TAPESTRY

- Two -

"Calm down, you silly billy!" laughs a voice above me. As I look up, it seems to be a young man, not so much older than me. He wears a green shirt, underneath a purple suit coat. He wears red tartan trousers, and pink boots. I look at him, confused.

"You look a little like..." I start, but he shushes me. "No, no. That Mad Hatter is definitely based off of me," he says, beaming with pride, as if he forgot that Alice in Wonderland was written well before his time. "Anyway, you should listen to me. This place, it's dangerous. We call it the Pit."

"The pit?" I ask. "Correct," he replies, "think of that silly billy Alice, the one from that book you tried to compare me to not two moments ago. Her world was dangerous" - he pauses for dramatic effect - "but this one is much worse. Here, a pack of cards is the least of your worries."

I shiver, as I stand up to face him. "Well, how do I get out of here?" I question him. He looks at me incredulously. "Get out of here?" he repeats, seeming shocked. "Why, to get out of here, it's not such an easy task. You must travel through this forest for five hours east. Then, you must ask the gatekeeper to open the gate for you; the password is 'Platypuses eating potatoes with chopsticks'. He will open the gate, and you will be able to enter the Weeping Village, it's a place where everyone weeps continuously. I do wonder how they don't get tired..." I give him a look. "Oh, right. After that, you must pass through the village without shedding a single tear. If you so much as make eye contact with anyone, you will start to cry, and once that happens, you can never leave. If you do make it through, you must continue through the Unknown, a place where no one has ever been, including me. Rumour has it that the place is guarded by a humanoid spider." he smiles, and claps his hands. "Any questions?"