Lured [The Broken Lollipop]

Lost

 Special thanks to: Portia_whitlock for the first edit, xTwistedlove for the cover beside and many thanks for my very talented editor, BrokenPorcelainDoll ,to whom I dedicate this chapter to.

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The morning was quiet. Golden fingers of sunlight lit up the room, while birds' chorus filled the air. All was peaceful. Mother and Father had not tried to take us to the woods yesterday and the day before, so I guessed that the whole 'abandon children in woods' scheme was out of their mind already. Hansel's bruises had started to turn yellowish-purple, a sign of healing. He could move but his stomach still hurt from the beating.

Mia knocked at the door and opened it sligthly.

"Hansel, Gretel. Let us go find herbs for you (Hansel) in the forest while I teach you two about them," she called, her eyes glinting in the sunlight.

I helped Hansel up, and we went out of our house. While walking, I realized we were heading toward somewhere I was not familiar with.

"Where are we going?" I asked, fear creeping into my voice.

"To the heart of the forest, where herbs are commonly found," she answered, not turning back to meet my gaze.

I was starting to grow suspicious of her bringing us to 'find and learn about herbs'. Was she attempting to leave us in the forest again? Hansel seemed to notice too, and started to slow down.

"Maybe we should just leave Hansel to rest at home," I said, my voice quavering.

"No. I am only going to teach you about this once," she said firmly, quickening her pace.

We reached the place finally. She gave us each a knife and taught us how to indentify and use the herbs correctly. My suspicions began to disappear gradually as time passed.

An hour later, she stopped and said, "I will find other rare herbs there," pointing her finger to the west.

My fears returned immediately. She was going to leave us after all.

I grasped her arm and tried to stop her, "Mother, please don't leave us!" I wailed, salty tears rolling down the sides of my face.

She tried to pull my hand off but I grasped harder.

"I'm just going there Gretel!" She yelled, pushing me onto the ground.

She ran off to the darkness. I got up to run after her, but she had already disappeared from the limitation of my sight.

When I got back, Hansel has already started a fire. I sat beside him, my shoulders heaving as I silently cried.

"I guess we're all alone," Hansel said.

I looked up and stared at his muddy face and soiled clothes. I realized I was in the same soiled dress as the other day. I checked my pockets, only to find the rope I knotted while waiting. Hopelessness crashed on us like a tsunami, swallowing us into its depths. We spent the night there with no water and no food; but the raspberries which we were both allergic to. Eventually, we fell asleep, our stomachs hungry and unfilled, our bodies cold and shivering.

A loud sound woke me up. I looked around, but could see nothing in the darkness. I shook Hansel.

"Hansel, I heared something." I whispered. He immediately woke up and examined the vicinity carefully.

After a while, he turned to me and said," I don't think there's anyone or anything out th..."

Just before he could finish his sentence, a wolf pounced on him from behind. I stifled a scream. Hansel struggled to get out of the wolf's claws, but to no avail. Snapping out of my reverie, I grabbed the knives Mother had given us. Running up to the wolf, I climbed onto it's back and stabbed both it's eyes. Crimson blood surged out of the gaping wounds. The wolf howled in pain, before it snarled, trying to shake me off it's back. I drove the knives into it's back and stabbed it repeatedly with as much strength as I could muster. Finally, the wolf's howls dwindled into whimpers, and then silence.

"Looks like God brought us dinner," Hansel said, wiping the wolf's blood off his face.

"An aggressive one." I agreed.

We opened the wolf's stomach and found some kind of mangled red cape or coat in it.

"Guess, it ate someone in the forest," Hansel said, shrugging.

We cooked the wolf's inside without even washing it, and ate half of that thing. Yes, we were incredibly hungry.

Dawn broke, and soon, the sun was shining, as radiant as ever. Hansel walked in between the towering trees, searching for the way home, though he was careful not to stray too far off. An hour later, he came back and sat next to me.

"Let's try recalling it," he suggested.

Silence filled the place.

"I think it's south, east, east, then north," I said, trying to dredge up the events that had happened.

"What?" Hansel asked incredulously.

"Ugh. Let's just try," I said, grabbing my knife in case we met another wolf along the way.

I walked in the directions I had partially remembered. I turned and turned without even knowing where I was going, making sure to keep up my facade of knowing the way.

"Do you really know where we are going?" Hansel asked, burying his face in his hands.

"I do, just wait," I replied confidently, my hear sinking with every turn I made.

Finally I confessed to him, "I think we are more lost than before," I said sheepishly.