Snippet #1792851

The sound of a cane tapped across the paved sidewalk as a pair of leather black and white spats thudded on the ground. The owner of the spats seemed to be stumbling a bit, for the sound of his cane was spastic to say the least. A huge grin was plastered on his face, and chuckles were bubbling inside his throat. Today was going to be absolutely fun! After all, how could it not be fun? The trees were purple and there was a blue caterpillar!

A blue caterpillar, how delightful! As the man got closer to the caterpillar he started to guffaw rather loudly. “Hello little caterpillar! You are the wrong color!” He said as he giggled gleefully. Upon closer inspection of the caterpillar he noticed that it had a rather human looking face, and that sent the man into a fit of giggles. It looked almost like someone he knew, but he couldn't quite place the face. But that didn't matter, the caterpillar was rather amusing. The bugs lips, for it did have lips, were wrapped around something. As giggling man leaned closer he saw what it was. “Is that a small hookah? How delightful! Can I join you?”

At the sound of the young mans voice the caterpillar turned its head to face the man. And blew out a ring of smoke into the mans face before it asked in a bellowing voice, a voice that didn't fit the blue creatures small body, “WHO ARE YOU?” The voice was so loud in the mans head that he stumbled back, his large top hat with the checkered ribbon falling off of his head.

The man bent down and picked up his hat, dusting it off before settling it on top of his black hair with white streaks, if he was honest he would admit that it was graying. “What do you mean who am I? If you want my name it is Dominic, though sometimes I do honestly feel more like a Fredrick...”

The blue caterpillar frowned and shook its little head. “NO! THAT IS NOT WHO YOU ARE! DO YOU NOT REMEMBER ME? YOU ARE HATTER! REMEMBER US!”

The man looked at the caterpillar and shook his head, a frown on his face. Oh dear...maybe he shouldn't have taken his pills with a glass of wine. But the cup did say drink me...and he couldn't refuse that cup. Never mind he filled it with the wine himself. And his doctor did warn him against taking pills with alcohol...but it seemed like a good idea at the time. Most of his ideas did. “I am not Hatter. I am Dominic, my doctor told me so.”

The caterpillar snarled at him, its little face once so funny now scary. It almost seemed to grow bigger and bigger. Until it was taller then him! Or maybe he shrunk, Dominic wasn't quite sure which happened. “YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR NAME HATTER! YOU CAN'T CHANGE WHO YOU ARE! YOU LEFT US HATTER! LEFT US TO DIE! WE NEEDED YOU AND YOU WERE NO WHERE TO BE FOUND!”

The twenty one year old started to tremble, he was terrified of the creature before him, tears started to run down his face. He hadn't run, he hadn't...he wasn't the Hatter! The nice man told him so! The one that given him the pills! The one that found him when he was wandering around in the streets. And he believed that man! “I AM NOT THE HATTER! I AM DOMINIC, I HAVE ALWAYS BEEN DOMINIC!” The man screamed back, people were now starting to look at him, he was talking to a nearby mushroom...he must have taken to many pills today or taken them with something he shouldn't. As he yelled at the the caterpillar sitting on a mushroom that was so much bigger then he was, he must have shrunk after all, he noticed that he started to get bigger, so he continued yelling.

“I don't like the tone you have taken with me Caterpillar! Asking me who I am and telling me I am not who I claim to be! I know myself better then you Caterpillar! You have no right to accuse me of something I did not commit!” He was getting bigger and bigger! It was working! “So Caterpillar, I have a question for you. WHO ARE YOU?!” And before the caterpillar could answer he squished him into the ground, smearing him on the bottom of his shoe.

But he felt so lonely now, like he had killed something important to him...but it was just a caterpillar...nothing more. But then why did the face look so familiar? Dominic shook his head trying to clear it before he wiped the tears from his eyes. He had done nothing wrong, Caterpillar was in the wrong, accusing him of things he didn't do. He took a deep breath and pulled out his pocket watch. The watch itself had stopped working long ago, but he could still tell the time, after all it was only jammed...nothing to serious, he just needed to butter the gears and it would work right like rain. But he would have to do that later. He was running late, he had to open his tea shop. Never mind that it was early morning. And thunder clouds were rolling. He must open his shop.

He dashed off, leaving a stomped mushroom behind, and a bunch of confused people.