Tim’s eyes snapped open as he heard the barking of a dog in the distance. The park retained its summer luster, but a chill ran through his body. He thought of the young woman, representative of all young women, dancing hypnotically in the night club. He thought of Julie, and the slow waltz that they danced on the night that he first met. He again felt his limbs heavy with age and regret. Last he had heard, Julie was happy and living with a boyfriend in some other state. He never saw her again. Deep down, he was happy that Julie was able to find someone who could give her what she deserved, someone who could be sated in a way that Tim never could. He looked back over at the statue and started to notice that it was part of a larger set of statues. They lined the edge of the park. Each was modeled after a character in Alice in Wonderland. He’d always loved that book. Tim raised himself painfully off of the bench that he had been sitting on and made his way over to the statue that he had been looking at. As he approached, he noticed that it was a representation of the Mock Turtle. He stooped down to read the plague at the foot of the statue.
“’What matters it how far we go?’ his scaly friend replied
‘There is another shore, you know, upon the other side.
The further off from England the nearer is to France --
Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance.
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?
Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, won't you join the dance?’” – Lewis Carroll*
He smiled sadly and turned to go home. As he walked, he slowly started to sway from side to side, dancing to music that only he could hear.
