The Alarming Scent of Cinnamon

I

Once upon a time, a woodcutter and his wife longed for a child. The woodcutter, named Gunter, was poor, so poor that his wife, Heidi, had to work as a seamstress. Even though there was not much money to go around, they still longed for a child. 

One day, their wish was granted, and a little boy was born. Overcome with joy, Heidi named him Hansel, which means "God is gracious". However, what they didn't count on was his twin sister. Heidi was so surprised, she named the child after the first thing that she saw: a pair of pearl earrings laying on a table. Thus, the little girl was named Gretel, meaning "pearl". Gunter and Heidi were filled with joy and worked harder than ever before to earn money for their beloved children.

Hansel and Gretel had a carefree childhood. Every now and then, their mother would tell tales of the Fae right after dinner. Hansel and Gretel both loved those nights, so much so that they spent most of their time in the woods, searching for Faeries. Their father, who knew the woods even better than the twins did, allowed them to play there under one very important condition: They must never go into the Dark Woods, where a mysterious fog coated the trees, hiding what lay ahead. Every night, their father told them,

"Stay away from the Dark Woods!"

And every night, Hansel and Gretel said something along the lines of,

"Yes, father!"

or

"Of course, Papa!"

Hansel and Gretel knew their father was always right, and so they never set a foot into the Dark Woods.

Sadly, Heidi died of a sickness when Hansel and Gretel were just 4. It was 5 years before Gunter married another woman, Carolina. The problem was, Carolina hated children. After putting up with Hansel and Gretel's antics for a year, she abandoned them in the woods at lunch, trying to get rid of them. She'd never paid enough attention to know that they knew the woods so well, they could find their way home with their eyes closed. 

Carolina was incredibly surprised when Hansel and Gretel sat down at the dinner table, no later than usual. She realized she would have to devise a more cunning plan to get rid of them. That night, she listened as their father put them to bed, hoping to hear something that would help her with her plan. 

She was sitting right outside the door, lisening, as their father told them,

"Stay away from the Dark Woods!"

She vaguely remembered her father telling her something similar. Yes, she remembered going up to the border of the Dark Woods. She remembered the fog, the spruce trees, the glowing lights and whispering voices. Carolina smiled faintly. Yes, she remembered the Dark Woods.

The next day, Hansel and Gretel played as they usually did. Gunter chopped as he usually did. Carolina cooked, as she normally did. But that night, Carolina, who had heard the twins talking about the Fae earlier, woke them up. 

"I saw a Faerie, out in the woods!" she said.

"Come quick, or you might miss it!"

Hansel and Gretel looked at each other, wide-eyed. They eagerly got up and followed their stepmother into the woods. They suspected nothing when she said,

"Close your eyes. It'll be a better surprise that way."

They did not feel it as the fog coiled around them. They did not hear the whispers as they crossed into the Dark Woods.

"Open your eyes,"

Carolina whispered.

Hansel and Gretel looked around. They were good children, and had never been in the Dark Wood. They didn't know where they were. They stood stone still, not wanting to scare off the Faerie, as Carolina made her way back to Gunter's cabin.

Finally, Gretel said,

"Hansel?"

and Hansel said,

"Yes?"

"There's no Faerie here. It must've left."

"Aw, drat." Hansel said. "Carolina, could you show us the way home?"

There was, of course, no response.

"Carolina?" Gretel said.

They turned to see her missing.

"Oh, no!" Gretel said. "She must have lost her way in the fog!"

"Fog?" Hansel said. "There's no fog in our woods,"

It was then that Hansel and Gretel realized where they were. Gretel grabbed Hansel's hand and began to lead the way through the fog.

"I think home is this way." she said.

And as the twins made their way through the Dark Woods, they heard the whispers. They saw the glowing lights. But they each kept a hold of the other's hand. Finally, they saw the outline of a house in the fog. It looked very much like their house.

"We made it!" Gretel said.

"Let's go get some sleep," Hansel said, yawning.

And the two children opened the door and walked into the house. 

"It smells like gingerbread!" Hansel said.

Gretel was too busy trying to find the gingerbread to respond.