Laghukatha: A Collection Of Short Stories

PART III| Hansel and Gretel Retelling

Moonlight filtered in through the little rectangular window in the shabby room. A silhouette of two little children could be seen in the far end of the room. A boy and a girl. The children, huddled together in search of some warmth, perked up at the sound of their parents' hushed voices in the next room. Hunger and starvation shone on their faces and hopeful desperation painted their eyes as they strained to hear what was being said in the next room. The little girl had her fingers crossed, hoping and praying that their parents had got something to eat.

"We can't, Henrietta. They are our children."

"Be sensible. If we keep them here, all of us will die. Have you forgotten what happened to your first wife when she had Hansel?"

"It doesn't matter. We'll find a way to survive. I can't leave my children out there in the forest when the whole village is starving."

"If you wish for each one of us to die of starvation, then so be it! I hope there won't come a day when we won't have even a grain of wheat to eat."

The voices ceased and the children could hear footsteps coming their way. They hastily pretended to be asleep so as to not raise any suspicion upon themselves. It was their stepmother, they were sure. With a soft sigh she lowered herself to the ground beside the little boy's head. As she caressed his soft hair she promised to herself that these two wouldn't return home with her and her husband tomorrow.

Around midnight, the children were woken up by gentle taps on their shoulders. As they opened their eyes, the lightly wrinkled face of their father came into view and they hastily sat up straight.

"Papa?"

"Shhh..." their father placed his finger over his lips. "Your stepmother is bent on leaving you in the forest tomorrow." He placed a handful of shiny pebbles on each of their hands before standing up to leave. "I hope you can figure out your way home, my children.", he said before exiting their room.

Fear wiped off all the hunger on the little girl's face. "Hansel, what are we to do?" she whispered, her voice trembling.

"Don't be scared, Gretel. We won't be helpless out there. Look! These stones shine in the light. Papa won't let her leave us out there." The little boy tried to assure his elder sister. He felt clueless regarding how to do the job, for it was always him who had to be comforted by his sister, not the other way round.

"That's the problem. Papa expects us home." Seeing the clueless confusion on her brother's tired face, Gretel decided to elaborate further. "Let's just say that our mother didn't die because of childbirth. She did pass away a few days after you were born, but the main cause of her death was starvation and after her death, we didn't go hungry for days."

Early next morning, even before the sun had woken up, the little family of four headed off towards the forest. The little sister trailed behind their parents and her little brother trailed behind her, dropping the pebbles their father had given them the night before. He had a plan... he would use the pebbles to mark the path they went into the forest and when it was night again, he would lead his sister back home. 'She will be so much proud of me.' He thought childishly.

Gretel observed her surroundings fondly as the first rays of the sunlight settled upon the earth. The golden rays added much beauty to the forest, she realized. She couldn't help but feel as if she was in a fairytale as she glanced at the dew smiling at her from their resting place on the leaves. As she trailed behind her parents, she recalled those times when she had visited the same forest with her birth-mother and the lovely fairytales she had told her when Gretel was little. 'There are fairies and unicorns in these forests and they help little children who are left alone here, mamma used to tell.' Gretel recalled those fond memories. 'Ah... but don't forget, Gretel. Mamma used to tell that there are witches here, too. Good witches and bad witches.' She chided herself.