Place. Your. Bets. NOW! The Rabbit says, “Cut the deck.” The hallway bends before I step. A Cheshire grin won’t leave the table. Every face card acts unstable. The Hatter pours another round. The tea keeps landing upside down. I ask the dealer, “What’s the game?” He smiles, “Depends which name.” The Queen keeps smiling through sharpened teeth. Every answer hides beneath. The cards don’t shuffle—they rearrange. The rules stay written. The hands all change. Ante your memories. Leave your doubt. Nothing gets in without cashing out. Trade your certainty. Lose your place. Everybody leaves without a face. She calls every hand… Then she smiles… “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” Better hold your cards… Better hold your breath… Everybody plays… Till there’s nobody left… OFF WITH YOUR HEAD! The river changed without a sound. Straight lines curled back underground. The flop looked familiar. I’d dreamed it before. Three little truths lay face-up on the floor. The King stood silent, afraid to choose. The Joker laughed with nothing to lose. The Rabbit whispered, “Time’s all spent.” The cards replied, “Time never went.” Every diamond caught the light. Every spade buried the night. Every club remembered pain. Every heart dealt love again. Diamonds glitter. Spades dig deep. Clubs remember what hearts can’t keep. Every wager costs a name. Nobody leaves the way they came. Full House… every room already knew me. Royal Flush… every crown fit somebody else’s story. Four of a Kind… same face, different lies. The Cheshire folded. Only the smile stayed behind. The Hatter raised without placing a bet. The Rabbit counted seconds never spent. The dealer cut the deck. The Queen cut deeper. She calls every hand… Then she smiles… “OFF WITH YOUR HEAD!” Better hold your cards… Better hold your breath… Everybody plays… Till there’s nobody left… OFF WITH YOUR HEAD! I finally reached the end of the maze. The dealer smiled, “Pick a card.” I looked down. Every card… Had my face.
