I didn’t think much of it when I first heard the “thump” in my upstairs bedroom. In fact, my first thought was that that old lamp must have finally fallen. I ignored it and went back to my laptop, until a startled female voice caught my ears.

“Sister? Wherever have you gone, sister?”

I hesitated, wondering if perhaps my ears had deceived me. I had read a children’s book the night before to my niece, and there was still a lot of silliness spinning around my head. That must be it.

“Where am I? Hello? Dinah?”

I was scared now. I abandoned my laptop and ran up the steps.

I pulled open my bedroom door and my mouth fell open. Standing in the center of my bedroom was a very frantic-looking little girl with sunny blonde hair, tiny black shoes, and a frilly blue dress.

“Who are you?” she gasped.

“I could ask you the same thing,” I mumbled.

Although I was fairly sure I already knew who she was.

“How did you get here?” I asked her, not sure what else to say.

Alice shrugged. “I don’t know how I get many places these days.”

I cracked a smile. I guess if I was going crazy, I might as well enjoy it. “So... what do we do now?”

She sat down daintily on the bed. “Well, I suppose we could have some refreshments.”

“What, did you expect me to have a little cake with the words ‘eat me’ written on the top in raisins?” I asked jokingly.

She gave me a confused look.

“Sorry,” I muttered. “I’ll go get us some lemonade.”

When I returned with my tray of refreshments, she was examining something in the far corner of my room.

“What’s this?” she inquired, poking her head inside what I realized was my childhood dollhouse. She stuck her arm through one of the windows. I stifled a laugh.

She frowned, getting up and dusting off her dress. “My, you just keep getting curioser and curioser, don’t you?” she asked as I handed her a glass of lemonade.

I nodded as we clinked glasses. “Isn’t life all about curious things?”

Alice considered that. “I suppose.” She shrugged and sipped the lemonade.

“What do you think?” I asked when she returned the glass to the tray. “Not good?”

She shook her head. “Sorry, it’s a bit sweet. I prefer tea. And parties to go along with them.”

She had a point.

“Well, I guess I should get back to work,” I said, reaching for the doorknob and thinking of my laptop downstairs. “I have lots of things to do, you know, when I’m not hallucinating and going absolutely insane.”

Alice gave me a small smile. “Alright, well, don’t stress too much. We could always have a nice tea party or read if you’d like a break.

And don’t worry— we’re all mad here.”