5. “Let me look after you.”Wonderland AUA new Alice fell into Wonderland not long ago, and this was the fourth time Serjei had seen him. It was usually from a distance, watching him sit alone on a park bench, wander the Underground, or pick up trash off the street. It occurred to Serjei that evening that the man probably hadn’t found a place to live yet. He didn’t even know the Alice’s name, but he found himself wondering how he was doing every time he caught sight of him. He recalled their first meeting well. The skinny, one-eyed little guy had accidentally trampled through a mushroom patch he had been working hard at cultivating. It was frustrating at the time, but Serjei didn’t blame him. He was disoriented and confused, and the sight of Serjei’s coiled-up caterpillar half probably didn’t help matters. He had apologized profusely when he realized the destruction he caused, and Serjei casually dismissed it before giving him a quick introduction to Wonderland Park. “You’re an Alice,” he had explained, “which means you’ve somehow found your way here, like everybody else. And now you’re stuck, like everybody else. You can’t go through the Fog around the border, or you’ll die. As you can see, Wonderland was an amusement park. But it’s all broken-down. We’ve learned to make a home of it, though. Off that way is the Castle. The Red Court controls the park. And if you piss off the Red Queen, you might get cursed.” He wiggled his caterpillar butt. “And turned into an animal. But other than that, Wonderland isn’t so bad. Ask around, you can probably find a job.”He wasn’t sure if the guy had taken his advice or not. Since that day, he’s only really seen the skinny Alice loitering and looking miserable.
Serjei’s fuzzy, golden caterpillar half waddled up to the park bench where the dark-haired Alice was resting. The human half of his upper body loomed over the back of the bench. Two pairs of olive-skinned arms folded over it and he looked down at the man. “Oh, hello again.” The little guy muttered, tilting his head back and looking at Serjei. He looked tired and greasy and he obviously hadn’t had a shower in a while. Or a shave. Serjei wrinkled his nose a little.“Found a job yet?” Serjei asked, tapping his manicured nails on the backrest of the bench.“No.” The Alice slumped. “I can probably hook you up with something. What’s your name, by the way? I’m Serjei.”“Khyran.”“Alright, Khyran. You want to get supper with me? I got some ideas for who might need some help around the place.”“Um… thanks, but, I don’t have any money.”“I’ll buy, it’s no trouble.”“You don’t have to do that.”“I insist.” Serjei gave Khyran’s back a pat. “Come on. There’s a seafood place just up ahead.”
Supper revealed a lot about this poor Alice, and it was mostly in the things he did, and not the things he said. He ordered the cheapest thing on the menu and picked at his food. He sat so stiff in the chair it was as if he thought the back was made of needles. He kept his head bowed almost the entire time, so that his long hair draped over his face and Serjei had a hard time ever catching his eye. It was as if he was ashamed of even existing. It annoyed Serjei, but something about it also struck him as unfortunately genuine.If Serjei pitched ideas of a dignified job, Khyran just shook his head about it. Eventually Serjei offered the idea of being a park janitor, which Khyran agreed to. It’d involve picking up trash, cleaning windows, sweeping and washing streets and sidewalks, which was a lot of physical labor that Serjei wasn’t even sure the scrawny guy could even do on his own, but Khyran didn’t argue about it. With a sigh, Serjei explained to him who he needed to talk to for the job. He paid the meager bill and sent Khyran on his way, after enduring a slew of “thank you”s and “I’m sorry for the trouble”s.Watching the man’s retreating back, Serjei began to wonder if he should’ve offered more than just a job.A few more days passed. Serjei saw Khyran making rounds on the streets, pushing along a stained yellow plastic bin with soapy water and cleaning supplies. He was glad to see that Khyran got the job, but he still wasn’t entirely sure where the man slept. It wasn’t out on a public park bench, so maybe he had found a place to stay after all. Serjei tried to push the concern for the fellow out of his mind.One evening, he was in the Underground, selling some of his “special” shrooms in the corner of an alley. He was just handing over a small box of his goods when he saw Khyran out of the corner of his eye, huddled in the shadows near some tin trash cans, looking dazed. Serjei quickly finished his business and edged over to the other side of the alley, leaning down to get a closer look at the janitor.He was sitting on a cardboard box with a ratty blanket and some unopened canned goods. His head was tilted back against a brick wall. His eye was open and seeing nothing. Serjei’s pulse quickened. Without asking permission, he reached down and rolled up Khyran’s sleeves. He was met with no resistance and the man didn’t even look at him.Bruised veins bulged in the man’s bony arm. “Alright, Khyran. I’m all for a good smoke and some shrooms, but this… this can get you killed.” Serjei hissed, knowing full well the man couldn’t even hear him. “Come on. I’m not leaving you here tonight.” His four arms reached down and picked the man up off his cardboard bed. He was shockingly light- Serjei felt he could likely carry him all the way to his flat without needing to stop and ask for help. Testing the man’s weight in his arms, he backed out of the alley and headed on his way out of the Underground.He took the man to his home, which wasn’t too far away, and padded out his couch with plenty of sheets. The guy needed a shower something fierce. Now, all he could do was wait for the drug to wear off. Serjei went to get himself something hard to drink and turned on the TV to pop in an old VHS. He was an hour into the movie when he heard his houseguest stirring on the couch.Serjei waddled over to him and quickly saw how pale and uncomfortable the man looked. He frowned. “You alright?”“Where…?” Khyran choked.“My place.” Serjei answered, folding a pair of arms, the other pair on his hips. “So what’d you do? Cocaine? Heroin?”“Heroin.”Serjei cursed. “Look, if you wanna get high, there are better ways. I grow shrooms. The good stuff.” Khyran squirmed a little and didn’t say anything. He looked a little sick, so Serjei left him alone and went off to the kitchen to get him a glass of water. He considered this situation he was in. On the one hand, he was a little frustrated. There were plenty of addicts in Wonderland and Serjei didn’t bother taking them all to his home when he saw them. So what was it about Khyran that was different? For all he knew, Khy would just steal all his shrooms in the middle of the night and hit the road. Problem with that was, Wonderland didn’t exactly leave him with many options to run off to. The Fog surrounded the park on all sides. There was no escaping it. So Serjei doubted he would just steal all his stuff and run off. No, this man was genuinely in need of help. And it was for that reason that he endured this smelly, crooked-toothed, big-nosed, sick, greasy little man. Serjei handed the glass of water to his guest and Khyran drank deeply. Serjei gave his back a little pat and waddled off to a closet nearby. “I’m gonna get you a change of clothes. The shower is over there. Go wash up and I’ll change the sheets. I’ll get you a banana and some toast. Don’t worry about missing work, I’ll call Mr. Roderick and tell him you’re sick.” Khy looked miserably over at Jei, his shoulders visibly shaking. “S-sorry…”Jei waved him off. “You can apologize by taking a shower. You stink.” Dipping into the closet, he started going through his old clothes. He hadn’t worn any of them since he lost his legs. Most of them looked to be just a little too big for Khyran, or a little too feminine. But he found a dumpy pair of sweatpants and a plain grey shirt that he never wore even as a human. He then picked up a pair of boxers. “How do you feel about wearing somebody else’s underwear?” He called from the closet. “It’s clean, obviously, but I figured I’d ask.”“Mmnh.” Khyran sounded a little uneasy. “It’s… it’s whatever.”Jei took down a clean towel and took the clothes to the bathroom. He helped the shaky little guy off the couch and led him towards the shower.“Can you manage without falling over? I don’t wanna clean up your cracked skull off the floor.”“Y-yeah, I’m fine.”Serjei backed out of the bathroom and shut the door. He heard the shower running moments later. He stripped the sheets on the couch, replaced them with fresh ones, and went back to his chaise to watch TV. Ten minutes later, Khyran stepped out of the bathroom, wearing the dumpy grey clothes. When he sat down on the couch, Serjei went to make him a plate of toast and sliced bananas. He only ate a few bites before he curled up on the couch, rubbing his injured arms.Serjei left him to his own devices, wandering off to find something to read. When the evening stretched on to eleven o’clock, Serjei was on his way to bed when he passed by the couch, checking on his guest. He realized he had forgotten to give him a blanket. He retrieved one from the closet and gently draped it over the skinny man. He stepped back a little, watching his sleeping guest, and feeling a pang in his heart. He didn’t know what it was about Khyran that made him feel this way. There was something almost endearing about all his imperfections, but that wasn’t it.Perhaps it was because he reminded him of Shade.
