Through the looking glass

I hold my breath as we plunge into the woods and the Autumn light changes to sunshine under water and the wind blows with the sound of breakers on the beach and a shoal of leaves swims by. Ahead of us, a dormouse pauses, late for tea, and swims away through the trees. Alice, with a swish of her mermaid tail, darts after him.

I exhale - breathing out the last of reality - and willingly drown in underwater wonderland.