Fantasia

Gingerbread House

Tall grasses swayed in the wind. Eddy slowly opened his eyes in his dreams, knowing full well where he was. He has been taken to this place countless times, whenever his stomach was a hollow mess before going to sleep. 

A majestic gingerbread house stood in the center of the grass field. It was a towering mansion built with sweet cakes and jellies, turrets with whipped cream and syrups, decorated with chocolates and candies. Eddy couldn't help but drag his feet toward the house, his eyes opening up in sugary delight when he greedily stuffed one of the orange chocolate bricks into his mouth. He lunged into the house like a predator, demolishing the door and furniture one by one. He ate and ate, his hands relentlessly digging through gooey layers of smores. His mouth was full and wet, breadcrumbs spewing everywhere as he chomped through the sticky sweets. He would have stayed in this house forever, sinking into the sugar-high nap while laying on the marshmallow pillows but he knew he had to leave soon whenever the clock rang eleven. 

"The witch is coming! The witch is coming!" A shrill voice of an owl echoed through the forest when the time came. That was when Eddy will now drag his enormous belly to the grass field again, guiltily smacking his lips as he waddled away from the house as best as his heavy body will allow. As soon as he reached the end of the field, he woke up from his dream, his jaws hurting from grinding them throughout the night. 

This dream went on no different than the other dreams he had at first. Eddy's cheek was full of crumbs when the clock rang eleven again. 

"The witch is coming! The witch is coming!" 

Eddy sighed in frustration, shamefully biting on the last of the licorice strips on the closet. He burped loudly, feeling full to the brim. Patting his round belly, he wobbled to the end of the field to be awake again. 

"...What?" Eddy muttered in disbelief when he reached the end of the field. 

The world was getting dark. Stars were beginning to shine through the sky. Moon was peeking from the mountain. And yet, he was still here, in his dreams. 

"Hello? I'm still...here? I'm in my own dream? Let me out!" Eddy shouted to the sky. 

Only a wind swept through the grass field in a response, shaking Eddy to the bone. 

"The witch is near! The witch is near!" The owl screeched above Eddy, flying around in a circle. Eddy had no idea who this witch was, but he was not about to get cooked in the oven anytime soon like in the tale in Hanzel and Gretel. Also, he knew he probably ate the witch's favorite marzipan pottery already, which wouldn't work in his favor at all. 

Eddy's eyes darted to the dark forest in front of him that was connected to the edge of the grass field. He has never ventured into the forest before as he was too busy stuffing himself in the gingerbread house all the time. Maybe the forest will lead him back home, or at least give him some hiding spots from the witch, Eddy thought. 

Eddy stepped a small step into the forest, gently pushing away some branches from the trees. 

"Ow!" Eddy instantly put his finger into his mouth to taste a small droplet of blood. Leaning down to have a closer look, Eddy realized the entire forest was made of thorn trees, rattling in the cold wind. His fingers were pricked by the bushes that were surrounding the opening of a small trail. 

"Who are you?" A young voice called from above. 

Startled, Eddy looked up to see a small figure perched on the top of one of the thorn trees, looking down at him. It was a small boy with a silver mask that covered his entire face, wearing a black cloak that encloses his small frame. 

"I'm...I'm Eddy." Eddy stuttered. "Who are you?" 

"I'm the phantom of the forest of knives," the boy smirked. He looked more like a wild bird than a human being, precariously dangling from the trees as if he can't be bothered by the sharp thorns he was sitting on. "What brings you here, to my forest?" 

"I'm...lost?" Eddy scratched his head. "I...I usually wake up when I walk here but -" 

"I can see that," the boy laughed. "You are that thief of the gingerbread house, right? I've seen you from far away."

"You have been watching me?" 

"Can't really help. You were right there in front of my forest, gorging through that beautiful cookie house all night. The witch is furious, you bet." 

"I need to go back home. Why...why can't I wake up?" 

"The witch has changed the code to escape this land."

"Why?"

"To catch the thief, of course," the boy shrugged. "Oh, I bet she prepared all kinds of delightful tortures prepared for you." 

"I can't. I- I need to go home," Eddy shook his head. "Please tell me how I can get out. I need to go home, now!" 

"I do know the code. I'm very good at eavesdropping from the branches, you see....." The boy twirled his short hair in his fingers. "What do I get in return though?" 

"What do you want?" 

"I need an invitation," the boy replied. "You see, I'm a phantom destined to stay in this forest forever. I need an invitation from the outlander to get out of here, once in a while." The boy hopped lightly from the branch, landing on the land with no sound. "Just say that you invite me to your world. That is all I need." 

"...it is that simple?" Eddy squiggles his eyebrows in confusion. 

"It is that simple," the phantom nodded.

"Sure, I invite you to my world, phantom of the forest of ... whatever, was it knives?" 

The phantom giggled, pushing Eddy to the edge of the grass field again. 

"The code to get out of here is: Beware of the raisins, they are dreadful little surprises. Chant them three times and you will be out of here." 

"Thank you," Eddy whispered in a hurry. "Beware of the raisins, they are dreadful little surprises. Beware of the raisins, they are dreadful little surprises. Beware of the raisins-" 

"It was nice seeing you, Eddy." 

"-they are dreadful little surprises-" 

"I will see you soon again." 

Eddy woke up with a gasp, drenched from head to toes. His sheet was wet with sweat. He walked shakily to the bathroom, checking his reflection in the mirror. 

He was here, in the real world again. He has finally escaped. 

Eddy sieved through his memory with quick breaths, trying to remember his dream in detail. The thorn bush. The weird phantom in a black cloak. A raisin chanting. And a huge gingerbread house that he gorged through-

Eddy ran to the toilet, retching whatever was left in his stomach. He felt sick thinking back to the cookie house, feeling completely mortified about how he ate like a pig in his dreams. His knuckles went white as he gagged into the white porcelain, tears flowing through the corner of his eyes and landing on the water beneath him. 

Nothing came out of his stomach except yellow liquid though, which made Eddy feel better. After flushing the toilet, Eddy washed his hands. By the time he was back in his room, he had forgotten all about the dreams and was ready to go practice again. 

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<Author's note> 

Thank you for reading! Feedback/comments are always appreciated :)