over rough chunks of pineapple and shreds of torch ginger flower.
“Home sour home,” she whispers.
The soup keeps boiling—exploding with tamarind, heavy with fish pulp, still sour, still home.
The pungent shrimp paste finally lingers.
The March Hare’s whiskers taste it gingerly.
The Hatter’s collar swallows it.
The Dormouse's teapot wants to contain it.
It contains the chili padi.
Its lid jumps. It screams, asking for more tea.
“Icy tea. Icy cola. I—”
Iron gall ink still stains his fingers.
“Ais Kacang,” says Carroll, inked apron. “Lima Ringgit.”
“Keep the change,” Alice says, placing £1 on the plastic table.
"Terima kasih," Carroll shrugs.
CARROLL'S STALL
Shaved ice
Ais Kacang - RM5
Shaved ice, red beans, sweet corn, grass jelly, rose syrup.
Comes with: 1x King William Sovereign Pound, 0x changes.
And 1x sweetened ink.
Broth
Assam Laksa Philosophy Bowl - RM12
Mackerel, tamarind, torch ginger, pineapple, chili padi, shrimp paste, rice noodles
Cooked with 3 wolves, 1 hood, and 7 kids.
No substitutions. The broth decides.
Previous Episode: Three Little Brothers
Next Episode: The Brotherhood
Alice—March Hatter—Alice rubbed lines and her fingers.
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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