He was once dismissed as mad.
That was before anyone understood what he had seen.

Time does not pass in the Tulgey Wood.
It folds, repeats, fractures, returning moments to those who failed to understand them the first time.

The Hatter has lived those repetitions.
He has watched choices circle back.
He has seen what happens when the warning is ignored.

He does not speak in riddles.
He speaks in fragments , the only language time leaves intact.

When Alice returns, he is not surprised.

He has been expecting her.

Not because he knows what she will do……but because he knows what happens when she doesn’t.

He does not join her to guide the hunt.