The carriage began to move with a gentle rattle, and the outside world slowly began to glide past the window. The rhythmic sound of the horses' hooves hitting the ground was so comforting that it felt like they were composing a melody that invited me to relax.
Alice floated in her seat, lost in her thoughts, carefully placing her hands on her lap and letting her gaze wander over the receding landscape. Her eyes reflected a nostalgic calm as she watched the mansion and gardens fade into the distance. For her, that place had been her whole world for much of her life.
I, on the other hand, simply closed my eyes and leaned back, enjoying the rocking of the carriage. And for the first time in a long time, a feeling of freedom began to fill my chest.
The path we were travelling along was lined with leafy trees, whose branches intertwined naturally to form a tunnel.
