The Rose is Always Redder
By Natalia
In Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Alice sees a beautiful garden through a small door. It’s the loveliest. She wants in. Really wants in. But she can’t figure it out. No one explains how much you’re supposed to eat or drink to become the right size. No rules. No system. Just vibes and self-blame. But Alice still wants in. So she does what everyone does when they don’t fit and don’t understand the rules:
Cries. A lot. Fully dysregulated.
Hangs out with a traumatized pest who rejects empathy
Obeys an authoritarian relic obsessed with an outdated system
Tries to keep up with an anxious character with ADHD who thinks she’s his assistant
Builds a connection with a character who smokes and talks in riddles and is completely fine, by the way
Wanders into the territory of a jealous bird who calls her a snake
Gets handed a baby by an unpleasant privileged character and instantly becomes unpaid childcare
Meets a charming ghost friend who shows up like an amateur but disappears like a professional
Follows etiquette at a dinner where everyone is clearly insane
At some point she adapts. Of course she does. She learns to be not too big, not too small. Just right. So she gets in. Oh, this is the loveliest garden you ever saw where roses are painted and everything is fake! Chaos, noise, and insane games of cards and croquet. People get their heads chopped off constantly, or at least are threatened with that. No one is good enough. Anyone can be guilty at any moment. Does Alice like it there? No. No one does. And she wants out more than she ever wanted in.
Now take that door and write on it, “The Industry,”and go back to the beginning.
© Natalia Nightingale-Grey. 2025. All rights reserved. Reposting or quoting is allowed only with proper credit and a link to the original.
