von Kathryn Gabrielle (Copyright)

I can think of a few “magical” words that must never be whispered, even in quiet places. Words like “curiosity” and “silence” and “happiness”. To utter these words, one feels the meaning resonate just like a song that reflects in the sparkle of the eye, the lilt in a voice, and the blush of a cheek.

What does it feel like to be on that other side of the looking glass just like Alice? Alice is brave and curious. I need to leave fear behind and be curious too. I don’t know of anyone who has been there and come back to tell the tale. It must be so wonderful that no one ever wants to come back here. A place filled with music and flowers and love. My world is full of problems, noise and pain. Is there a catch to it? Is there a difficult riddle over there yet to be solved? Am I the one to do it? Can I solve the mystery of a land that I can never see or experience? I must find that beauty for myself.

I envy Alice. She knows beauty and peace.

The glass feels soft. I feel like I can almost put my hand through it. A mist creeps up around me as I step forward into the looking glass world. I am beyond the looking glass into another world of illusion and fantasy, leaving behind my world of pain. I see only pinks, blues, greens and whites and a backward image of the room I left behind. There is a lovely fire crackling in the fireplace where I may sit. There is no one here to tell me that I can’t stay. Even the grandfather clock that ticks so happily in my real world room is different here on the other side of the looking glass. It has a face on it and I swear it winked at me. There are pictures on the wall and the eyes follow me and I hear a voice speaking. The eyes of the pictures are at this moment watching a very intense chess game going on in the middle of the room. Every now and again one of the pictures would shout “Hooray!” for a queen or knight or king that hadjust made a move on the chessboard. What a curious world!

On the table in the middle of the room lies a chessboard with all the piecesmoving by themselves. A game is going on but there are no people to play it. The game pieces are playing against each other. If I listen very carefully, I can hear the King and Queen directing the white knight and black knight to move diagonally to protect them from the opposite “army”. What fun!

This seems an ideallic world of forgetfulness and peace. I have stepped inside the world of the looking glass and it is such a world that I have never seen before. There is music that fills the air and the scent of chocolate chip cookies and hot cocoa. It reminds me of a cold winter day when I was a child. A wonderful day that I went sledding with my friends. I want to smile.

There are many mysteries to this room but the real mystery is that one must look in between the lines of the song book that is propped up on the piano. I walk over to the piano and start playing the lovely tune. Suddenly, the chess game stops. I hear a shout from the King piece.

“Stop that racket!” Who are you?”

“I am me.” I respond.

“Who are you? “, the King piece repeats his question.

“I just told you.”"Come here.” Says the King piece. “Join our game. You must play chess and save the Queen from being captured by the Black knight.”

“But I don’t know how to play chess.”, I respond.

“Don’t know how?”, the whole chessboard of pieces laughed out loud.

“Why everyone with a brain knows how to play chess and you claim you don’t know how?”, replies the King piece.

“No, and how am I supposed to capture the Black knight? I never seen a Black knight in my life.”

“How did you get here?”, asks the King piece.

“Through the looking glass.”

“Why did you come?”

“I was curious about your beautiful world and I just had to be a part of
it.”

“To be a part of our beauty and world you must play the game. Come join the chess pieces and win this game for us. If you beat the black Knight, you shall be crowned the white queen.”

“Isn’t there an easier way to save the queen?”

“Well, yes, err..there is one way, but it won’t save the queen.”

“How?”

“Never mind. You just play the game and if you make a mistake, the game pieces will scold you!”, the King piece lectures on with a finger pointed directly at me.

“Oh Dear. I don’t want to be scolded! I want to play chess!”, I reply.

“Let’s play, then!”, I say as I pick up the King and move it randomly.

“Not there!”, cried the Queen, covering her eyes.

“Why not?”, I ask, the King still between my fingers.

“Why not move the King over there instead?”, pleads the Queen piece.

“Hey, you with the King piece, bend down. I have a little advice for you?”, whispers the Black knight.

“What do you want?”, I ask.

“You know the Queen piece will say anything from being check mated and she
wants the game to go on and on. We have been playing this game for over a
month now and I’m getting rather bored. Can you help?”, whispers the Black
knight.

“How can I help?”"You know what to do. Just pick up the King piece and put it exactly where the Queen piece doesn’t want you to put it!”, whispers the Black knight.”

“Oh, you’re bad, Black Knight!”, I say with a smirk on my face.

“Yep.”, the Black knight replies, “Go on, do it!”

The Queen piece is in sheer panic now with no where to go. She knows her fate is sealed.

“If you put the King in that spot, I shall be check mated and the game will be over. Do you want that?”, the Queen pleaded.

“Does that mean I win?”, I asked the Queen curiously.

“Yes, my dear, you win and then you take my place in the next chess game as the Queen of Wonderland.”

I put the King down, ignoring the Queen’s pleas. I hear clapping and the chess board rumbles as the Knights, Bishops, Rooks and even the King applaud my playing skill. The Queen remains silent.

“You have check mated the Queen, and now you shall be our new Queen!”

“Thank you! I never won at any game before. I just guessed!”

“You are very lucky, but you must remain here in Wonderland until you are check mated by another. This is your destiny. I hope you are happy with it.”

“Yes, King I am happy. I treasure this Curious World of yours.

“The game is over until we decide to start another. You are free to look around your new kingdom. Be happy my child.”

“I will try to be.”

I walk around in circles happy in the knowledge that I have finally found a place to call my own. A place so unlike the other side of the looking glass. It makes sense and it doesn’t make sense at the same time.

This whole looking glass world is a paradox of everything and I cannot seem to make any sense out of it all. It is in the silliness of it all and the illogical nature of the looking glass world that I love so much. I must look for the answers to the many puzzles that just beg to be solved.There is real beauty here but is in hiding. It lies between the pages of a 1,000-page novel just waiting to be discovered. Or it may lie in the warm breeze that I welcome dreamily through the window. I smell the scent of lilacs lofting in this sweet air.

A person could live happily here in this dream-like world. A person could make better choices in a place such as this. In this looking glass wonderland, I want to be a Queen or perhaps, a Princess. I could most definitely be a Traveler, an Artist, or a Sculptor. I wouldn’t be someone ordinary. I am here on the other side of the looking glass on a far away island watching the palm trees in the distance and just waiting for the dawn. Waiting.. waiting.. for the silence to embrace me. I would close my eyes and experience the beauty of the silence. Moments like this are unforgettable especially when you exist in a noisy vacuum called a city. There are no cities here. No hot, stifling cities.There is breathing room and lots of time to play chess and dream. I want to lay my weary bones on a country meadow and walk barefoot through the babbling brook. I could spend the rest of the days picking daisies, roses, lavender and daffodils in a basket made up of silk dreams. I stop every once in a while to pick strawberries. Now it has started to rain. A million drops of rain wash away my sorrows and pain and bring a smile back to my life. Why do I jump in the puddles?

Because I can!

On the other side of the looking glass, I see my own reflection and I seems happy, loving and joyful. I am the Queen of the chessboard games. There is beauty to seek out in this looking glass world. It stirs the curiosity in my heart. I find my own peace of mind and a curious sense of wonder in this lovely world.