I gave the room another thorough look over, and gave a start of surprise.

A tall little glass table to the far side of the room sat with a tiny bottle atop. That had most definitely not been there before!

I got up and walked towards it slowly, the little handwritten tag on the clear bottle catching my eye: "Drink Me," was written upon it with neon purple ink. I cautiously picked it up and examined it, turning it over in my hands. Inside the glass bottle was a bright pink liquid with a slight shimmer to it. I had never seen anything like it before. The closest I could compare it to would be mercury, but very pink!

I carefully twisted the little cork stopper out of the top and held it under my nose for a sniff. It smelled good: sweet and faintly of strawberries and roses. I hesitated though, what if it was poison or something? Flipping the parchment tag around, I saw written, "Not Poison."

I snorted. That's exactly what someone would write to make me think it wasn't, when in fact it was! But surely if it was poison, one would not even elude to it in a note? My mind jumped back and forth with the two possibilities. Poison, or not poison?

But did I really have anything to lose? If this truly was poisonous, perhaps it was better to die quickly from drinking it rather than slowly of starvation in this room, as would surely happen eventually. I shivered at the morbid thought. Indeed, better to die now than suffer for weeks!

With that grim thought in mind, I squeezed my eyes shut, took a deep breath and drank the entire pink "Not Poison" contents down in one swallow.

I set the bottle down with a 'clink' on the glass table and blinked my eyes, vision suddenly going funny. Was this how death by poison started then, with failing eyesight? I held very still and tried to remain calm, keeping my breathing steady to soothe my nervous heart. Gradually, the symptom faded, and things around me came back into focus. When my vision was no longer blurry, I rubbed at my eyes, looked around and gaped in surprise.

There in the previously empty wall between two larger doors, was a small little door. No wider than half a meter and half tall, it was made of a dark brown wood and had a golden knob. Had I missed it on my initial study of the strange, black and white tiled room? Surely I would have noticed if it had been there before? I stepped closer and bent down to see the door more clearly. My eyes widened. Carved into the doorknob was a little upright rabbit. It was wearing a waistcoat and pocket watch, exactly as the white rabbit I had been following was!

Could this be a sign then? Was this the right door? Maybe even the one the peculiar rabbit had gone through? It certainly seemed so as drinking that potion was what revealed it, and now the engraving. The door was the perfect size for a rabbit as well. Looking around one last time to see if any new surprises had popped up, I grasped the handle, pulled it down gingerly and slowly cracked the door. Bracing myself for whatever torments would rush out from behind, I was thoroughly relieved when none did.

A bright light shone through the sliver I had opened and I squinted, shielding my eyes with my hand until it faded a little. Believing it to be safe, I took a breath and pushed the door in all the way. When still nothing awful occurred, I knelt down to look through the entryway, but all I could see was a beautiful bright glow. No horrid storm or flood in sight. I warily stuck one of my hands into the luminous doorway, and when I was unharmed, my whole arm. Nothing.

Feeling optimistic, some of my battered hope regained, I went down on my hands and knees and began to crawl through the small radiant doorway, leaving the black-and white checkered room behind.

I was crawling blindly through the tunnel, all around me the only thing visible the brilliant light, until gradually it began to fade to normal. I could now clearly see an exit, an illuminated portal mirroring the rabbit door in shape empty. I crawled along faster, tugging my skirt out from beneath my knees in annoyance as I almost face planted again. Definitely not the best attire to go adventuring in! Another couple meters, and my head broke through the tunnel's end, my hands suddenly touching vegetation.

I stared at it in surprise, fingers digging into it as if to make sure it was really there. It was soft, green grass!

I looked up in delight, laughing happily at the wonderful sight that greeted me. I had done it! I was free! And I was outside.

Not just any outside though, this was the most beautiful gathering of nature I had ever seen. The grass was the most vibrant green imaginable, so intense it almost hurt your eyes. The flowers were unbelievably gorgeous and colorful, yet quite strange. Some with perfect polka dots, zigzag stripes and other bizarre yet pretty markings. Some of the ethereal blooms were so big I could use them as a pillow, and some were smaller than my pinky nail, like tiny little faery's flowers.

As I slowly rose to my feet, I found that I was in a large forest clearing similar to the one I had tumbled down the hole in. Only, the trees here were far different. Some had rugged, striped trunks, alternating between light and dark brown with relatively normal leaves color and shape wise. Sometimes the stripes were horizontal, sometimes vertical, and the ones without stripes were still otherworldly in appearance.

Many of the trees also bore some nicely rounded purple and green striped fruits, which looked too flawless to be real. Some of the other trees had leaves that were bright purple and turquoise. Many of them looked rather similar to those back home, only, they seemed more refined here, more beautiful. The colors were brighter and unusual, the shapes sharper and more clear. It felt almost as if my eyesight had become stronger, everything around me having this seemingly magical quality. In the distance, barely visible above the high tree line surrounding the meadow, I could see tall forested mountains, some obscured by a dark mist.

It was a breathtaking sight. And in the clearing, there were even a few butterflies and dragonflies in a rainbow of colors, flying around from flower to flower.

Hearing a slight buzzing sound emanating from a giant yellow blossom nearby, I bent down to peer inside it. I gasped, seeing with wide eyes that there was a large honeybee drinking nectar from the flower's center. What was so astounding was that this bee was bigger than any I had ever seen (about the size of my palm) and was a magnificent, gold color with black stripes. Its metallic color sparkled and reflected the sunshine, casting a little rainbow across my dress. I smiled in delight, watching the busy creature for a while longer, before moving to one beautiful flower to the next. I found many more of these peculiar golden bees, as well as getting a closer look at the bright blue, red, pink, and purple butterflies as well as the big, rainbow iridescent dragonflies. The dragonflies were as long as my arm, and I was a little wary when I approached to study them, but so far they had paid me no heed. This place was truly a fairyland!

Forgetting my distress at being so hopelessly lost for the moment, I spun around, skirts swirling as I got a panoramic view of this wondrous clearing, laughing with amazement and disbelief. Tripping suddenly on my own feet, I fell backwards with a shriek and ended up flat on the grass, staring up into the soft blue sky...

I frowned in befuddlement, realizing another something strange.

If I had fallen down such an incredibly deep hole, seemingly straight to the center of the Earth, why was there a sky? A breeze? And sunlight? Actually, how was any of this here?

Am I dreaming? Hallucinating maybe? Or perhaps I had died...

I clasped my hands to my head as my brain whirled in circles, trying to make sense of everything and finding it impossible. I had seen and experienced so much in the past few hours I could never begin to rationalize it. The only explanation I could come up with was either some sort of magic, or I had in fact died when I fell down that hole and this was what the afterlife was like.

I preferred the first option. It wasn't far off from what I could believe, I always figured there had to be something more in the world. That there were unexplainable things, unknown creatures, and my father had encouraged those thoughts. He had always told me magic was simply science that we could not explain yet. But to see it now manifested in something so completely inexplicable was mind-boggling, to say the least.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the feel of the silky grass, the warm sun and took deep calming breaths of fresh, sweet air. I felt I needed to just take a break to gather myself before moving on in this new realm. To what however, I had no idea.

After a few minutes of blissful sunbathing, the light tickling feel of something soft brushing my hand had me startled. I opened my eyes wide and glanced down, keeping my hand still.

It was the white rabbit! His whiskers and fuzzy cheek were brushing up against me, sniffing, when he suddenly stood back on his hind legs, looking me straight in the eye through his little spectacles. I could have sworn there was a great intelligence behind them, the way he gazed at me knowingly, ears perked up high.

"So you are here as well, Mr. Rabbit? You led me on a crazy chase didn't you? Do you know where we are? I don't know what to do. I am completely, hopelessly lost." I bemoaned to my furry companion. I did not even care if he could understand me or not, it was nice to talk to another living being.

When he gave no reaction to what I had said and just continued to stand there, adorable nose twitching comically, I sighed glumly. He was a rabbit of course, and although we were someplace that appeared to definitely be magical, I couldn't just expect animals to start speaking if the fancy struck me. Still, I had no one else to talk to.

"Can you help me, Mr. Rabbit?" I asked wistfully, a little sliver of hope there that perhaps he could at least understand me.

Still staring at me, he blinked his brown eyes, nodded, then turned and was briskly bounding away as he had done before, pocket watch jingling as he hopped.

I stood up and gazed after him in surprise as he disappeared among the flowers and tall grasses around the edge of the meadow, headed into the forest. He had nodded as a human would!

"Oh no, I don't think so! Look what happened the last time I followed you! I fell down a bloody endless hole! I won't make that mistake again, no sir!" I called after the white rabbit angrily.

No reply. Not that I had really expected one. I did not see him anywhere.

Muttering under my breath, I kicked at the ground with frustration. Well, it wasn't like I could stay in this same spot forever. There was no water, and those striped fruits looked far too suspicious to eat. With a sigh of resignation, I started in the direction I had seen the white rabbit go, following the indentations in the foliage and occasional snapped twig, some bearing a fluff of white fur. My hours of tracking animals in the countryside were finally paying off it seemed. I only hoped my unusual guide was not leading me to an even more horrifying experience than the last.

I had to push past the urge to stop at every bizarre new flower and tree, as the trail go cold if I did. But I took in everything with a wide, open gaze of amazement, committing the sights to memory as I trudged on through this strange forest. I even saw what I thought to be a little rocking horse with wings buzz by, but when I had blinked and rubbed my eyes, it was gone. I kept walking. At one point, I lost the trail as I came out of the trees in front of a pure, clear stream running slightly down hill to my left. On the other side, was a rather different looking, dark forest of tall, deep green trees. The grasses and flowers ended a little ways before the rocky shore of this stream, so there was no way to see the indents of the little clothed rabbit's tracks.

I was tired, hungry, and very thirsty, so I decided to have a rest here. I stepped carefully across the various colored rocks in hues of oranges, browns, and faint purples and pinks until I got to the water's edge. I knelt and dipped my hands in the crystal clear water, cupping the cool, fresh smelling water to bring to my face, drinking deeply and greedily. It was the most crisp, lovely tasting water I had ever had and I drank four more handfuls before splashing some on my heated cheeks.

Feeling refreshed, I stood and looked around me, wondering what my next step would be. I gasped as my gaze fell upon a neat ring of perfect red and white spotted mushrooms, which had been hidden by the trees when I had looked down here. It was like a little faery ring, and we'd always heard that you shouldn't step inside one less you be kidnapped by the fair folk.

Well, I'd be careful. Besides, kidnapping by faeries sounding more like a rescue at this point!

I walked towards the ring cautiously, bending down to get a closer look. Indeed it was food! There were tiny finger sandwiches, a small pile of berries, nuts and a plump muffin. I looked around the area quickly, trying to find the source of this little picnic, but saw no evidence anyone or anything had come this way.

I gazed at the little meal critically, wondering if I could trust to eat this, and questioning whether the owner might show up and be angry if I did. Sitting down beside the little ring of toadstools, I decided to wait for a few minutes. If someone did return, maybe they could help me? Tell me where I was at the very least.

After a little while however, my stomach growled painfully and I couldn't resist the wonderful looking food any longer. I reached over and carefully picked up a little triangular sandwich, sniffing it experimentally. It smelled amazing, just like any ordinary sandwich, so I took a bite. Then another, and another, until the delectable morsel was gone.

I waited a little bit, and when I felt all right, no signs of any foul play or magical effects, I ate the rest of the tiny sandwiches. Hungrily stuffing one after the other in my mouth like a starved monkey. If only my mother could see me now, she would be horrified! Well then, all the more reason! The amusing thought saddened me and I felt moisture gather behind my eyes. Would I ever see my mother again? My sister? My father? I pushed back the tears and took a shaky breath. Crying certainly would not help me. I had done enough of that today; I needed to stay strong if I was going to get through this. Whatever 'this' was.

When I had polished off the sandwiches, I started on the nuts and berries, and then took a big bite of the beautiful muffin. Yum, it was chocolate! I pushed aside my questions about this delicious food in the middle of nowhere, and finished off the last of it with a contented sigh.

Brushing the crumbs from my hands off on the soft grass, I looked around me, pondering whether I should stay here where there was water, or move on. I knew from what my father had told me, and my reading, that civilizations were always built near a source of water.

Perhaps if I followed the stream in one direction or the other, I would come across someone who could help me? Maybe even show me how to get back home?

I stood up and looked across the burbling stream, then gasped in surprise. There, perched in one of the trees were a flock of the most colorful birds I had ever laid eyes on. One had a shiny black tail with two pieces curled like a corkscrewed mustache and an equally curled, feathered crown. It had a black and white speckled throat, a red and purple colored back and a golden yellow belly. Another looked quite like pictures of a toucan I had seen in books, but the colors were all wrong: reds, blues and stripes, and another was turquoise with feathers that looked more like fish scales than something belonging on a bird. The smallest was a simple little sparrow-like thing, but it was pure silver, shining with astounding brilliance.

At my gasp, they peered down at me, colorful eyes like the rest of their bodies, assessing me with curious appraisal. A loud squawk sounded and I looked below them to see what had to be a dodo bird standing on the ground beneath the other birds. It too watched me, head swiftly tilting to and fro as if to see me from every possible angle, small black eyes watching me speculatively.

My eyes widened even farther if that was possible. Dodos had become extinct more than two hundred years ago! Hadn't they? What was even more unusual, was the green vest he wore and the curved wooden cane he had tucked under one wing, giving him a very dignified appearance. A gleam of awareness glistened in its eyes, one peering through a polished monocle attached to his vest with a silver chain. Well then, this was the second clothed animal I had encountered in a matter of hours!