summary: even if it meant that he spent more time away from you, than with you—for the safety of everyone living in this city, including you, he will keep going. if it were to protect everyone here, if it were to protect you, he will keep going. for your smile, for your laughter, his sun.
if it were for your happiness, he will keep going.
a/n: idk i guess i wanted to use a fairytale as an elaborate metaphor for reader's relationship,,,, with someone els e dkajfkaf
famished, it had been 3 days since the miserable children wandered the cold, forgotten woods together. it had been 3 days since their parents promised them that they wouldn't be left behind. they flinched at every sound, every crunch, every noise a potential danger. wary of any movement, and standing immobile, on high alert, at the slightest provocation. was it the unsympathetic wind pursuing them or had the ravenous wolves caught their scent? roaring, did the rapids oppose their presence, or had their shuffling awoken the starving bear? did the branches snap under their footsteps or were the shadows stalking them?
hungry, cold, disoriented, scared, worn out. hungry. and they were so hungry… the youngest struggled to keep up with the eldest, stumbling, no longer able to stay on her feet and tread the inhospitable forest for much longer. but she did not say a word, not wanting to burden her brother any further—after all, he could’ve abandoned her long ago. much like their parents had given up on them. and so she allowed herself to be dragged by her brother.
there was no more trail to follow. scattered and confused. there was nothing to go back to.
has it really been for survival? she doubted the verity of their words: were there so little food that it was worth trading their children for? what kind of parents abandoned their children anyway? the young girl cursed. had it been really that easy to leave them? were they really that worthless and unimportant? the question turned around and around in her head, as the pair wandered round and round the forest, losing themselves even more.
one fateful day, the wretched pair stumbled upon a house most peculiar. the clearing, unlike the rest of the sombre forest, was bathed in the sun’s glory. it flowed inside the house through the window panes, which, upon closer inspection, appears to have been made of clear sugar. in fact, the walls of the house were made of gingerbread, and decorated with a random assortment of sweets. the roof itself being made out of shortcake. desperately hungry, her brother ran ahead and began to nibble on the house. soon after, he beckoned his sister, who hesitated, to join him. but before she had the chance to follow him, a voice resonated from within the house.
« nibble, nibble, little mouse. who is nibbling at my house? »
called up the snake.
« oh, you dear children, who brought you here? it purred. just come in and stay with me. no harm will come to you. »
despite how cold and hungry they felt, the two faltered and took a few steps back, not quite trusting the slithering creature’s promise. its silvery tongue and the sweet allure of food, of someplace warm, of a purpose, proved to be too much for the young children and the two, though the youngest with more difficulty than the eldest, eventually joined the viper. it was not like they had anywhere else they could go, anywhere else where they belonged.
at first, it had been idyllic, perfect: the two ate their fill and received the riches they desired, the gold and the lights blinding them. but soon, truth reared its ugly head: the serpent put the brother to work, doing its bidding and dirty work, sweeping and cleaning its hut while it locked the sister away in a bedroom tucked away in the corner of the abode, kept unaware of what truly happened to her brother.
come every evening, the latter would collapse, sometimes even looking as if he had one foot in the grave. despite his state, the girl remained quiet, never prying too much. it was not like her brother was in any state to answer her, nor did he seem like he wanted to. not wanting to intrude, the girl kept her suspicions to herself. she did not like the place they had found themselves in, she did not want to stay any longer, but she did not say a word, afraid that it would make things worse. if she made plans on how to escape this wretched prison, then she kept it herself.
would it have been better had they starved together in the woods? she wondered.
one night, when the sky was particularly dark, when the air had been particularly cold and stale, the boy rushed to his sister and shook her:
« i know you have been planning a way out of here. he revealed to her in a hushed voice. tonight is the night. he said hurriedly. get out of here and run, don’t turn back, don’t stop, don’t talk to anyone. »
he promised he will be right behind, that he had something to take care of first. the girl protested, feeling as if her counterpart was not telling her the entire truth. she had been correct in her hunch, but he wasn’t going to reveal to her the evil witch had decided to feast upon him, how the undying snake was about to reveal its hand.
without so much as a last word, without so much as a glance, gretel put her plan in action and fled—his advice the last thing she remembers of hansel: « be wary of that which slithers. »
you wondered why you remembered that silly tale.
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