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Hansel & Gretel, a
Postscript -
James Valvis After they
tricked the witch into the
oven, the Candy House caught fire. The sky reeked of charred
marshmallows and,
when the odor reached the animals, they left their nests to watch the
witch
burn. Hansel held
Gretel in his arms as she
wept. They'd escaped the witch, but now what? Where would they go?
Certainly
not home to that brutal mother, that father who obeys every immoral
order, just
for the sake of peace. Besides, they'd
lived in the Candy
House ten years. By now Ma and Pa probably had a new Hansel, a new
Gretel, and
maybe a George and a Betty too. Maybe they packed up and moved to Ohio.
To make matters
worse, Hansel weighed
350 and Gretel was shaped like a molasses cookie. Both wore acne scars
from years
of chocolate. And neither could they handle hard labor, the kind of
work life
in the forest demanded. So Gretel wept
bitterly and Hansel
held her, not so much to comfort as to keep warm in the growing chill,
as they
watched the Candy House pop and sizzle into syrup Then they were
alone, standing in the
trees, shivering, their minds turning to a happier time when they first
arrived
in the forest and the witch fed them, gave them shelter. How little they
appreciated it back
then. Sweet were the
memories of her
breakfasts. Sweet the sight of her old face. Sweet the twig they poked
out of
their cage to hide their girth. Sweet the aroma of cooked children who
hadn't
been quite as smart or lucky. And as the night
grew thick in the
limbs of the trees and a piercing wind picked up, freezing their bones,
their
stomachs groaned as never before until they looked at one another,
brother and
sister, and each could not help but think of dinner. James
Valvis is the author of HOW TO SAY
GOODBYE (Aortic Books, 2011). His poems or stories have appeared in
Arts &
Letters, Chiron Review, Daily Science Fiction, Natural Bridge, River
Styx,
Strange Horizons, The Sun, and many others. His poetry has been
featured in Verse
Daily and the Best American Poetry website. His fiction was chosen for
the 2013
Sundress Best of the Net. In 2014 he was awarded a King County 4Culture
Grant
for the Arts. A former US Army soldier, he lives near Seattle. You can
visit
him here: valvis.net |
