Red Riding Hood (#wattys2016)

Chapter Eight

I was shocked to see Gretel standing at my window. Her face covered with dirt and... candy. There were little pepper mints stuck to her hair and chocolate covering her blouse.

"Red! Red let me in!" she panted. I put my finger to my mouth and opened the window.

Once she could hear me I whispered, "Shh! Granny will be furious if she finds out you're here." I pull her over the windowsill and get her on her feet. Her breaths were trembling. She was scared. I've never seen Gretel scared. "What happened?"

"Hansel- Hansel- Hansel," she quavered.

"Shh! It's alright," I sat her on my bed. "Where's Hansel? What's wrong with him?" Gretel closed her eyes as she let her muffled sobs take over.

"Hansel's dead."

***

After Gretel and Hansel got kicked out they were on their own. Scavenging for food. Looking for a home. They decided to take it to the woods, where Gretel says they came upon smoke, probably from a chimney. They eventually found a house. Except it wasn't any old house. It was made of candy.

A little old woman was gardening out front.

"Eat as much as you'd desire," she laughed sweetly. Of course, Gretel and Hansel were starving, so they ate. They ate, and ate, and ate. Once they were inside they gathered around the oven and stared contently at the baking pies inside. "Would you like to eat it now?" asked the little old lady.

"Yum!" Gretel and Hansel laughed simultaneously. The little old woman opened the oven and asked Hansel if he'd take the pie out. Hansel peered in and grabbed the pie with his hands.

Hansel was in the oven before Gretel knew it. I could almost see the dread in her eyes as she told me. She told me her brother was cooked and probably eaten. She told me how she escaped from the witch. The odd thing was, we had the same thought.

Gretel was now a fairytale.