Hansel and Gretel Find a Snack
L.C. Schäfer's Fucked up Fairytales
For L.C. Schafer's Fucked Up Fairytales unofficial challenge. 366 words before I added this bit!
Hansel vomited into the bucket again. No one looked very sympathetic.
"So you pushed her into the Aga?" Hansel thought he might be sick again.
"I think so. Yes. I pushed her." He could see himself doing it, but then he'd seen a lot of things.
"Hansel, Mrs Mastaroudes is in a very serious condition. Yet you don't seem sure."
"It was all... I don't...." Hansel started to cry.
He'd been the one in charge, he should never have let it happen, but when Gretel ran off, he had to go after her, didn't he? Then they'd both been lost. Dad would have known how to stave off hunger in the woods. He'd just been showing off, trying to look knowledgeable when she'd held out a handful of slim, grey-brown mushrooms. Now they were telling him he wasn't going to die, but he felt like he might.
"Where's Gretel?"
"I ATE her! Or... I don't know. She was with me at the house, and then, I think I ate her!"
The house had been something else. After the mushrooms, Hansel had started to wonder if all this had happened on purpose. Linda, their step-mum, was trying to get rid of him, he'd told Gretel, she wanted him out. Gretel had not argued. And then they had stumbled into the clearing and he'd seen the house. Yellow cake walls and striped candy woodwork, a gleaming boiled sugar roof, Hansel had been agape, and Gretel had laughed raucously. Until the woman came out.
Inside, the paranoia only built, and he recalled with another lurch of his stomach his terror as he had been offered dish after dish, certain the old witch was trying to kill him.
Now he remembered. Gretel had pushed her. Head first into the oven. "Linda sends her love!" she'd shouted.
"Gretel, you killed her!" he'd gasped.
"No one will believe you" she'd told him. "She wouldn't let me in on my own. Grandma can't stand girls. Don't know why." He'd watched as she gathered gold and jewellery from nooks and crannies around the house. "Anyway. I didn't. You did. Don't you remember? After she made you eat me all up."
Then, she was gone.
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Verdict In a Minute
This article serves as an index for my series of courtroom drama stories. I started out with the first story for the Just A Minute challenge and realized, prompted by Hannah Moore, that it could be told from different angles and perspectives of various characters.
By Lana V Lynx3 days ago in Fiction
When the commoners fight back
We had just reached the top of the hill when I turned around and shouted to Henry to hurry up. He had just jumped over the low boundary wall, his arm outstretched, and was running towards me and Jully. He was so close, just a little further and we could hold hands again. Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and everything went still. Jully screamed something behind me, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. I looked at Henry, and he looked back at me with eyes full of love, sadness, and pain. My eyes didn't follow his body as it fell, instead, they stayed put and locked with the most hated man, my eyes met the cold, dark, golden eyes of Sherrif Goodard. As I watched him load another bullet and roll it into the chamber, everything seemed to be in slow motion. I could hear the clink of the metal as it clicked into place. I didn't move, I couldn't really, because I was numb. I just glared down at the Sheriff, ready to accept my fate and hopefully join Henry in the skies. I didn't flinch as the gun was raised and aimed at my chest. The bang came again, and the bullet whizzed past me. But it didn't hit me. Jully had yanked me by the arm off the hill and pulled me forward as she ran into the woods beyond. I could still hear the marching of footsteps and clamor of voices as they pursued us, but they were too slow in their chunky, iron armor. Jully led me down an old path into the trees, but I didn't know where we were going. All I could think about was the image of Henry's face just before he fell and the little words he whispered. They sent my whole world spinning and crashing and healing, and I was a mess. Finally, we reached a large hole in a tree, and Jully pushed me inside before ducking under a bunch of vines. We were both safely hidden. The silence was worse than all the chaotic noise. My chest heaved as tears stung in my eyes, and my throat bobbed to keep from crying out. His bright eyes stared at mine, and his mouth moved, over and over in my head, listening to those words repeatedly. "I love you, little star."
By Digi Dragon 055 days ago in Fiction
Comments (11)
Yes, it is confusing but I think I would have just accepted this as a piece representing Hansel's confusion and that would have been that. Having read your self- examinatory piece and the comments, I can see that other readers wanted it to make sense whereas I would have thought it was just a bit of a bonkers trip.
Guy's bloody trippin' on the shrooms. 🤣
I'm with the others who've commented as to their confusion, but you have created something here. Might let it sit a bit and come back for a second read when my day's less packed.
This was... Confusing but also amazing 🤩 I had to read it twice 😄
haha...I was a little confused at first...then thought I had figured it out...Thavien's dissection helped a little, but I thought it was very entertaining and quite the trip, either way! Well done, glad you didn't hold onto this and went ahead and published! :)
Enjoyed it really well. Thank you!
I was as confused as John, lol. So grateful for Thavien's explanation to John, I now understand perfectly hehehehehehe. Now that was a freaking twisted story! Also, what is Aga?
Ok that is a trip and a half Totally a mushroom vibe going on
Oof. Maybe it’s because I’m moving to Missouri but this gave me ‘Gone Girl’ vibes. Gretel is a piece of work! This, however, was a great piece of work!
Well, at the expense of looking stupid, I’m just going to ask. Who’s Linda? Who’s Mrs. M? Who’s Grandma? I read this 3 times and still don’t who’s who. Wait … maybe I ate the Mushrooms.
*cracks knuckles* Time to comment!