Page 13 of Knot My Wonderland

No thoughts. No words. Just… being.

The breeze carried the scent of pine and damp earth, and somewhere in the valley below, a hawk cried out, high and lonely.

I sat down and pulled my knees up to my chest, letting the thermos rest between them for a moment before setting it beside me. The stone beneath me was cool, grounding.From up here, it all looked small — not insignificant, just... manageable. Even the things that had felt so tangled and heavy lately didn’t carry the same weight in this air.

I shifted a bit and stretched my legs back out, boots scuffed and dusty, heels hooked just over the edge of the rock. The wind kissed my ankles, cool and unbothered. I leaned back on my palms and stared out at the horizon for a long time — until the colors started to shift, gold creeping into the blue like honey bleeding into water.

Then, with a quiet sigh, I pulled out my phone and angled it down. A shot of my feet, swinging lazily over the drop, toes pointing toward that endless sprawl of treetops and sky.

I sent it to Mara without a caption at first. Then, after a beat, followed up with:

Me:Don’t yell. The view was worth it.

Three dots appeared immediately.

Mara: you are ACTUALLY insane.

Mara:also that’s a sick shot

Mara: also I hate you but like in a concerned friend way

I smiled, tucking the phone back into my jacket pocket.

Me: Still alive, promise. Thinking about stuff. feels easier up here.

Her reply came a few seconds later.

Mara:if you fall off that cliff while “thinking about stuff” I’m going to hold your funeral in a Costco…

Mara:open casket by the free samples

I let out a short laugh that startled a nearby crow into flight. Typical Mara. Love disguised as sarcasm, concern disguised as chaos. I was lucky to have her.

The wind picked up, whistling past my ears, and I closed my eyes. For a moment, I imagined I could stay right here, suspended between earth and sky, just floating above everything that waited for me down the mountain. But eventually, the light would fade, and the path would darken, and I’d have to go back.

Not yet, though. For now, I stayed seated, legs swinging slowly, the world below me vast and green and forgiving.

I was just gathering my things to head back down the trail—the sky already darkening from pale gold to deeper amber—when something caught my eye. A flash of movement in the undergrowth below, just beyond the cliff's edge.

I froze, squinting. It wasn't a bird, too large for that. Maybe a deer? But the way it moved seemed... different. More deliberate. My heart quickened, that strange, electric feeling from the park returning, prickling along my skin.

"Hello?" I called, immediately feeling foolish. Whatever it was wouldn't answer me.

The wind picked up suddenly, fierce enough to make me step back from the edge. Leaves and pine needles swirled in small, frantic cyclones at my feet. The air seemed to thicken, charged with something I couldn't name.

That's when I noticed the ground beneath my right boot. What I'd thought was solid was actually a thin layer of leaves and moss covering a crumbling edge. Too late, I felt it shift beneath my weight and then…I fell.

Chapter Six

Alice

Hatter’s House-Present Time

My eyelashes felt heavy as I struggled to focus. Dim light filtered through unfamiliar windows, casting strange patterns across a ceiling that curved and bent at impossible angles. For a moment, I thought I was still dreaming.

The events of yesterday crashed back into my consciousness—the fall, the impossible landing, the Hatter with his wild eyes recognizing me, claiming I'd presented as an Omega in this mad place.

I sat up slowly, wincing as my muscles protested. The bed beneath me was surprisingly comfortable, a patchwork of mismatched fabrics and pillows that somehow worked togetherperfectly. Like someone had assembled a nest specifically for me.

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