Waddling. Side to Side/9

The Dodo, puffing very grandly, kept on quacking the word ReBoOt.

“Would this change Wonderland?” Alice asked, wide-eyed with curiosity.

The Dodo, catching his breath, answered with pompous pity. “A ReBoOt is simple: one forgets the errors, clears the memory”—he puffed and wheezed—“and hopes the story will run smoother this time.”

“But what if it forgets too much?” Alice pressed.

“Then,” said the Dodo, “Wonderland crashes! Or you crash! Or both—QUAACK!”

No question followed.

The creatures waddled side to side, swaying like a metronome. Wings flapped out of time—up when they ought to be down, down when they ought to be up.

Alice, finding it all perfectly unreasonable and therefore just right for Wonderland, burst into helpless laughter.

The Mouse, usually a champion sprinter, ran oddly slow behind the Duck. Its sharp muzzle jabbed Donald again and again, sending him springing upward—quacking perfectly on cue every time. 

Its tail almost waddled side to side, its little belly sketched along the ground, leaving a faint, zigzag mouse trail behind it.

Caucus Race. ReBoOt/8

The pool of tears grew restless.

The Dodo came flapping his wings. ‘QUAACK!’ he bellowed, so loudly the Duck nearly toppled over. "Neither double-deckers nor carriages qualify as followers!" he declared, puffing out his chest with his sudden authority.

The Duck nodded again. Donald always seemed so very clever—though Alice couldn’t tell if he understood the Dodo or was merely fond of the word ‘QUAACK.’

By now, the Mouse’s tale seemed destined hopelessly to run on forever.

But excitement, in this damp and dismal place, never lasted long. A chill soon settled, and everyone was shivering.

“ReBoOt! ReBoOt!” cried the Dodo. “The only cure is a Caucus-race!”

“Does he mean English,” Alice whispered to herself, “or is that another word he's just invented?”

And so, at the Dodo’s command, the wet party began. 

The Lory, the Eaglet, the Duck, and several others whose names Alice couldn’t quite recall, ran round and round in a chaotic, patternless loop, desperate to get dry.

“Rule of Nature,” Alice concluded, “creatures dislike getting wet. That was hard-coded long before I was.” 

She very nearly applauded herself, feeling she had at last untangled one of Nature’s riddles.

William. Traffic/6

Alice's hand drifted out, almost from habit, as if to scroll.

“Ahem. I serve a different function." sighed the Mouse. “He clicks, I talk.”

Giggling, Alice tucked her hands into her lap. “How curious! Do you tell stories?”

“Indeed,” said the Mouse while whacking his tail.  “Short stories—shorter than this.”

“Then tell me about William the Conqueror. No longer than a meter.” Alice suggested eagerly.

“William the Conqueror,” the Mouse began—“Hrrmph!” (as solemnly as a mouse could manage)—“flanked by a swarm of grown-drones, drove his AI-guided limousine, armoured in diamonds, straight into the heart of battle...”

“That’s not the William in my lessons!” Alice broke in, a little rudely (though she did not mean it).

“Little lady, listen close!” the Mouse squeaked, puffing his whiskers, “Everyone—yes, everyone—loves absurdity!”

He twitched his tail for emphasis. “It’s the only thing that truly generates TraFFic."

Pool of Tears. Mouse/5

Alice went tumble-tumble—splash!—into something wet.

“Oh no,” she sighed. “What is this?”

“A pool of your own tears,” whispered a voice.

“My tears? But… I don’t recall weeping.” She tapped at her soil-tangled hair, while pictures upon pictures skittered through her mind. 

I ought to be ashamed of myself, she thought.

So busy for a little girl—yet she noticed something drifting near: fur, whiskers, a long, twitching muzzle.

“Clumsy, big-footed… Ratty.” Alice guessed.

The creature bristled. “Mouse. Handsome. Tail a meter long. On your desk sits my cousin.”

Stamping the water, he insisted—almost desperately—“Mouse!”

Windows. Shut down/4

“Double-hung? Casement? Or Bay Window?” cried the White Rabbit. 

He looked excited, as though he knew everything—which a rabbit seldom did. And, most surprising of all, he seemed to have the upper paw.

Alice blinked, puzzled. “Double…this sounds rather big,” she whispered.

The Rabbit tapped his pocket watch twice; the air rippled, and a glittering windowpane shimmered into place, floating in midair.

“Step through!” urged the Rabbit.

“Quickly now—before it shuts itself down.”

Rabbit Hole? Not Again/3

The Queen gasped. “I don’t permit this.”

“Where is my court?” she demanded. Only silence bowed.

She stamped her foot. “Bring me the knafe. Bring me the cards!”

Alice stared at her. “Me?”

The Queen’s eyes burned. “Press the Ctrl-Alt-Del button?”

"Now?" Said Alice.

"Immediately," The queen ordered, sharply, "I ..."

She disappeared at the same time.

The White Rabbit, with the same waistcoat and pocket watch, pretended he understood it all.

"Well?" he squeaked, "You’re late! Unpardonably late." 

"Hole again? "

"On no!" Exclaimed Alice. "Uh... Let use Windows."

Queen of Hearts. Offline/2

Alice was unplugged. The Queen of Hearts, quite by accident, was vacuumed off.

“Who is this?” she said severely.

No one was there to answer.

“Idiot! Off with your head.” she screamed. Her voice echoed against nothing.

Her eyes, wide and hopeless, revealed one thing: She had crossed into another space.

Words appeared, shimmering across the sky:

YOU ARE OFFLINE.

Alice, this day/1

Alice had gained weight. This was the day.

Heat was intense, the breeze sluggish, and every word in the book crawled along as if on crooked legs. Alice’s eyelids grew heavy.

The rabbit stopped, peered back and muttered about being late.

Alice crouched down, quickly.

Only her nose caught the familiar scent. Silent ChatGPT—until a hidden tug, a pull, unlatched her world.

This physical touch required no Internet connection.

Happy New Year of the Pig

Life goes on.

Mushrooms do. I do. 

I managed another 19km mileage before rain started to fall. I told Alice. 

What is 19km?

If view under microscope, it is the path between two spores in a mushroom world. Zig zag sometimes, straight line always. It becomes longer if the immediate next spore flies away.

And so I said 19km is elastic. 

What if I get hold of the flying spore? I shall not know how elastic it is before both of us stop.

Life goes on. 

365 days should not be in a distance of only 19km, I have run so very more than that, from the year of the dog to the year of the pig, in another two days.

Happy New Year. 新年快乐。

Alice's Wish

Alice is collecting some dry twigs. She intends to built a fence around her mushrooms.

Mushrooms, poisonous or not, are one of the snacks taken by reindeer. 

Outside the fence, Alice will keep some Magic Reindeer Food that would make the reindeer so happy so much so they will go away from Alice's mushrooms.

Christmas is near. Alice is collecting as many white "Christmas Mushrooms" as possible. She will decorate them with roses and Christmas lights. 

Such a special day.

Alice is happy, she wishes everyone Merry Christmas and Happy New Year too. 

S on Mushroom

Mushrooms are uncountable, but not this. It is a One.

If we think One is little, we are definitely wrong.

Clark is ordinary,  but not when he has the S on his chest.

It needs no phone booth, this mushroom can fly. Alices can find it in their garden, backyard or jungle. 

It will be back to my neighbourhood when it intends to.

This One is superb, because it has a S too. 

Daydreaming, always

Running is physics. 150km in a month, after all, is still very physical. Excitement is chemistry. It is complicated. 

Pictures of mushrooms taken are physical, enjoyment in Wonderland is chemistry.

Love is simply a fantastic chemical reaction.

I am in love with both at a time. Alice knows this. 

Running with mushrooms in mind is then called daydreaming. 

This is the impact: 42km in 5 hours from recent daydreaming.

Intercept

A mushroom intercepted me  when I was daydreaming. Yes, I daydream too while running. (I am a wolf in the wild, I always think I am.)

So I brought my DSLR along.

Mushrooms never tell lies; they are beautiful. This one too. (Alice too. She says she is beautiful.)

I found the best angle although it did not require one. This was pretty cold white through which Wonderland was not my usual Wonderland.

(The white rabbit was invisible. Alice was outstanding.)

A mushroom intercepted me, this reminded me of you all.

Just Flat

Had a chat with Alice . 

"You run so hard recently. Do you know what will happen?"

This is a sure tricky question, I told myself. I press pause button.

"Do you know the earth will be flattened by you very soon."

"Oh that's funny. I shall create a new flat world." 

A nearby mushroom murmured, " You will be as flat as me before anything can happen." 

Alice's Stories

 

Where is Alice? 

She is actually living somewhere inside my heart that beats in a waveform pattern of her happiness.

When I think I run fast enough to go deep inside my heart, Alice has gone hiding somewhere behide thousands spores of a "glass" mushroom.

I has to fill the glass with wine, this will distract her from leaving again. 

Her stories will then begin. I love these. You have heard many of them.

My Big Problem

I used my legs more often than my brain recently. Who knows, when my legs grow  stronger, my brain will shrink down to the size of a penny one day.

This is definitely a big problem.

To give up marathon in blogging and indulging in running marathons is not my intention, which is insisted too by Alice.

"What if a mushroom has a very small cap and a very big stalk, do we call it a mushroom?" She has her point.

This is my very big problem.

Lights Fill My Eyes

I have dreams. They were all compressed firmly under the soil, for years. Alice might feel helpless too, sometimes. Not everything that she can do, nor I.

I struggled, and I continued while I were growing though in dark and suffocated. Who knew, I might be an inch away from the surface.

Yes, it was actually an inch away. Suddenly, light filled my eyes. It was not Photoshop, but very unreal.

Fresh air cannot be taken away by crtl-atl-del or power shut down!

I see myself so handsome, a fact that was long missed. 

Do you agree, my dear Alice?

I can now run handsomely, same to dreaming. 

I should be able to write handsomely too, but not while living in dreams. Too occupied. 

What a Confusion

These mushrooms would not be invisible if looking at the rate of mushrooming. Being invisible beyond the range of 390 to 700nm, I created confusion.

Mushrooms look so beautiful under current climate. I keep running in my free time, so I still look perfect and fit, and more handsome too, at 57 year old.

I invited Alice to run together, hesitation bears no fruits. But she rather stay in her dreamland, much longer than me. She shrinks and grows herself. She enjoys expecting the unexpected.  

What if I run in her Wonderland, shall I enjoy both running and shrinking and growing at the same time?

What a mess!

In Darkness

A typical human eye responds to wavelengths from about 390 to 700nm. I have been outside this range for the past weeks.

With  lot of struggling, I am here now.

I am on the left side, Alice is next to me.

By the way, the process of transformation from a nodule into a mushroom is really not easy. Incredible Hulk can understand how I have felt.

Theory of Shadow

Do I shadow Alice all the way or is it the other way around? This does not matter. Wherever love is, Alice is there.

Alice is an adventurous little girl who may come as a mushroom.

Which one is Alice? Each of the beautiful ones is. There is so much love around.

Alice is sometime colourful, or simply white. Occasionally she likes to be in mysterious black. 

Trying to talk to the mushroom you meet, then I shall hear you. This explains my Theory of Shadow.