Narito ang isang maikling kwento para sa ating antolohiya na may temang Twisted Fairytales mula sa isang talentadong manunulat sa ating community. Pinamagatang Of Monstrous Beliefs and Monsters Within, ang kwentong ito ay isinulat ng walang sinuman kundi ni evrryever. Halina't tayo'y magsimula.
In the seemingly peaceful town surrounded by the thick, eerie white pine grove and sugar maple trees, an unusual gloominess hung over the small houses of the townspeople. Perhaps it might've been brought on by the unnecessary shades of the nearby trees, but somehow, no matter how much sunlight shone upon their quaint town, it seemed as though there was always this unsettling darkness hovering around them.
In this close-knit community, there was a popular folklore story about a wicked witch living in the middle of a foggy forest in search of easy prey to satiate her unceasing hunger for human flesh.
They say that the witch had a peculiar taste for meat and could only stomach the tender taste of children ages six to eleven years old. Any younger than that would be tasteless, and any older than the said range would be too stale for the witch to enjoy its premium-quality taste.
Hoping to lure innocent children to let down their guard and come inside her abode, the witch devised a foolproof plan that would entice any youngsters to knock on her door.
The said plan involved an intricate and ingenious creation of hers: a house made from edible gingerbread with an irresistible spicy and sweet aroma of nutmeg and cinnamon that wafted in the air even from a mile away, along with various decorations made of delectable sweets—luscious cakes, mouthwatering tarts, barley-sugar cookies, you name it.
Once every full moon, it was said that the witch would bake countless cakes one could ever imagine and would use their sweet smell to lure the villagers into following the appealing scent.
As time went by, a surge of various renditions of the folklore came into the equation. Some gave the story a twist of their own, adding specific details about the witch just to make sure that their children would never wander off on their own into the tabooed forest close to their town.
Some versions say that the witch looked just like a regular granny, with gnarled hands and a smile that seemed to exude warmth—a facade used to appear as a harmless grandma who only wanted to share the joy of eating sweets to hide her evil intent.
However, other parents disagreed with this and argued that this version would leave their children confused about whom to trust. To prove their point, they added that it would be better if they described the witch as a vile-looking creature with nothing but malice in her eyes, pitch-black hair as tough as her broom, a pointed nose, and wrinkled skin that made her face beyond recognizable.
They pointed out that in this way, their children would know at a glance what kind of creature they should never approach.
Yet some parents insisted that appearances could be deceiving, especially with witches, since they have the power to alter their looks.
Even after a long debate, the two opposing sides never agreed on this matter.
And so, the townspeople had no choice but to use the two versions of the folklore story, instilling fear in the children to never disobey their parents' warnings.
Little did they know, their children's strong belief in the witch's existence in the woods would turn their harmless folklore story into reality.
They had no idea how their nightmare started, but one fine day, one of the farmer's daughters went missing for a whole day and never came back. They searched through every nook and cranny of their town, but they had no such luck. Some townspeople who trade their goods in their closest neighboring town asked some passersby and other traders if they ever saw a little girl in a yellow raincoat and pigtails wandering across the bustling streets of their place, but all of them only shook their heads in pity.
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FantasyPH Anthologies
Short StorySundan ang mga tinatanging maikling kwento mula sa mga Fantasy authors dito sa Wattpad. 2023 Quarter 1 Prompt: Twisted Fairy Tales 2024 Quarter 1 Prompt: Filipino Legends with a Twist Nais mo bang masali sa anthology? Basahin ang Guidelines para mat...