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