by Cameron Jace
Later that night, I am having the date of my life. Jack looks very handsome with his super dimples and extra care for me. The service is amazing, and the waiters are super nice to us. And to my surprise, Sir Elton John is playing the piano. He is singing a song called "Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters." A man with a peculiar hat on a table nearby raises a cup of tea and greets Sir Elton John for choosing the song, which turns out to be a real song, not a figment of my imagination. I can’t see the man’s features from here, but his table is filled with giggling young girls—I don’t want to even think about who this man is.
We try the fabulous mock turtle soup and love it. Jack says it's going to be our "love soup." Every couple should have a love song, so why not be creative and have a love soup?
Jack wears a nice black suit and looks really handsome in it. He isn't one to really eat with a fork and spoon. Neither am I. But we both play aristocrats for one night.
"I have brought you a gift," Jack says.
"I love gifts." I blush.
"It's an unbirthday gift," he says.
"Unbirthday gift? Like in..."
"Like in the Alice in Wonderland books." He nods. "Everybody gets birthday gifts one day a year, but you can give an unbirthday gift any day. And I want to gift you every day, Alice."
"What is it?" I am excited.
Jack pulls out a small book and places it on the table. "The Nonsensical Art of None Fu," he says. "It's a rare copy. Presumably, the only one available in the world."
It's not the kind of gift I was expecting, but I take it. I am sure I need to learn this None Fu for future missions.
"I have made up my mind, Alice," he says. "I know what I want to be."
"What?" I am excited to know.
"An actor," he declares. "I feel I have it in me. Those moments in Drury Lane were eye-opening."
"Speaking of then, how did you escape?" I feel the need to ask.
Jack stops his fork midway to his mouth. First, I think he doesn't want to tell me. But then it's apparent he doesn't remember. The Pillar told me that he wouldn't have answers for certain things like that.
"It's okay," I say and change the subject. He talks about his love for cards for a while. Although not that romantic, I do listen with care. All that I need is knowing he will be there for me for a long time. It's a good feeling and a good start.
Then he brings something up.
"I just feel so lost sometimes, Alice," he says. "When I am not with you, sometimes people don't notice me. It's like I am invisible or something. Sometimes I don't remember where I live. Sometimes I don't want to do anything at all. If it weren't for you, I don't know what I'd be living for."
It aches me to death when he says, "living."
"What else, Jack?" I hold his hands across the table. He has no idea how good this feels to me. I wonder if we're going to kiss tonight. "Is there something you feel you want to tell me, maybe?"
The Pillar said Jack hasn't left for the other side because he needs to tell me something, that there is one last mission he can't leave without accomplishing.
"There is this one thing I wanted to tell you about..." He hesitates.
"I am listening, Jack. We shouldn't keep things from each other."
"Well." He pulls his hand away, and this time, I feel lost. "It's nothing." He waves his hand and cleans his lips with the napkin. "I need to go to the bathroom." He stands up and leaves before he spills the reason for his stay. I don't push him. Whatever he needs to tell me before he leaves forever can wait, so he stays as long as he can with me.
I watch him enter the bathroom.
But I am still curious. What did he want to tell me? Is it fair that he isn't crossing to the other side for me? As much as I want him here, how long should he suffer from feeling lost and sometimes invisible?
I wake up from my thoughts to the Pillar sitting next to me.
"Look at all those people enjoying their food." He points at other customers. "If they only know how precious it is. If they only know that there are people who killed to get them that food."
"Why are you here?" I wipe my mouth with the napkin. "Jack will be back any minute, and I don't want to upset him."
"Hey, Rocket Man!" The Pillar waves at Sir Elton John playing the piano and hiding behind his sunglasses. Sir Elton John greets him back with his chin up. It's as if they have been friends since long ago.
"Why are you here, Pillar?" I insist.
"I just remembered a small detail I left out about Jack and thought you'd better know it."
"Not now," I say. "I am emotionally confused, and Jack will be back any moment."
"That's why you need to know."
"Is it about what he wanted to tell me?"
"I have no idea what Jack wants to tell you or why he refuses to die," the Pillar says. "I only know this: in spite of your utter need to have him around, something no one can blame you for since we all need love, it's not good for him as much as it's not good for you."
"How so?"
"Every moment Jack spends here, he is opposing the balance of the universe. People are destined to die, and others are destined to be born every day. We have no idea why, and frankly, I don't want to know," he says. "So, every day Jack spends with you, he is upsetting the guys on the other side."
Should this explain Jack's confusion and unhappiness when he is alone? "Define 'upset.'"
"The books and Fabiola say that in his case he is decreasing his chances of entering heaven," the Pillar says. "Each day for Jack here, he is living in sin, and could end up in hell—literally—for you."
"You don't strike me as believing in God, Professor Pillar."
"I don't," the Pillar says. "But Jack does."
I look at him, puzzled.
"Everyone has their own belief, Alice," the Pillar says. "You believe you're mad, you're mad. If you believe you can walk on the moon, trust me, one day you will. If you believe you're going to hell in favor of helping the one you love, you'll help the one you love... and you will go to hell."
"I don't believe I can be the reason for Jack's hell."
"The one thing that stands up to the insanity of the world is belief." The Pillar is lecturing, as always. "Scientists will say belief is hocus-pocus, but guess what? The insane world is hocus-pocus too. You only fight hocus with pocus."
"But—" No words will express how I feel. I need Jack, but I can't be selfish and do this to him. I am confused and heartbroken without someone breaking my heart. I don't know what to do. "But what can I do?"
"The only way for Jack to die, against his stubborn wish to stay and be your guardian angel, is if you tell him to his face."
"Tell him that he is dead?"
The Pillar nods and takes a sip of the mock turtle soup. "Delicious turtle," he remarks, enjoying the taste, although I know there are no turtles in this soup. "Very delicious for a creature that slow." He wipes his mouth with my napkin and then checks his watch. Finally, he whispers in my ears, "Let Jack go, Alice. Tell him he is dead and let him go. You killed him once. Killing him again shouldn't be a problem."
The Pillar stands up and leaves. I don't see him do that, but I feel his weight lift off the bank I am sitting on. My eyes are fixed on the bathroom's entrance.
Jack hasn't returned, so I occupy myself with checking his None Fu book. I notice it’s a used copy, borrowed from the Radcliffe Science Library, which is at Oxford University. I open the book and am startled by what I see on the first page. Someone wrote a dedication to me. It says:
Alice,
I found the book you were looking for.
The handwriting is bad, and the ink is thin and fading. I don't fully comprehend this, but then I look at the stamp from the library. It indicates the book was borrowed about two years ago, sometime before I was admitted to the Radcliffe Lunatic Asylum. I wonder if Jack knew this about the book he gave me.
I turn the page, only to find more writing on the margins. This part is written in pencil.
So
mething tells me I shouldn’t read it or, at least, wait a while.
I raise my head, and I see Jack coming out of the bathroom. He looks like a shining star. The smile on his face could revive me if I were dead. The grace of his walk could save me if I am crippled. His name on my lips could be my prayer against the madness of the world. He just looks so suitable for me, as if we were star-crossed. I can’t believe I have been asked to let him go.
Jack is approaching me as I sit looking at him with starry eyes filled with moisture. I have no idea what I will do. Will I tell him the truth and lose him, or selfishly lie to him and have him nearby?
I can't let him go, and I can't let him stay. Either way, I am cursed.
Afraid that he will read my thoughts through my dilated eyes, I lower my head and peek back into the book to read the note. It says:
P.S. Don’t forget to water my Tiger Lily? Btw, I gave it a thought, and I agree we should take that bus trip you wanted to.
Love, Adam.
The End…
Alice Wonder will return in Circus (Insanity 3)
Thank You
Thank you again for purchasing and downloading this second insane book. I’m so happy to share this story with you, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
I know there aren’t many travels and riddles in Book 2, as in Book 1. I needed to develop the characters more with this book. The next books will have tons of locations, riddles, and mad facts about Lewis Carroll and the world as the story unfolds. Don’t forget to check out the Pinterest page for you, though, where you can see for yourself all the places and riddles Alice and Pillar visited. You can access it HERE
- Storykiller, Cameron Jace
Author Note
Like I said, I don’t want to give away all historical and mad facts mentioned in the series, as I plan to use them as plot devices in future books. However, here are a few facts I was asked to mention by readers who received advance copies:
1) Addresses and locations used in the series are all real, including the Fat Duck restaurant and its famous mock turtle soup. Even the Kattenstoet festival in the last book is real. Please check the Pinterest page.
2) Fat Duck restaurant is owned by Heston Blumenthal, not Gordon Ramsey, who is famously known for the Hell’s Kitchen TV series – not our Gorgon Ramstein/Muffin Man/cook in the book.
3) Einstein’s room in Oxford University is real, and it was Lewis Carroll’s studio two centuries ago. As for Einstein’s Blackboard, it can only be found in the Museum of the History of Science in Oxford. I have no idea if it can time-travel, but wouldn’t be cool if it does?
4) Lewis' obsession with poor Victorian children, especially girls, is true. It shows in his photography, which will play a crucial role in future plots. They are maddeningly interesting, dark, and very mysterious if you take a look at them.
5) According to my research, and some BBC documentaries, legal controversy about the double-bar chocolates is true. I am sure the food companies didn’t kill the Muffin Man’s family, though. But the debate is there, and not a figment of my imagination.
6) The Iain West Forensic Suite, an extension to the Westminster Public Mortuary in London, is also real. It’s high tech and was developed by the government for intricate investigations.
7) Lewis wrote the Queen of Hearts alluding to Queen Victoria. There is a lot of research that supports that fact. Alice in Wonderland isn’t just a children’s book filled with amusing mathematical facts, plays on words, and nonsensical arguments. It’s also a political satire concerning the Victorian era.
8) Last but not least, the Queen of England’s case about her nuts did happen in real life. You can Google it and get the details. However, there isn’t the slightest intention to offend anyone with the possibility of her being the Queen of Hearts. (So far, we can’t really tell if she is. Further explanations will take place in book 3.) The way most of this series is written, I try to stay true to Lewis Carroll’s work in its context. If the Queen of Hearts was alluding to Queen Victoria, then in a modern fictional adaptation, it could be the Queen of England. (Which, again, we aren’t really sure about yet.)
If you want to chat with me personally, I’m most active on Facebook. I love connecting with all of my readers because, without you, none of this would be possible.
Visit me at:
www.facebook.com/camjace
Thank you, for everything.
Book 3 : CIRCUS
BY CAMERON JACE
www.CameronJace.com
Prologue Part One
THE SIX O’CLOCK CIRCUS, MUDFOG TOWN, LONDON
SATURDAY, 11:41 P.M.
The man with the rabbit stood in the middle of the circus while the children and their parents waited with anticipation. This was it! The Maddest Show on Earth, performed by the one and only magician who called himself the Hatter.
The man wore a top hat. It was black, elegant, and rather funny. Several teaspoons and watches were neatly wrapped around the rims. He was tall. Almost seven feet. And he wore ridiculously tall boots with silver pins and stars. The hat made him look even taller.
The children liked him. He was different, mysterious, and not as boring as their parents. Maddeningly funny, although he rarely spoke.
But what the children absolutely loved about him were his goggles, which made him look like a huge bee. A crooked nose beaked out from underneath the goggles. Not an assuring sight for the parents at first. But the children still liked it. They knew it was meant to be silly, nonsensical, and absurd. Things the older folks rarely understood. Besides, it probably wasn’t the Hatter’s real nose.
The Hatter had a double chin, so strong it squeezed an old shilling between its cheeks. Not once had he dropped it as if it were glued.
He wore a tuxedo. It made him look a bit mature, compared to the absurdness of his face, hat, and goggles. But not really. It was a black tux, with spoons for buttons, sugar cup buttons for his sleeves, and teabags dangling from his upper pockets instead of roses or napkins.
The children, who had been coming every week for almost two months, also liked his glittering gold pocket watch. They knew the time on that watch was always six o’clock.
Always.
That was why the Hatter claimed he never aged. Also, why he never grew hungry. More significantly, it was why he had his sugar cups and spoons always ready. He always had to have his six o’clock tea, which, in his case, was all day long.
The Maddest Show on Earth always started at six o’clock.
It also ended at six o’clock.
Any time in between was, you guessed it, six o’clock.
Usually, the parents would curse the watchmakers on their way out of the circus each night, whining about their malfunctioning watches while inside the circus.
The children would snicker, winking at each other. They knew the Hatter could stop time. But no parent would have believed them.
Right now, almost midnight in the outside world, six o’clock inside the circus, the show was about to begin.
Prologue Part Two
THE SIX O’CLOCK CIRCUS, MUDFOG TOWN, LONDON
SATURDAY, 11:51 P.M.
Today, in a small, almost abandoned circus on the outskirts of London, the Hatter had promised the kids the Maddest Trick of All Time. It included a rabbit.
But there was no rabbit to be seen. Not yet.
The Hatter took off his hat, a few teacups plummeting to the sandy floor of the dimly lit circus. Without saying a word, he waved the hat in the air.
Silence sucked off the breathing air. Everyone watched with anticipation.
The Hatter slowly approached the circle’s rim, showing the hat to the audience. It was empty. He summoned a couple of kids to show them the hat, allowing them to confirm it was empty. Then he made them sit back next to their parents, who had paid nothing for this show. The Maddest Show on Earth was free.
Then the Hatter pulled out something that worried the parents but made the childr
en’s eyes widen with excitement. It was a bomb, full of colorful wires wrapped around a digital screen.
The Hatter’s lips twitched. He seemed worried too. The bomb could blow up any minute. The parents squinted, grimaced, and tensed. The children, well, they were about to merrily clap their hands.
Accidentally, the Hatter, posing like a magician, pushed a button on the wired bomb.
It began ticking.
A few parents shrieked, holding their children tighter.
“It’s just a show, Mum!”
“Be a man, Dad!”
The timer ticked on a countdown from 666. Hours? Minutes? Seconds? No one knew.
“Tick...” the Hatter finally said. He placed one hand behind his ears, waiting for the children’s response.
“Tock!” The children raised their hands.
“Tick!” The Hatter addressed the crowd on the other side of the circle.
“Tock!” the children screamed. Their parents laughed uneasily.
“That’s right,” the Hatter said and sipped from a cup of tea on a nearby table. “Now, what would you say if I told you that no one can stop this bomb?”
The children clapped their hands over their mouths, their eyes almost going kaleidoscopic. The parents were utterly confused. Was this part of the nonsensical show?
“No one but a girl named Mary Ann,” the Hatter explained.
“Where is Mary Ann?” the children wailed or played along to a silly joke. The parents didn’t know.
“Mary Ann’s gone mad. She can’t come and save you.” He pouted. “But don’t worry.” He waved his hand again. “The Hatter is here to save the day.”
“Yay!” The children relaxed.
“You know what I’m going to do with this ticking bomb?” he said.