Trinkets and Tidbits (7)

A Chapter by Znikbew

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Rue tugs on my hand again, and this time I allow her to lead me towards one of the smaller shops. The sign that hung above the door shone in bright, purple letters “Trinkets and Tidbits: Something that you may need.” The door was slightly shorter than an average adult and the aisles were filled with strange, odd items.

Bewildered, I picked up a large glass jar from one of the shelves, examining it closely. The price tag has been ramped up to $50 and yet the jar is completely empty. I look at the jar’s label, reading “100% organically harvested nothing. Extra large jar.” Strange. My eyebrows furrow and I look at the shelf over to find cups of different varieties: small, large, wide, skinny, pink, yellow. But every last one was missing their bottom halves. The shelf also held new bars of soap labeled "Warning: Not waterproof.”

“How strange,” I marvel as I pick up an umbrella built completely upside down. As soon as I pick it up though, water begins pouring a mini lake onto the floor. The store had bags of only bread crumbs, hour glasses filled with confetti, and box pairs of only left shoes. I carefully set down the shoe box, my gaze stopping at the store’s front counter. Apples. Just apples. No strange descriptions, no extremely priced tags. Just labeled “Free to take”. I tighten my hold on Rue’s hand as Cheshire’s words fill my head.

“You really shouldn’t eat anything from Wonderland. Unless it’s from the shops.” The lady behind the counter smiles widely at me, her messy red curls pulled into a crown of tiny clocks, all ticking in unison. That has got to be the most awful invention in here. “Welcome to Trinkets and Tidbits,” she chirps warmly. “Everything on this shelf is free, you know.”

I reach for the apples, almost touching one when she decides to add like it’s a mantra, “No food in Wonderland tastes the same… acts the same, really.” I pause, meeting her gaze and she laughs at my reaction, trying to reassure me. “Effects may vary but that’s half the fun!”

“Excuse me?” This lady sounds bubbly and pleasant, yet there feels like there’s a warning in her words. “Effects?” Maybe I’m just overthinking this. It has been a long day. But the way she keeps staring at me with such intensity isn’t helping the paranoia. She leans in, eyes sparkling with an overwhelming interest.

“You’re new here, aren’t you?” she whispers, suddenly lowering her voice like she’s sharing a secret. “I can promise you, these are perfectly safe. Well… safe enough. Nothing fatal, surely nothing painful. Eat to your heart’s desire.” She holds one out, something flickering in her eyes.

Before I could process what was just said, Rue snatches the apple with eager hands and sends me a cautious glance. “Rue…” I warn, lowering my voice so the saleslady won’t hear me. “Don’t eat that.” Cheshire’s warning still echoes through my head. Don’t eat anything from Wonderland.

Ignoring my warning, Rue sinks her teeth deep into the apple, juice flowing down her chin. I pause for half a second then bolt forward to snatch it from her. “I literally just said not to eat that!” I snap, panic swirling through me. “Like, literally, not even two minutes ago!” Rue blinks up at me with big doe eyes.

“I heard you,” she whispers, voice shaking a bit at the idea of me angry. “But it’s little. I’m little. What if the apple gets sad?” What? She pauses, eyes watering. “You wouldn’t hate me over an apple, would you?”

I take in a sharp breath, trying not to yell. “Okay, coolio. No biggie,” I say quickie, forcing a nervous, reassuring smile. We still had no clue why we aren’t supposed to eat food from Wonderland. The apple doesn’t seem like it’s poisoned. I should try to keep a positive outlook on this, right? “Do you at least feel okay? Anything weird? Anything sparkly? Anything, uh…. Floaty?”

Rue gives a slow blink. I stare up at her, my momentary panic replaced with astonishment. She lets out a shrill giggle as she spins, the skirt of her dress puffing out as she begins floating higher through the air. A large smile forms on her lips as she looks down at me. “Oooh, I like this! Look at me, Iris. I’m flying!” She laughs harder, kicking her feet as if trying to run in place.

Bewilderment fills me as I watch Rue float higher and higher, closer to the ceiling. Closer to the ceiling fan, which blades slice through the air at a furious pace. My heart races as I piece together what’s about to happen. My throat is dry, words lost in my throat. S**t, s**t, s**t…

Rue’s eyes widen as she realizes this too, kicking even more desperately now. “No, no, no!” she cries, her voice cracking. “Put me back. I don’t like this anymore.” My eyes darted around the store, looking for something to throw. Maybe I can knock her down or away from the fan. Maybe I can even jam the fan. The sales lady stands watching, no signs of panic or surprise on her face. A chilling nonchalant sticks on her face as she looks up, waiting.

“Get me down!” Rue’s pleading. “I don’t wanna be sliced like paper-” She’s cut off when she reaches the fan, the metal blades immediately ripping the flesh off her bones. I watch in horror as Rue’s blood splurts all over the walls, the only sound in the room is the violent humming as the blades cut through her bones.

There was no screaming, and from the look of it, no time to feel pain either. Finally, silence, and a slight metallic scent filled the room. The blades continue whirling as if we weren’t covered in the chunks of what is left of Rue. I stayed frozen in place, my brain trying to process what had happened. Did that actually happen? ‘No, no, this isn’t real, remember? It’s just a dream.’ This certainly feels real, and I certainly feel like I’m about to throw up.

Once the shock passes, reality finally kicks in and I fall to my knees, struggling to pick up the pieces. ‘It’s okay, it’s okay. I can fix this. I can put her back again. It’s only a dream, right? No, no that doesn’t go there…. Or there. F**k!’

My thoughts spiral as I try to fit the chunks together with shaky hands, tears beginning to flow down my face. ‘What did I just witness? What should I do? I should have done something. Should have been faster. Why wasn’t I faster?’ A sob escapes my throat as I continue to piece together Rue’s chunks. ‘This goes here, and this one goes here…’

The sales woman tilts her head, watching my breakdown from behind the cash register. “So…” she drawls, having the audacity to sound bored. “I’m guessing you don’t wish to purchase anything here?” My head whips towards her, eyes burning with tears and frustration.

“What?” I snap. “You just saw that, didn’t you? You saw what happened!” When she continues to stare, I shake my head quickly, trying to make sense of everything. Maybe I am crazy. Maybe that never actually happened, that I’m just hallucinating being covered in blood.

“No, I don’t want anything!” I mutter, grabbing the sides of my head, trying to force my body to stop trembling. “This is insane. Just stop. Just make it stop.” The lady pulls a lever on the wall next to her, and the blade slows to a stop above us.

“You don’t get it yet, new one,” she declares, smearing Rue’s blood even deeper into her shirt. “Wonderland isn't about living, surviving, or even keeping score. It’s about learning how the world twists and how you should twist with it.”

Behind me, I feel two small arms wrap around me and I spin to find Rue clinging desperately to me, face digging deep into my shoulder. My breath hitches. Rue. Perfectly intact. Still floating, but still alive and intact nonetheless. “What-how-” I sputter as the lady wipes the bitten apple with a clean part of her sleeve.

“Welcome to Trinkets and Tidbits,” she repeats herself from earlier. “Where everything may be useful… but usually isn’t.” She sets the apple back on the glass shelf as if preparing to resell it to someone else. When I continue to give her a blank stare, she explains further. “The fan. It’s a teleportation device. Yet you can only teleport ten feet away. And in the most excruciating way possible.” She snorts, muttering to herself. “We don’t see a lot of those here… We don’t sell a lot of anything here.”

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