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brad19
Bradley J. Brett
Australia, NSW, Penrith, Sydney

Words: 1232
Access: Public
Comments: 4

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Ana's Wonderland ©

Ana worshipped her brother. He was the single most important facet of her twelve years. How he held her in his arms, like a shield; protecting her from the grim surroundings which now lay bare thanks to Versailles.

Ana wept when her brother, to whom she worshipped, was killed during the Beer Hall Putsch of 1923. Never had she felt such sorrow, not since her father perished in the conflagration brought on by the Great War. Yet she knew she was not the only one suffering. The Depression was nigh; soon, everyone would lose what they held dear. All Ana wanted to do was escape; and so, as if God, by listening ears, sent the heavens into an eruption of clamour, everything would change'�with the appearance of a White Rabbit.

Escaping from Her Germany, little Ana followed the eager rabbit down the rabbit hole. With a scream of delight, of pleasure and pain, little Ana found herself in a world not her own.

'What is Night and what is Day? What will send your pain away?'� the rabbit mused, beckoning for little Ana, 'Is it that hard to forget? The pain and sorrow that you have met'�.

'But surely not! A talking rabbit!'� Ana gasped in sheer surprise, curly blonde locks in fray.

The rabbit turned and with a smile, a glint in the eye, 'Of course I can talk. I can sing and dance I thee well. Have you not ever met or seen one as me?'�

'I've seen rabbits; quite a few at that. Yet never has one spoken,'� Ana exclaimed.

'Well we can. If not your foul humanity not smears our ways and quite and utterly ushered in an age of dumb wit science versus the lewd religion! Aye, yet of human destiny have hereby tainted the realm of Di; to where we coerce, human to beast. Yet is it fair to call myself a beast? I have paws, yes. I have eyes and a nose and am able to communicate. So why am I a beast? Humans are beasts. They kill too. Yes, humans kill too. We all live, we all die, and in the end no one receives any answers to why that is! Ha! And so we have it! We have a question, less the answer. So allow me to riddle you this young Ana. Why is it considered wrong to kill another when everything science has discovered proves it to be survival of the fittest?'�

'Yeah! Why is it wrong?'� A small penguin interrupted, 'Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Rasler; I am the mastermind of the Bumbling Bunch. This tree you see to my left is our third member. Member? Is that the right word Rabbit? We were never actually initiated, so are we just bumbling fools of a Bumbling Bunch?'�

'The name,'� Rabbit coughed.

'Er what?'� replied Rasler.

'The name!'�

'Oh yes! The name of course! The third not-so-initiated member of our ranks as the Bumbling Bunch is Flo, the tree'�.

'A tree!'� Ana was dumbfounded, 'How can a tree possibly talk?'�

'Ah hmm,'� the tree, who had a human face on its trunk, cleared her throat, 'The question is darl, how can a tree not talk?'�

'Yeah! Flo's the most talkative of the Bumbling Bunch,'� Rasler patted the colossal tree, 'Now, I think Rabbit posed a question'�.

'Yeah darl,'� added Flo in the voice of a young child, 'Rabbit did, he did love'�.

Rabbit, who was now off talking to himself turned, his mind racing with incongruent crimes, peddling thoughts of thievery and the puzzling nature of humanity, 'Why is it wrong to kill another?'�

Ana looked at her feet, and remembered her elder brother and how he used to hold and her and protect her. A tear glistened in her cheek, an answer arising in her mind ' the only answer she found quite acceptable, 'Because people will cry'�.

'Ha, what's that?'� Rasler looked astounded ' Rabbit however smiled, realizing that little Ana held the answer to this universal question ' or at least, the answer Rabbit would have come up with.

'When someone dies, there will always be people who will cry over them,'� Ana twiddled her thumbs, 'At first, you cry, because you will never see them again; then life goes on and you begin to forget them. That doesn't mean that it isn't wrong. Killing is wrong. War is wrong. One kills another for killing their best friend. Another person will kill that person for the person that man killed was their friend. In the end, everyone would want to kill everyone until there is no one left. So killing is wrong. It just is'�.

'Twisted logic!'� Rabbit took a piece of grass and placed it in his mouth, chewing on the tip, 'You, little Ana, are a great philosopher!'�

'Really?'� she smiled, taking a loose strand of hair and placing it behind her ear, 'It was nice to meet you Rabbit; and Rasler and Flo, but I must be returning home'�.

'Yes you must. Yet, can I ask you another question before you go?'� Rabbit asked the young girl whose face looked saddened with the grief that she would be returning home.

'I suppose so'�.

'What do you want most in life?'�

'What do I want most?'� Ana looked towards the distance, taking hold of her golden locket which hung around her neck, 'I want to see my brother again.'�

'I have good news for you then,'� Rabbit smiled before pointing towards Ana's chest, 'Your brother lives within your heart Ana. He always will. For what do you think created us?'�

'What?'�

'It was your sorrow and pain that created us Ana. We don't truly exist'�, Rasler told her.

'But what about our conversation. Did I make that up myself?'� Ana asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

'No. We did. You see Ana, you are a butterfly. Do you understand? Your brother nestled you, protected you. When he died, you buried yourself in your own little cocoon, waiting to awaken, transformed into a beautiful butterfly. We may be your imagination Ana. Yet we believe that you have such a light that can truly shine through the dark'�.

'You came to Di with a heart full of sorrow. Now you will return, with your faith restored. You have been given another chance. Live you life darl,'� Flo added.

'You are God's gift to the world child. Your innocence and beauty. Your morals and beliefs are strong. Keep them with you. And you will survive. Goodbye Ana'�.

'Goodbye Ana'�.

'Goodbye Ana'�.

'Goodbye my friends,'� Ana laughed as she turned towards the light; the light at the end of the tunnel.

Through the looking glass and what Ana found there'�awakening in her warm bed, Ana tossed and turned to find an empty bed. Perhaps some part of her wanted to believe he was still alive. She could not believe that he was truly gone. Gone forever.

The next morning, Ana went out looking for fire wood. As the snow fell over the land, she saw something quite amazing indeed. A white rabbit in the snow. It stared at her. Its ears flopping. It jumped away, beckoning little Ana.

'You found the light, that burns so bright,'� the white rabbit, mused, 'Into your wonderland you seek, come on Ana, please take a peek'�'�

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Comments  
ticra Comment by: ticra - 2007-12-04 16:15
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wow. what a great peice! very whimsical and intriguing. I loved the use of fairytale-esque writing to answer a life long question. there is little I can say to correct this peice. Great Job!!!
I love your solution to the question too!
yugohoshi Comment by: yugohoshi - 2007-10-07 01:33
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you studied inter-war germany as well? i liked the way you blend history, fantasy, tragedy and humour and boil it down to an age-old question. a beautiful ending that doesnt solve anything, but gives hope, was my favourite.
there's nothing i can critisie about this work, but for me, there was this little something that was missing. it's a certain chord you often get with poetry, that makes you feel, 'wow...' and this story has that potential. if you dont figure it out, it's still a good story, but if u do then its art.
mercymanic Comment by: mercymanic Online- 2007-09-07 20:57
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I really like this story.

You've attempted quite a lot with it, and pulled it off. Gently, and with a hopeful message as well. I love writing that has things to say, things that speak to the soul the way this does.

I'm very picky and I only found one thing to point out.

"awakening in her warm bed, Ana tossed and turned to find an empty bed." the repetition of the word bed is really distracting... Suggesting "Ana tossed and turned only to awaken alone in her bed."

I'm really glad to be on your RL and I look forward to seeing more stories from you. I'm stoked to see your take on angels. Are you a Charles De Lint fan by chance? This story felt like it had a nod to him in it. If not you should so read him. His "Dreams Underfoot" is the book that got me writing again after a nearly decade long halt.
ashlydarling Comment by: ashlydarling - 2007-09-03 07:24
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This is a very well written story. I loved the historical tid-bits. Can't wait to read some more of your work.
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