The Hat.

The right path continued; at first, it curved, moving along the ends of a tall hill. Then it dropped, and the flowers were gone; the path widened again into cobblestones.

Buildings appeared the way they had before, gradually at a corner, and then there it was, a whole street.

Creatures started to appear, and finally, I was back at the same village I had met the hatter in.

Alice didn't seem surprised by any of the changes.

Finally, the sky shifted, bleeding back into an ominous red.

Alice's pen started sketching the city, its buildings, and its inhabitants. She didn't look up much, just moved her hands.

"Have you been to this area before?" I asked.

"A few times. Like I told you, the road will lead you wherever it wants. You can't fight it."

The animals in the streets gave their greetings the same way they had when I passed through alone.

"Welcome to our town, Dearest Alice," the crocodile man said with a small bow.

"Great to see you, Alice," the young crow girl said hurriedly.

"A wonderful day, isn't it, Dearest Alice?" the old beaver asked.

I wasn't sure if my mind was playing tricks on me, but when Alice passed, the creatures gave her a different look than they gave me. I couldn't describe it, but the feeling persisted.

Even though they called us both 'Alice,' I still couldn't understand it.

"Hello, dear." The same heron woman, whom I'd seen before, walked past us and gave a word to Alice.

"Hello," Alice said back, without looking up from the notebook.

We kept walking.

When we reached the Mad Hatter's store, I saw him in front of it. With a broom in hand, he was cleaning the sidewalk. As his head moved, he noticed both of us and gave us a small wave before walking up to us.

"Dearest Alice and Naoki, how has the End Road been to you?" he asked.

"Bad," Alice replied, looking up from her notebook. "As you can see, I am back here again."

The Hatter laughed, his eyes shifting to me. "I guess the two humans have finally met. Tell me, would you like some tea?"

Alice nodded and walked directly into the shop without waiting. Judging by the Hatter’s tone, they were clearly well-acquainted.

"What about you, Naoki?" He asked.

"Sure," I said, before following him inside the shop.

The bell at the door chimed, and I closed it behind me. I looked forward to seeing that Alice had already sat down on a blue armchair, her notebook on her knee; she was looking around at all the stuff that existed here.

I walked opposite her and sat down, getting my eyes used to the silver light.

The Hatter carried a fresh pot and set out teacups.

Exactly three.

He looked up; the expression he wore when he saw Alice was the same one he wore when he saw me. Warmth and melancholy in his grey eyes.

So it wasn't like the other creatures?

I wasn't sure; perhaps it was something else.

Like when he looked at me, the melancholy was doing most of the work, and when he looked at Alice, the warmth was.

I sighed, clearing the thoughts from my head. There was no reason to analyze him; I was there to relax.

He poured the tea for himself, Alice, and me.

The clocks on the wall kept ticking. After the hatter finished, he sat down and started sipping his tea.

"Where have you two met?" He asked.

"On the purple hills," Alice said, while also sipping some of the tea.

The Hatter nodded and smiled at her answer looking pleased.

He reached across the table, his long, thin fingers gently tapping the edge of Alice's open notebook.

"You are still drawing," he noted softly. "That’s good. A mind needs something to get occupied by."

He looked at me.

"Have you met the queen yet?"

I nodded, not surprised by his question since I remembered he talked about her last time we met.

"They say she's mad, but I think she means well," he explained.

I avoided looking directly at his face, mostly because the hat at the edge of my vision caused a dull ache, so I kept my gaze on the teacup.

"I want to ask you something," I let out, holding the teacup with both of my hands to feel its warmth.

"Of course."

"You've likely met other humans before Alice," I said, meeting his eyes even though the effort was painful. "What do you know of those who made it far on the road?"

Alice looked up from her cup, seemingly interested in the question.

"Hmmm, I remember a woman," he smiled looking up at the ceiling as if reminiscing about the past. "Some time ago. As you know, time works weirdly here, so I don't really know how long it has been. She came through the town three times. The first time, she was in a hurry, worried as one would be. She was sharp and determined to find answers. She reminded me a little of you, actually." He glanced at me briefly.

He continued. "The second time, she had come back after reaching further down the road. She came back and sat here for a while. " His voice remained calm. "The third time, I found her on the road. She had stopped walking and speaking entirely. She was just sitting there in the middle of the city, on a bench, with her hands in her lap and dead eyes that reflected no light."

Alice had gone still, listening to the tale.

"What happened to her?" I asked.

"She couldn't go further on the End Road. It's just like that; those who pass it will, and those who won't will stay forever." He smiled, his eyes looking outside the window onto the animal creatures that walked around. "She couldn't accept it."

The clocks ticked.

"And then what?" I asked.

"She was found a bit later, actually," the hatter said. "In some unnamed parts of the forest." He looked at me. "You shouldn't go off the road."

"Why couldn't she leave?" Alice asked, a hint of sadness in her voice.

The hatter took a sip of his tea and sighed, "I am not sure. But the road will always lead to the truth, and maybe somehow she couldn't take it or believe it. People often come here wanting to forget or for a special reason, so Wonderland doesn't force anyone."

Alice tightened her hands around the teacup she held; her expression wasn't readable.

The hatter watched her for a moment, then looked away for a second before turning back to her.

The handless clocks ticked, and I found myself watching the hands that weren't there.

"Be careful, Dearest," the hatter said.

Alice nodded and gave a smile back. "I know."

After that, we stayed for longer than I had expected. The Hatter kept refilling the cups without asking.

I kept the same teacup I had since the start, not being in the mood to drink anything much.

Alice kept trying to draw something on the blank page while we sat in the shop.

I looked around, seeing the multitude of bizarre items, potions, and weapons that the shop had. My eyes moved to that one shelf that stayed in my mind for a while.

The one with the yellow button, hair clip, and folder paper.

The paper, however, was now missing.

I didn't know why it bothered me so much; nothing about the items suggested they were important. Those items were ordinary, but I guess in the middle of Wonderland, that was what made it irritating.

After a while, I stood up. Alice looked up at me and asked, "Should we go?"

I nodded.

Then the Mad Hatter gracefully stood up, moved to the door before me with a last bell ring, and opened the door with a smile on his face. "Be safe on the road ahead."

We left the shop. And the silver light left my view. The town moved around us.

Alice walked beside me still keeping her distance. "Are you not scared? What will happen if your fate is the same as that woman's?" she asked in a low voice.

I considered the question. The honest answer was that I didn't know, because I didn't know what the road would show me, and any preparations built on incomplete information were not going to be enough.

But I understood what she was asking.

"I don't know," I said.

She didn't say anything to that, her eyes still on the road ahead of us.

We walked the long road; still in town, people continued greeting us as usual.

But then we both stopped in place; Alice did too, her eyes looking to the left side of the town. If one were to say the town's architecture was random, it wouldn't be unusual.

Yet, I noted that this building stood out far too much. I was certain I wouldn't have forgotten it had I passed it before.

It hadn't been there a minute ago; of that, I was certain.

It was large, larger than anything in Wonderland so far. It had marble columns at its entrance and a long series of wide steps leading to a doorway, one that had a pitch-black door.

Alice had been looking at it with the same attention as I had. Her expression was unreadable.

The building loomed over the street, looking completely alien compared to the rest of the town.

The animals around didn't even glance at it, as if Alice and I were the only people who could see it.