Reality? I would suggest that I ran away from that place a long time ago.. Now sit a spell and tell me dearie.. how is the tea?

The past few years have been surreal living at this time and place. At this time and place the Mad Hatter, who was exiled 150 years ago by the Red Queen in a different plane existence is taken care of by a great great granddaughter. The jabberwocky still lived in Wonderland and for the past 150 years, the White Rabbit had not come back for the Mad Hatter. He had a family back 120 years ago who took care of him as their old Uncle Albert, with his two wild and weird animal pets a tiny mouse named Tea or the tea mouse, and an enraged hare named Hare or the Mad Hare from Lewis Carroll's famous book about Alice and Wonderland. This was the family secret or guidance provided to one of the family's members who was either considered very lucky to be chosen or unlucky depending on whether the person's family loved a good tea party.

There had been six generational changes since Old Uncle Albert had been placed in an elderly folk's home. The care had passed down from father to daughter to mother to her son who became a father to his daughter who became a mother to her son who became a father then to his daughter this brief history of the past brings the family up to today's time-frame roughly. The woman being one of the latest caregivers who was a professional psychic and paranormal reader named Laura, who could still remember her first visit to Uncle Albert at age 13. Her father who was Albert's caregiver had not initiated the whole family to Albert[s existence after the initial introduction between his wife and Uncle Albert had turned out rather badly. Laura's mother was cute, kind, but vicious with a mean streak that made some people fear her for a reason. Her father, not knowing of Albert's age and only remembering wonderful tea parties with his mother, did not know of Albert's long-lived life and therefore, did not know about his future responsibility prior to marrying. Laura's grandmother, who she had never met having died prior to Laura, had hidden the facts, for some reason, all to her private rationale. Laura's father with some foreknowledge of how much time the mind takes to get used to being a family member of a historical fictional character had introduced Laura to Albert when Laura's mother was away visiting her own family.

Laura's first visit was more of a get to know and not much about the past. She loved the wild Hare, who actually sat seated at the table drinking with its paws. She was delighted that a mouse would go through the tea service set and pluck sugar into cups when asked for one lump or two. She enjoyed getting to know Albert whose character had not changed nor personality from that of a story book which she was about to receive. The whole nursing home, however, was an experience different from any Laura had experienced before with her grandfather nor grandmothers on her mother's side. The staff served the Mad Hatter as if he was unique, and indeed he was very special having outlived roughly several generations of staff at the home. Laura's father did not let Laura know all this he just watched to see if she could handle such a wild person. Laura's sister had a similar experience four years before but had forgotten about the tea party thinking the whole affair was a dream. For having a tea party with an aged relative named Albert with his wild creatures running around his table well just was not her cup of tea.

However, Laura loved the party and her father realized that she should be the next person to be a caregiver to old Uncle Albert, which is how he introduced her to him. On the way home from the party Laura's father stopped at a bank and checked out a savings deposit box which contained a ledger and a dairy. He asked Laura to read them that night before her mother got home, and she was to give them back to him as soon as she was done. She said she would read them.

The ledger was a compilation of sums of money from an old-hat company that had been created in 1863. The owner of the company made a wonderful sum of money, which was invested not surprisingly in tea, tea service sets, tables, hats and apparel. The last major purchase which continued to add dividends along with the other companies was an old folk's home. The name seemed similar because the name was the same as the one where Laura, and her father had just visited Uncle Albert. Upon reading that Laura being 13 went to sleep and imagined the wildest dream of Alice in Wonderland Disney cartoon version where she was actually the main character, and her dream was wonderful.

Her mother returned home that morning so Laura did not read the diary. Her father was anxious. Later that day her mother cleaning Laura's room came across both ledger and diary. She opened them both and at which point she had a heated discussion with her husband about filling young people's minds with nonsense and tea parties with wild unclean animals.

The argument between Laura's father and mother did not end well with her father. He was lucky to have returned to him the ledger and diary. Laura was forbidden to see Uncle Albert, and that was that. On the other hand, at least that is what Laura's mother thought. Laura's father who has always been an avid fisherman because he went fishing once a month, whether winter or not, soon invited Laura along.

The first-time Laura and her father did go actual fishing and on the way back had a conversation about secrets and consequences.

The end was Laura told her mother all about her fishing trip, and how much she loved to fish. The next month Laura and her father went and visited Uncle Albert, who was delighted to have tea and talk about the weather and such. Laura of course loved the party with Tea, Hare and obviously Uncle Albert. These trips continued through high school, and she started going on her own when she moved out for college. When her father passed on Laura was granted custody of Uncle Albert.

The wildness of course for Laura began of course when Uncle Albert started Laura on cards. The Mad Hatter of course was a fortune teller on the side back in 1863. Nowadays big money for those willing to play with their souls. However, to Albert who was Jewish the whole affair represented a way to foretell the future.

One time Laura was about to tell the tea mouses' future when the wildest adventure to be told happened. Instead of summoning a spirit to foretell the future a demon who was listening got caught in the chant. He took Laura into her past when she was in college to relive the following story told by a college friend.

I had just entered college. I was trying to get accepted and start a life as an adult. I started with a job in the cafeteria and joined a few groups on campus. I was introduced to the fraternity system. After several weeks, they decided to pledge a fraternity and join their more famous groups on campus. The group was known as the time travelers. The club was more specifically a group of game players who had formed a literature exchange club along with risk night, dances, and role playing activities. The risk nights were a variety of dungeons and dragons with actual physical activities to accomplish tanks from noble charities of mowing an old lady's lawn. Forming tea party groups to party with an odd elder of the club simply known as Uncle Albert. To pranks that made the movie Animal House popular to watch. The whole thought process behind the game was to ensure that when the zombies or wizards attack that this group would be prepared. It sounds silly. However, PX90 fifteen-minute workouts, along with some gorgeous ladies made this the club to get into. That is where I met Laura. She was witty, a physicist who often played as not a daughter or niece of the Mad Hatter. She loved to interpret events and how they would go about in the land of Wonderland.

I was a new freshman pledging Phi Sigma Kappa which had a large number of members in the club. To get the extra circular note in my pledge class, I joined the time travelers to ensure time with a group of people that enjoyed reading as much as I did. The literature exchange part of the club meant that I did not have to buy as many books. The group shared both their personal reading books, along with college books making the deal even sweeter.

Any way that was the first few weeks of my freshman year. I was working, studying, gaming, and pledging all at the same time. The story gets kicked off on fall custom dance where the pledge class has to ask a girl to a formal dance and ask her to dress up as her favorite book character.

Since my time was pretty much spent trying to figure out calculus, working, and reading I opted to ask a coworker to the dance. She kindly agreed to go and asked that I dress up as a knight in shining armor for she was going as a lady in waiting to King Arthur's court.

The night of the dance arrived, and we walked. The whole place was decorated as a fantasy castle and star war's bar. I was introducing my co-worker when in walked Albert attired to the t as the Mad Hatter and next to him Laura, her garment was like Alice's blue and white dress down to the petticoat in the cartoon movie. Just walking up from behind them, was a miniature White herald rabbit. I was in awe. I walked forward and bent down in my armor to feel the rabbit's ears. I thought at the time it was the best robot rabbit I had ever seen.

Imagine my surprise when the rabbit actually talked saying, "Hey, watch your hands." The next part is sort of a climax. I fell over. Laura squealed a "Time tunneler." pushing Albert the Mad Hatter over my back into a cosmic tunnel which appeared right as if on a queue during Laura's squeal. Laura jumped trying to get over me, but she caught a piece of me and took me into the tunnel with the rabbit, Albert, and Laura.

Landing someplace I got up to discover we had been transported to a turret of a castle overlooking what looked to be a future battle. The turret was only three stories in height, so I could see pretty much everything for a solid mile around. In front of us was a red small size card army, and a white dwarf card army. By this time, Albert got up along with Laura. "Oh goodie, I get to watch this time!" says Albert. Looking around I am sure for a chair. Laura, on the other hand, was addressing the White Rabbit. "We are in the wrong plane of existence" Laura stated, sounding saddened.

Myself, I was pretty much bewildered. Watching the two armies stand apart I could see a dragon later to realize it was the jabberwocky the size of a horse approached. What could only be Alice in armor? The fight went pretty much like the book. The only difference this time was the watchers who included Laura, Albert, who introduced himself as the Mad Hatter but not on this plane of existence, and myself. The White Herald rabbit had poofed off to announce the match between Alice and the Jabberwocky as soon as he had finished talking with Laura.

At the conclusion of the fight the demon poofed Laura back. After that brief reflection in time, Laura was transported back to her tea table with the tea mouse. While the writer of the story went to the past to college only to finish college as a microbiologist instead of an engineer.