text: Lewis walked through a lonely hallway into his lonely room, on a bleak day and his bleak house. The whimsical feelings of joy and grandeur that come with the American dream in a beautiful nuclear family eluded him. For little Lewis wasn’t one of those lucky children to be born into a nuclear family to live out the American dream. Lewis was the child of a single father, Dr. Carroll, the nasty dentist who was never home, and on the occasion that he was he brought the nasty attitude he held at his nasty job. Dr. Carrols beautiful wife was no longer with us, her pale white skin and sunken in eyes had left the earth many years ago. Another poor victim of an overdose and the wonderful adult candy she would steal from Dr. Carroll’s office. Morphine bit her right to her core, it’s the very thing that helped her cope with carrying baby Lewis. “I never wanted this parasite, why am I the one stuck with this thing.” She would say on occasion as she gleefully awaited her baby’s arrival. On that boring Saturday afternoon Lewis was tired. Not from playing or exercising, but the type of exhaustion that follows as your brain turns to mush from hours up days boredom. Just ask any other 11-year-old boy Lewis’ age, they’ll all tell you the horrible torture that comes from being isolated in a house where you have read every book and out grown every toy. With no neighboring friends or pretty girls to faun over Lewis was all alone to deal with his boredom. Its not like anyone wants to be friends with the child of the most dreaded and feared doctor any kid must visit, the scary old dentist. Not to mention the stigma Lewis carried on around him, the rumor that he was haunted by his mother spirit. He picked his skin and itched just like she used to when she didn’t get her candy. Its almost like the boy had similar cravings, only our dear friend Lewis was not brave enough to steal any morphine from his father, if he did he would be beaten to a bloody pulp. As the Saturday went on Lewis’ boredom took greater and greater hold until he couldn’t help but entertain a thought he had lying in the back of his curious little head. He thought to himself about just how much fun it would be to indulge in some of the candy his mother use to take. “But what if father finds out?” the child thought out loud. He contemplated more and more on if he could get away with it or not. Pondering and pondering on that sweet little thought, could he do it? Would he get caught? What would happen if he managed to escape the office with the precious sedative? What would father think if he caught Lewis doing the very thing he hated his mother for doing? All these thoughts raced through the child’s mind as he continued to ponder. It was 2:56 PM, Lewis knew his father had an appointment with a patient at 3:30. He wondered “would I have enough time to sneak into father’s med room before his appointment is up?” For this appointment was longer than a simple twenty-minute teeth cleaning, this appointment in fact had to deal with multiple fillings. Something that would keep Lewis’ father busy for just a little while longer. And if he walked over to the dentist’s office now, he would get there just before the appointment starts. “Maybe its time I finally see what mom loved so much.” The bored preteen thought to himself. In one of the sparse and rare moments of bravery in his short and uneventful life. The morbidly curious boy made his way through the small uneventful town under the gray uneventful sky. He smiled for the first time in weeks as he made his way in the door of his fathers’ nasty old building. A grossly boring building with white walls and grayish blue carpet stained with spit, blood, and god knows what. The sound of a high-powered drill filled the eerily silent sound of the eerily calm building. Lewis checked the clock to see it was none other than the time, 3:45. Now was his golden moment, his time to shine. Lewis asked the middle-aged nurse sitting behind the counter if he could go into the hall of rooms that patients would normally fill on a busier day. At the end of the hall to left, is the room with treasures Lewis covets. Walking quickly but light footedly through the hall that only irradiated with the noise dentistry equipment and disgusting gurgling noises of spit flushing up into the hose whose job is to make the dentists tools just a bit less wet. Down the hall and in the room on the left Lewis found the bottles of the candy he craved. Happily, he stuffed his jacket with the vials and jars that held the sedative. And taking a few needles just to help inject the medicine. Blessed with the first glamour of joy he had felt in many years, the very thought of enjoying the same substance his mother did, made him miss her just a bit less. Dr. Carroll was nearing the end of his appointment. Filling in the teeth of a first-time client, a girl no older than 17. He scolded the child in his mind, the delinquent rotted her teeth with sugary sweets, and every dentist’s biggest pet peeve, she never flossed. Frustrated with this teenager’s negligence towards proper dental care the mean old Dr. Carroll walked down to his medicine room to get a minute to himself as well as grab some supplies for to replace some of the tools he used on his patient. When the old wretched dentist entered the door, he noticed instantly something was off. Something was missing, something had been taken without his knowledge. Someone took one of the good Doctors tooth brushes, the sterile gifts he gives out to all his patients, the hook he uses to bring back his patients. But alas the old cranky dentist walked back to his patient leaving the room and the thought behind him, he had work to do. Lewis slunked back into his old boring house making his way to comfort of his greyish blue room. He walked to his desk digging to find an old rubber band to tie off his arm. On many occasions he saw his mother do this. Tying her arms with shirts, rubber bands, scarves, and even a simple little sting. Lewis found rubber band that he would soon use to cut some circulation in the around the flesh on his tender little arm. Lewis stuck the needle of the syringe he stole from his father into one of the morphine vials he had. He was afraid of taking to much just like his mother, so he only took just a little bit. He stared at his needle in both awe and fear, excited to experience something that would take him away from the awful confines of his boring old life, in his boing old house, and from boring old emptiness he felt. He stared and stared continuing to dwell in his nervous excitement. Finally, he pushed the needle in, it stung and hurt and he wanted to stop but he couldn’t, Lewis needed to commit. He pushed down the syringe, pumping the sweet sedative into his blood stream. Almost instantly he felt a euphoric sense of calming numb the anxiety he felt. It was than that he started to notice he was no longer sitting still. The candy infused boy felt air begin to brush against him in an upward motion, feeling as if he was weightless. His surroundings became dark but with a faint light, he noticed the darkness around him was hallow, and the walls he started to see weren’t walls at all. They were made of dirt, he was in a hole. He fell, and he fell feeling better and better with each coming second. The cool wind against his body, the comfortable darkness with a barely visible light to ease the atmosphere of it all. Lewis felt calm, at ease, and more relaxed than he had ever been in his entire life. It was than he heard a voice, something that normally would have frightened the shy boy. Alas this voice was gentle and sweet, it sounded young and vibrant, like it belonged to a girl no older than he. “Who are you?” Lewis muttered. “I’ll tell you my name when we meet, I’d much rather greet you in person.” The voice said in a playful tone. “I am glad you aren’t scared by the fall, let me sing to you to make it a bit easier on you just in case!” Lewis spoke up “What are you talking about.” “shush.” said the voice in a firm but playful way. “Down in the water the cat sang to me, a story so lonely he couldn’t help but cry, the rabbit came and brought us all away. Straight to a place where anxiety hates to play. Joy and wonder, you will never get older, come with us to play.” The voice sang in a sweet and soothing tone. The euphoria entranced Lewis than awoke abruptly. Back in his gray and boring room Lewis realized he found the key to unlock the door of his boring cell in his boring brain. Just a little bit of that sweet sedative medicine and he would be freed of his boredom and loneliness. Having a beautiful voice sing to him as he fell into eternity. Lewis couldn’t wait until he could go back. But he had the feeling that just jumping back in might not be the best idea. Plus, he didn’t take very much Morphine from his father’s medicine room. He had to make it last otherwise what we he do? Go back to those empty days of empty feelings in his empty life? Lewis adjusted himself to get back to normal, he fixed himself some dinner and noticed a note on the table. “I am out tonight, I don’t like how you choose to waste your time sleeping all day. I still expect you to go to bed on time." Lewis knew it was a note from his father. He felt comfort knowing that his father seemingly didn’t notice the morphine he stole. A few days later Lewis grew bored just as he felt before. The empty loneliness he felt enveloped him again, just as it always did. It ate at him more and more until the boy decided, rather excitedly, that he would indulge in the morphine again. Tying his arm up, he knew that all his negative feelings would abandon him as soon as the candy hit his blood stream. He pushed the needle into his skin and pressed down, releasing the sedative into himself. Once again, he found himself in the dark, falling into infinity as the rabbit hole swallowed him up. Lewis waited for the voice to call out to him again, he was excited to hear her soothing voice again. “Oh, you came back? I am so excited, its been so long since I’ve had a friend as cute as you!” He heard the voice call out. “How do I meet you? I’ve never had a friend before...” Lewis called out. “Just use your imagination.” Called the voice in a playful manor. It was then that Lewis saw a light coming his way, or rather that he was falling into. He fell so fast he felt sick but when he came through the light he instantly felt as if he was stopped. He opened his eyes to realize that he was on top of a massive mushroom, red with polka dot like white spots all around it. He was surrounded by these mushrooms, all in varying height and width. He looked to see if he could find a way down, but he was a bit too high. It was than that he heard the voice “Come down Lewis. Its safe to jump.” So, he did, he turned, and he fell, “its not like I have any other option.” The boy thought to himself as he fell from the mushroom. He landed and rolled, but he didn’t feel any bit of pain. “That was a fantastically graceful landing” laughed the girl whose voice drew the hopeful Lewis down the hole. Lewis looked up just to be stunned, it was a beautiful girl just around his age, he lush blonde hair and deep blue eyes enticed him. “well I am not the most athletic, I am more of a book worm myself.” The nervous boy mumbled. “Oh, don’t be so shy Lewis.” She said. “how do you know my name?” the boy questioned. “We all know you here Lewis, you are of great importance.” The beautiful girl stated. “What you aren’t going to even ask what my name is?” She snarked at him. “Well what is your name?” he asked. “It’s Alice.” Alice began to show Lewis around, she took him to see the straw berry fields where strange creatures that resembled cat like humans, a race of beings who lived for tricks and riddles, loving to play games with all who interacted with them. Alice than brought him to see the Caterpillar, an opium smoking maggot who Lewis hated among seeing the disgusting worm. He mocked Lewis “little boy Carroll the boy who thinks his doom is his release.” Lewis felt like the oversized bug was mocking his use of medication to escape his life perils. But it wasn’t long until Alice took him to her favorite place, a hill by the ocean. An amazing sight that shows of the glorious seas where the water was not blue, but a violet color. The vibrance radiated a beautiful and calming aura that flowed from it, it made Lewis relish in the moment. Alice than took him to her dear friend, Mr. Hatters house. Where Mr. Hatter, a rabbit, and a boy made of wood and scrap metal all surrounded a table with one more open spot. “And that’s where I sit for our dinner and tea parties!” the little blonde girl explained. The whole seen looked straight out of a book, something mystical and whimsical, and oh so marry. But one thing Lewis noticed was that there was no food being served, nor tea to be drunk. Before the boy could question this however he found himself abruptly waking up. He tried to stand up, but his body felt a bit sluggish, like it was lagging behind his thoughts. Lewis was frustrated, he finally met some friends, some others who he could share his time with, others he could share is thoughts with, and a girl he could even try to romance if he ever became brave enough. The wonderous magical wonderland that laid inside his mind or possibly another dimension that the medication took him, held all the things sad little Lewis wanted. He finally understood just why his mother was so addicted to the stuff. The substance gave you a sweet sensation of calming and imaginative bliss. It took you away to a better place. Lewis was in a hurry to rush back but when we looked to see how much morphine he had left in his vial, he realized he might problem. There wasn’t enough left for him to get back to wonderland, there was a little, but it was far less than the amount he had been taking. He wanted to steal more but also feared if he stole more than once every couple of weeks that his observant and nasty dentist of a dad would notice that he had been taking his medication. But Lewis needed to get back, he hated the real world. It wasn’t long until Lewis’s cravings began to overtake him. He wanted to go back, he wanted to get away from his boring and empty life. He wanted to get back to colorful and vibrant radiance that was his own wonderland. And he wanted to be back with his new darling friend Alice, the first girl to ever talk to the lonesome boy. But than Lewis remembered, he remembered that his father had kept medication in his room. Lewis could recall multiple times seeing his dad melt powder onto a spoon before injecting it like the morphine. He could recall his father doing this deep into the night, when he thought Lewis was asleep. Maybe this was also morphine, or maybe something similar. Lewis thought about how much better he would feel if he could escape reality and go back to the land that made him feel alive, made him feel wanted, made him feel at home. Lewis took the powder and put it into a spoon, setting things into motion ready to go. But then he ran into a problem, a big problem. Lewis had no lighter, where would he get one? He searched tearing through drawers and cabinets searching high and low looking for something to use to light up his salvation. He dug deeper and deeper, he couldn’t find anything to help him get back into his own little world. Lewis began to shake and cry and lose it. He didn’t know what to do, he couldn’t take another moment of the abuse of mundane loneliness. He started wallow in his misery and he sobbed. Sobbing and sobbing until he realized....... He could use the stove. He took the spoon and brought it to the stove putting it over the gas lit flames. His fingers began to burn but he didn’t care, he endured the scorching pain the hot metal letting it burn him knowing his salvation had come. He took the hot spoon and put it on the counter with a yellowish muck inside it. He took a syringe and put it in getting it ready to be injected into his arm. Lewis took the needle and stared at it for a moment, he smiled slightly, and then he jammed the needle into his arm. He punched down on the syringe injecting the syrupy liquid into his blood stream. And all at once it happened, everything went dark. The stung-out preteen opened his eyes to see the skies of the place he wanted to make his home. He starred at the sky, it looked a bit darker and more crimson than before. The air also smelt different, that fruity smell from the strawberries that once overtook the air now had the strange scent of iron. Lewis got up and started to walk, it was eerily quiet. He walked past the strawberry fields and there were no cat people tending to them, the leaves looked more withered and Lewis saw no fruit. The further he walked he started to find the way towards the ocean. Lewis felt a heaviness in the air, a strange aura seemed to be filling the oxygen he breathed. The lonely boy walked onto the beach and stared in confusion and discomfort, the ocean was gone, the violet water was gone. It was just a void, like an abyss with an orange glow coming from inside it. He contemplated getting closer and looking inside but ultimately, Lewis felt deep down that it could be a bad decision. The boy walked onward into this strange place, the land that once filled him with warmth and hope, now felt dead and empty. You could say it changed into a pretty twisted wonderland. Finally, Lewis found his way to the Hatters place. The door was cracked, he walked. Expecting to find the friendly faces waiting for him. But rather he saw some smiling but ominous faces. They still had no food on the table and tea to drink. Before Lewis could say something, “You finally came to join us!” Alice spoke up with glee as she turned around from her spot on the table to look at the unnerved young boy. “Just in time we were just about to start eating! I hope you love tender meat.” Lewis was confused, there was no food at the table. But just as he opened his mouth, a sharp deep pain rushed through his abdomen. He looked down to see a large three-pronged fork sticking through him. He looked up to see the table of friends now laughing in delight as they watched him writhe in fear and pain. It was then that the boy was flung off the fork and onto the center of the table, he saw the creature that had hurt him, it was a boy who looked similar to him but with a oversized grin, and sharp fang like teeth. Before he could muster up the courage to scream he felt his arm be pulled and chopped. They started to fill their glasses with his blood, gushing quite quickly from his arm. Thanks to Lewis Anemia it made it all the easier for Mr. Hatter to fill his cups and serve his guests. It was than that Lewis finally let out a scream. “Don’t act so scared Lewis, you are only becoming part of us now!” the child playfully shouted with a blissful giggle. The Boy with fangs jumped onto the table above Lewis, it was then that he saw this boy not only had fangs, but cat ears. The Feline smiled, before bringing a blade down and stabbing right above Lewis stomach, Lewis screamed again in pain, just for the agony to amplify all the more when the knife was pulled down tearing his gut open. Alice, Mr. Hatter, the cat boy, the scrape metal monster, and the Rabbit all began to grab pull out the insides of Lewis eating him alive. His intestines, his stomach, his entrails. Dr. Carroll came home from a long day’s work, the house was just a bit to quiet. He walked around the house looking for his pitiful son. He walked into the kitchen and saw his child on the floor, eyes wide open, foaming at the mouth, but lying motionless. He checked his pulse and realized. Lewis’s heart had stopped.