MARY ANN FIDGETED WITH her hair for the hundredth time staring at the clock in agitation.

“He will be here,” Carlos whispered into her hair as his strong arms wrapped around her waist.

Or at least as far as they would go, Mary Ann was days away from delivering their first child.

She sank back against him thankful for his comforting presence.

There was knock at the door and she startled out of his arms. Carlos grinned at his beautiful wife. Mary Ann was always a bit scattered but never more than she had been during this pregnancy.

“I’ve got it, sweetheart, you just have a seat.”

They lived in a small home just west of her brother Harrison’s, near the Treacle Tart Cafe. Carlos had been granted a position with the palace guard by the Queen of Wonderland. Mary Ann had joined forces with Alice and Lory at the café.

With the sisters both living on the island with the Jabberwocky’s, they had to take on a few new employees. There had only been one little mishap with their new host, Humpty Dumpty. Mary Ann had fixed things right and tight with some super glue and duct tape. She was proving to be an excellent restaurant manager.

Lory and Alice fully intended to take over Mary Ann’s responsibilities during her maternity leave. The small apartment that the sisters had once lived in they converted to a place where they could relax during their breaks. They installed a full nursery for when Mary Ann decided she wanted to come back.

“The Hatter is here,” Carlos brought the older man over to Mary Ann. Instead of shaking his hand she threw herself into his arms.

The Hatter looked terrified at first but managed to awkwardly pat her on the back and endure her affection.

“We can’t thank you enough,” she babbled. “I know that you insist it was nothing, but you changed Carlos’ life and helped to save the entire kingdom.”

The Hatter removed his hat and ran his hand through his wild hair. He got about halfway through before his fingers were hopelessly tangled. Carlos averted his eyes as Mary Ann gently helped him extract his hand.

They had invited the Hatter several times over the course of the last nine months to come and visit them. The Hatter being the eccentric fellow that he was had politely declined with any number of excuses from needing to record his pilates class to dying his top hats different colors depending on the approaching holiday.

It wasn’t until Carlos petitioned the Queen to assist in his efforts that the Hatter finally consented to a visit.

It was obvious that he was uncomfortable, and everyone knew that he didn’t mingle much in society. The Hatter liked his teas and cakes and pattering about with the March Hare. The confident man that had assisted them in the Glass House and later helped to transform Carlos seemed to have vanished before their very eyes.

Mary Ann took his hand, and the Hatter gave her a glassy stare.

“I am sure you know why we wish to speak with you?” she asked gently.

He fidgeted, “Why is a raven like a writing desk?”

Mary Ann gave Carlos a worried glance, “No, not that precisely.”

Carlos interjected, “How did you know that using awendan would cause me to finally change into the tiger moth?”

The Hatter twitched, “Everyone wants some magical solution for their problem and everyone refuses to believe in magic.”

Mary Ann’s nose wrinkled as she tried to get the meaning behind the Hatter’s riddles.

“I am afraid that I don’t understand,” she released his hands and he seemed grateful to have his appendage back.

He tried again, “Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality.”

Before Mary Ann could question the gentleman, further Carlos recommended that they begin their supper. It was a strange affair where the Hatter continued to speak cryptically. By the time the evening came to a close, Mary Ann was close to tears.

Her heart ached for the Hatter when he rambled, “I knew who I was this morning, but I have changed a few times since then. It’s no use going back to yesterday because I was a different person then.”

When the cakes had all been eaten and the last spot of tea consumed. Carlos saw him safely home. The last thing they wanted was the Hatter to become lost. When he returned back to their home he found Mary Ann drifting aimlessly on the front porch swing. He joined her on the porch and while sitting beside her he gathered her against his side.

“Don’t be sad,” Carlos kissed her temple and started the swing rocking back and forth.

“How can someone be so entirely different?” she shook her head, “It’s as if the Hatter is more than one person inside of the same body.”

“Perhaps he is,” Carlos answered, “But I think he tried to answer as best he could.”

She turned to face him, “How?”

Carlos leaned forward and kissed her lips before replying, “The Hatter is one of the oldest members of Wonderland. If anyone knows the secrets of it’s magic it is him. I know that time has been a difficult taskmaster on his mind. But if there is one thing that will never change is the Hatter’s belief in the magic of this world.”

“I don’t understand,” Mary Ann replied simply rubbing her swollen abdomen that had been troubling her most of the day.

“I am saying that perhaps the Hatter didn’t know that calling out awendan would cause my transformation. The word means to alter or transform. I believe that he yelled it out in desperation because the world that he loves so deeply was in danger of being destroyed.”

Mary Ann stared at Carlos, her mind whirling with new possibilities.

“No,” she said finally, “It must be something...”

She broke off when a sharp pain shot through her, “Carlos! The baby is coming!”

**

IT WAS EXACTLY SEVENTEEN days from that night when a small white gift appeared on their doorstep. Mary Ann was cuddling little Alexander after changing his nappy and Carlos had gone to fetch the morning paper.

“Who is it from?” Mary Ann began to lose her bodice in preparation for feeding her little fellow. He was much like his father in the respect that he had a healthy obsession with her bosom.

“Let me read the card to you,” Carlos set the small box on the coffee table and absentmindedly caressed Alexander’s head as he began to read. “The best gift you can give him is the gift of adventures. It is signed by the Hatter.”

Mary Ann blinked in surprise, “Well, open it!”

Carlos chucked, “Yes, my Queen.”

Mary Ann’s lips twitched, “Please,” she amended.

Carlos removed the twine that held the tissue paper around the small box. Settling those aside he lifted the lid and pulled out a carefully crafted dragonfly. “There is another notes inside.”

He picked up the small scroll and read the words written there, “For your little dragonfly—this small insect has flown the earth for more than three hundred million years. It symbolizes the ability to overcome times of hardship. May it be a reminder of the strength, courage, and happiness that lives within us all.”

They both stared down at Alexander. He was far too young to transform into his spirit animal. There was no possible way that the Hatter could know such a thing.

Was there?

**

‘ONE OF THE SECRETS of life is that all that is really worth doing is what we do for others.’

-Lewis Carroll