The Gingerbread War

The House of Gingerbread was a delightful little Café in a quaint old village in the countryside. It was a family café run by Alice and her two daughters. It was famous for the gingerbread display they kept all year round in the window of the café (Gingerbread Valley). It was a grand display, made entirely from candy and gingerbread. During the day, it was full of visitors who’d come to sample the delicious treats made fresh that morning. It was especially popular at Christmas. The café was always full of life even after closing.

On the eve of December 1st, the official Christmas holiday season, as was the tradition in The House of Gingerbread, Alice and her oldest daughter Beth were stocking the pantry after hours to prepare for the Christmas baking season. It was already dark out, and Beth was helping her mum in the back room whilst the café lay in darkness, already closed up for the evening. Now in the dim glow of the old street lamps, Gingerbread Valley stirred into life, and there was quite a fuss. The gingerbread men and women had come to life like they did each night, and they were busy preparing for the annual Christmas festival. The village elders gathered all the young gingerbread children around to recite the story of the Great Christmas Quest. Every year on the Eve of December 1st, the Great Star would shine over the valley, and the mystical humans would select one lucky gingerbread man to embark on a great quest. All the gingerbread people were aware of the humans, but very few had ever seen them, only a handful of village elders. They were the only gingerbread men to ever return from the Great Christmas Quest and were revered by all.

In Gingerbread Valley, two villages of rival Gingerbread clans, The Chocolate Buttons and the Gummy Drops live close together. The two clans barely get along. The Christmas festival lay at the centre of their feud. The Gummy Drops believe themselves better than the Chocolate Buttons, who they consider boring and old fashioned. Each year the Gummy Drops make the festival bigger and brighter, to the dismay of the Chocolate Buttons. They were the first to settle in the valley and make up the majority of village elders who disapprove of how the festival has evolved. They believe all the colour and parade of the Gummy Drops has turned the festival into a big party and lost sight of its true meaning. However, they agreed on one thing The Christmas Quest was a sacred tradition that must always endure.

Truth be told, the elders shared little details about the origins of the quest or the human world. The elders of both clans had long declared that no gingerbread man or woman was ever allowed to leave the Gingerbread Valley, and the Marshmallow Fudge Mountains were strictly forbidden. They could follow the Caramel River only as far as the entrance to the Candy Cane forest but no further. However, last Christmas, two young Gingerbreads were apprehended trying to enter the forest. They were subsequently banished from their villages to the quiet outpost down by the Caramel River. Early that evening, the two of them had argued with the village elders, wanting to know more about the human world. The elders refused to entertain their curiosity and sent them away, which only encouraged them further. Instead, they agreed to join forces and planned to venture to the Marshmallow Fudge Mountains to investigate. They were stopped on the edge of Candy Cane Forest by the village guards later that evening.

Caleb and Mitzi were from rival clans, but since being banished together had bonded and become close friends. Since then, their scepticism had only grown, and they’d come to believe the human world lay just beyond the Marshmallow Fudge Mountains. Now, the sound of the festival had reached the outpost. Caleb and Mitzi were determined to re-join their villages and seek the answers to their questions. What lies beyond the mountains? What happens on the quest?

By now, the party was in full swing. Caleb and Mitzi left the outpost and ventured over the hills to the edge of Chocolate Button village, where the guards stopped them. As they began pleading with the guards for entry, a bright light illuminated the valley. The Great Star had shone, and the village lay still in silent anticipation. A human hand fell from the sky, and all the gingerbread remained still as if frozen. Caleb watched in horror as Timothy ascended to the sky. He had been chosen. And as quickly as the star had appeared, it was now gone and Timothy with it. The valley descended into darkness, and the night returned. Timothy was a Gummy Drop and an old school friend of Caleb’s, his family joyously celebrated their son’s achievement, and the village erupted into celebrations. Caleb turned to Mitzi, “come on, let’s go,” and they headed back down the hill to the little huts by the river. Caleb was full of determined vigour as he began packing a bag. He was heading to the mountains in search of his friend. “I’m coming with you”, said Mitzi. “Are you sure? It could be dangerous,” he replied. “Yes, but we have to go now while the guards are distracted. I saw an old cookie raft in the storage shed; we can take that.” River rafting was part of the elder ban, but it was the quickest way to travel. “They’ll never be able to catch us”, she finished. “Ok, let’s go,” said Caleb with urgency.

The raft had seen better days, but despite missing a few crumbs, remained seaworthy. They hopped aboard and paddled downriver towards the forest. They looked back towards the village as the lights and sounds of the festival faded into the distance. They were alone, with no guards in sight. Nervous but excited, they floated past the tree line and entered the Sugar Cane Forest for the first time. “It’s beautiful,” Mitzi remarked, “come on, let’s keep moving” Caleb was in a hurry and had no time to stop and appreciate his surroundings. “We need to get to Timmy before it’s too late”. They rowed the raft ashore and began hiking through the trees to the foot of the forbidden Marshmallow Fudge Mountains. With the sound of concern rich in her voice, “they’re too big. We’ll never make it”. “Don’t worry, I brought climbing gear”, Caleb replied reassuringly. “Where did you find that?” she asked. “Buried behind the old raft, I thought it would come in handy”. Caleb pulled out some climbing rope made from liquorice laces and two chocolate pickaxes, and they began their ascent.

After a long and challenging journey, they finally reached the peak of the mountains. From here, they could see the whole valley; their home looked so small and far away. “I’m scared,” said Mitzi. “Me too,” conceded Caleb, his confidence now wading. “But we’re doing this for Timmy, remember”, hoping to ease her nerves as well as his own. Caleb looked out beyond the mountains into the dark “what can you see?” asked Mitzi cautiously, “I’m not sure”, he replied. “Wait. Over there, the star in the distance. Look, it’s Timmy!”.

Alice’s daughter Beth was standing in the light of the back room, waiting for her mum to close up. She held a gingerbread man in her hand. Each year, as was tradition, when Beth accompanied her mother to the café, she was allowed to pick one item from the gingerbread display to enjoy. Alice had allowed her to do so one evening when she was younger as a reward for resisting all the sugary temptation around her. Since then, it had become a custom for Beth to eat some gingerbread once they’d finished stocking the pantry ready for the morning. Tonight was no different. With a big smile on her face, Beth took a bite of her gingerbread treat. “Oh my god, they ate Timmy!” cried Caleb. “The humans are monsters!” screamed Mitzi, “we must warn the others!”. Horrified by what they’d just witnessed, they raced back to the village as fast as they could.

When they finally made it back to the village, it was late, and the village elders were already asleep. Tired but determined, they pleaded with the guards to let them pass, explaining what had happened. Visibly upset, the guards agreed to escort them to the elders of each village to wake them. As they moved from one door to the next, the other villagers gathered to investigate the commotion. They gasped in horror as Caleb and Mitzi retold their story. “Was it true?” they asked. Had the elders lied to them. Mitzi demanded answers. Edwin, the oldest and the first to ever return from the quest, spoke on behalf of all the elders, “it is true what you say”. Panic and fear began to spread as he continued. “I only survived because my biscuit had lost its crumble. Tossed back to the foot of the mountains, discarded but alive.”

Edwin explained how poor Joseph was left for dead, his leg bitten off. “He barely survived”, his voicing breaking. Then, pausing for a moment, he explained how the festival was created as a lie to protect them from the truth. “For the good of our people”, he said proudly. The crowd erupted in anger. The interrogation ensued. By now, all the villagers were present.

“I say we go to war to protect our home!” Caleb announced with fiery intent. “Let’s do it for Timmy!” demanded Timothy’s father to a huge cheer from the crowd. “For Timmy”, they chanted!

That night they plotted an uprising. Once the elders were onboard, they imparted all they knew about the human world and how they might stage a war. Every single gingerbread man, woman and child prepared for battle. They marched to the river and boarded a fleet of cookie rafts hidden under a blanket of cream. They marched through the Candy Cane Forest, up the Marshmallow Fudge Mountain, and down the other side. Using the liquorice ropes, they descended to the Café floor, leaving Gingerbread Valley behind for the first time. Following the elder’s directions, they made their way behind the café counter and located the mystic birthplace of the first gingerbread man (the oven). They began baking their supplies using the sacred scripture (recipe); it was a team effort. They started small, baking swords and spears. Eventually, they rolled out giant catapults and even aeroplanes to form their ground and air attacks. They sculpted boulders out of ice to load the catapults and worked through the night preparing for battle.

The next morning before sunrise, Alice and her two daughters arrived at the cafe and opened the doors to an unsuspecting war. The street was still dark and quiet; everybody was sleeping. They’d arrived early for the big Christmas bake. As Alice entered, she was shocked to see gingerbread men all over the Café; they were everywhere. There were gingerbread men on the tabletops, stools, chairs, and even on the ceiling fans “oh my god”, exclaimed Alice. Before they could gather their response, Caleb ordered the attack. Alice and her daughters came under fire, bombarded with gingerbread spears and arrows flying at them from all angles. It was mayhem.

They instinctively waved their hands to block the attacks, but some gingerbread men were hit by the ricochets as spears and arrows bounced back off their arms. “Men down!” screamed Mitzi. Upon seeing this apparent defiant act of retaliation, Caleb orders the planes to begin their assault. They swooped down from above and began dropping icing sugar bombs. The girls ducked and dived, but there was nowhere to hide. The bombs exploded into clouds of sugar. Beth cried out to Alice, “Mum, I can’t see”. “What’s happening?” shouted Connie (the youngest daughter). Before Alice could respond, she was struck with a boulder of ice “ow, that hurts”, she exclaimed as the catapults reached their target. “Watch out, girls”, she warned her daughters as sugar and ice rained down on them. “Why are the gingerbread men attacking us?” Beth shouted. “Why are they alive?” she cried in bemusement. “I don’t know, but we need to do something”, Alice replied. Just as she spoke, the ground troops advanced and began their assault, some even on horseback. They prepared for everything.

Connie screamed as they jumped on top and spiked her with spears. She swung out in fear and sent Gingerbread soldiers flying through the air “oh no”, she cried. Connie didn’t want to hurt them, but she had to protect herself. “Stop! Stop!” She screamed. “Mum, they’re hurt; we have to help them”. Hearing the concern in her daughter’s voice, she knew this had gone on too long. It was time to end it. Alice reached for a napkin, fashioned a makeshift white flag, and began waving it as a sign of surrender. Mitzi called to Caleb, “they surrender; the war is over!” Caleb obliged and called their assault to halt. “Victory!” he cheered. The gingerbread people rejoiced.

A vast sugar cloud covered the battlefield. From the outside, it looked magical, with only the street lamps illuminating the beloved café. It looked as though it were snowing inside. But as the clouds of sugar began to disperse, Caleb and Mitzi looked out across the battlefield with concern. There were gingerbread men strewn everywhere. The café was a scene of sugary devastation. “Look what you’ve done!” shouted Caleb. Shocked to understand him, “I don’t understand. We made you with love”, responded Alice. “Then why do you eat us?” demanded Mitzi.

Alice tried to ease the tension in the room; there were a lot of confusing feelings to be felt with such an unusual event. She composed herself and calmly explained the human world to the gingerbread people, making it clear that they’d never seen or heard of living gingerbread before. Had they’d known, it would never have happened. Alice apologised and proposed a truce. If the gingerbread agreed to return to Gingerbread Valley, she would make sure no gingerbread (person or animal) would be harmed again. They were officially off the menu! Beth and Connie nodded along wholeheartedly. Alice even promised to help the injured gingerbread soldiers and would repair any damage caused to their village. Caleb and Mitzi agreed.

Satisfied that the gingerbread people would be safe, they all headed home triumphant, the injured men in tow, with icing stitches and sugar cane crutches. All the Gingerbread men and women made it home to the valley, where Edwin and the village elders greeted them. They thanked Caleb and Mitzi for bringing peace to the land and welcomed them back to the village, lifting their banishment. Edwin announced that the two clans had now reconciled their differences, and from that point on, the gingerbread men and women would be free to explore their land. In celebration, the villagers turned to Caleb and Mitzi, hoisted them up in the air and paraded them through town as heroes.