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.

"Hansel, what are you doing?" Gretel was brought out of her reverie by the voice of her stepmother.

"Um... I'm saying goodbye to that white birdie on our roof." Gretel heard her brother reply. She knew what he was doing, but didn't have the heart to stop him. Plus, she figured, he was as stubborn as a mule. Hopefully, their stepmother would make a better plan next time.

"Oh, how foolish you are, Hansel! It's not a bird, it's just the sun shining on our chimney." Henrietta said in a soft voice and ignoring him, moved on ahead. She and her husband had work to do. Being woodcutters in a starving village was hard, and if you didn't work hard from morning to night, you could guarantee that no bread would touch their lips. She hoped that these kids would find someone to help them live a happier life. Her elder sister, Maria, used to tell that fairies, unicorns and good witches resided in these parts of the forest and that they helped stranded kids. She hoped that Maria told the truth because her own kids needed their help.

Gretel continued to observe her surroundings. Sometimes, she would spot a hare in the bushes and other times she would see a deer munching on the grass. Once, or twice she saw beautiful doves flying on overhead. The sun had only just left its place on top of the hills when they reached a clearing in the middle of the forest. With them, there reached the crow that had been following them for what Gretel estimated to be around fifteen minutes. "One for sorrow, two for..." She caught herself before she could sing any further. 'This is just superstition. What would you find in a forest, if not animals?' she reprimanded herself.
"Children, you two stay here. Eat the bread I gave you for your lunch. Perhaps you can also find some berries around here. Papa and I will be back for you in the evening." Henrietta instructed the siblings before following her husband.

The sun was high over their heads. The children felt hunger and thirst consume them in the middle of their game. They paused and drank water from the nearby creek. Gretel took out her half of the bread from the pocket in her apron. She spread out her handkerchief on the ground and placed some blueberries, blackberries and raspberries on it. "Come on, Hansel. Let's eat." She called her little brother.
"Sissy? Can you share your bread with me?" Hansel asked in a timid voice.

"Why? Haven't you got your own share of it?" Gretel inquired, curiosity lacing her voice.
Hansel didn't answer. Only after much persuasion from his sister, he replied, "The stones papa gave us weren't much enough for the road. So, I used my bread to use when the shiny stones finished."

Gretel sighed, relieved. Seems like they didn't have to go back home after all. She knew the animals in the forest would eat all the bread crumbs. In hindsight, that must be the reason why the crow had been following them. Although the bread and the berries would not have been enough to satiate the hunger of either of the starving children, Gretel happily shared it with her little brother.

The little children, tired from the lack of food and a whole day worth of games, fell into a deep slumber just before dusk. When they finally awoke, they saw not the golden sunshine gently falling upon them, but thousands of twinkling stars above. Horror dawned on them as they realized they were alone in the forest at night.

The full moon gazed happily upon them, as if teasing the siblings. Hansel suddenly lit up, shining almost as bright as the moon above. "I know! Search for the bread pieces, Gretel. They will show us the way back home."

Gretel knew it was no use searching for the bread crumbs. The animals would surely have eaten them up by now. Yet, to not dampen the hopefulness of her brother sooner than necessary, she searched with him.

The little sister and her little brother searched for what seemed like hours. They searched for the crumbs under the bushes, inside them, to their left, their right and anywhere else that seemed likely to host the crumbs. Finally, they collapsed, one due to hopelessness and the other, from sheer exhaustion. Hansel seemed to mistake his sister's exhaustion for sadness, for he, without any warning embraced her. "Don't cry, Gretel. We will get out of here. Let's walk around the forest. We will be warm and by dawn, we will be home." He tried to assure her.

Gretel was smart. She had keen perception and a mentality mature enough to make the right choices at the right time. She knew that if they wanted to be found, they had to wait till dawn. She also knew that their parents would go through the same path as the day prior to get where they chopped their wood. She wasn't unaware either, of the fact that if they went up to their father the next morning and begged him to take them home, he wouldn't resist. Not only that, Gretel had keenly observed the path they came into the forest and she was positive that if she tried, she could lead them home by following the landmarks. And so, with all this knowledge in mind, she gave a small sniff and nodded, showing her affirmation to her brother's ignorant suggestion.

For three whole days and nights, the siblings wandered through the forest. Gretel had deliberately led them the wrong way and now, she was positive they were lost and about to wind up somewhere else far from home. She only hoped that they wouldn't run into some evil witch's hut.

A new day was nearly complete when the siblings saw a beautiful gingerbread house just a few yards away. The gingerbread house was a work of art, for it had its roof made of delicious cakes, the windows had sugar panes instead of glass and the little door in the front was a delicious red candy. Driven by their hunger and enfeeblement, the little siblings raced to the house and in their haste, they failed to notice bones and skulls carelessly thrown around the house.

Hansel took a huge bite of the roof and sighed in pleasure. Gretel tore off a huge part of the sugary window and munched on it. The house magically repaired its parts that the kids had damaged. The children were in heaven. Why should they live in poverty and suffer from starvation every day when such a feast was right on their hands?

The children had no idea for how long they had sat there eating whatever parts of the house they could lay their hands on when a sweet voice called out:
"Nibble, nibble, gnaw! Who is nibbling at my little house?"

The little children couldn't reply. Not only were they shocked that somebody actually lived in the gingerbread house, but they were feeling drowsy after hearing the voice... it was hypnotic... or perhaps, they just had too much sweets. They couldn't think.

The door opened, yet the children felt no desire to run away or hide from the figure that emerged from behind it. Out stepped a woman, of their stepmother's age. She looked really pretty with her black hair tied into a little bun at the back of her head. The maroon dress she wore suited her complexion well and her pink lips lifted into a smile at the sight of the children. "Oh, Children! You poor darlings! I wonder who left you poor souls here?", she said soothingly. "Come on in, now. I'm making soup and I have made enough for all of us. I can't let you babies starve or freeze to death, now, can I?"

Her motherly voice left no room for suspicion in the minds of the young children deprived of true maternal love. They followed her into the gingerbread house, where they were presented with bowls of porridge, soup and other edibles they had never before seen. Soon after they were led to a soft bed with silk sheets and cloud-like pillows. "This is heaven!" the children sighed in pleasure. "Thank you, ma'am." they chorused.

"Goodnight, children. Sleep tight. Oh, and yes, please call me Margaret." the woman smiled as the closed the door to their room.

Over the next few days, Margaret became increasingly meaner. First, she fed good food to Hansel and Gretel was forced to eat just the leftovers. Then, Hansel was confined to his room while Gretel had to do all the chores. Finally, within a week, Hansel was locked up in the witch's barn and fed every sort of food to fatten him up. Gretel, on the other hand, had to eat crab-shells and do all the house-work. By the next week, Gretel had figured the witch's plan. One evening when the witch was out, she said to her brother, "Hansel. The witch wants to fatten you up and then, devour you. You must not allow her to do that. Use any method you can to deter her from sensing you are getting fatter. But, you must remember that witches have poor eyesight but in terms of hearing and smelling things, their ears and nose can rival even a hunter's best hound."
Over the course of the next two or three weeks, the witch came by regularly to feel Hansel's finger to see whether he was getting any fatter. Following his sister's advice, Hansel always stuck out a chicken bone from the hole in the door of the barn. After four weeks of constant checking and failing to feel any progress in Hansel, the witch grew furious at last and one day, ordered Gretel to fetch some water from the nearby well. "We are going to feast on your brother tomorrow. Today, however, we shall bake." she declared.

Everything was ready by noon that day. The flour was made into dough, the eggs were beaten properly and the oven was set to heat up. "Gretel, darling! Can you please check whether the oven is hot?", the witch asked in a voice coated with sugar.

Gretel immediately sensed some foul play. The girl recalled the last time she had heard the witch speak as sweetly to her and found that the day traced back to the one when they had fallen into the trap of this very witch—the owner of the gingerbread house. "I do not know how to do it. Can you show me how, Margaret? After you show me one time, I am sure I'll be able to follow your lead." Gretel hoped her plan would work. This was the last chance for her to save herself and her brother.
The witch sensed no harm in showing the girl one time how to check the oven. She figured that she could continue her plan of cooking up the little girl after this.

"Gretel, see this is how you check whether the oven is hot. First, you put your head in—ahhhhh... what are you doing you insolent brat..." The witch's voice got muffled as Gretel shut the oven door. For a few seconds, the only sound that could be heard in the vicinity was the witch's muffled curses and Gretel's labored breathing. Within a few seconds, both were replaced by the witch's screams. Even after the screams had died out, she didn't dare open the oven door. Rather, she went and freed her brother and both of them searched the gingerbread house. They found lots and lots of gold, silver and precious gems hidden in the house. These probably belonged to the rich men who had fallen prey to Margaret's charm. After all, little children like themselves carried nothing of price except for their flesh and bones.

"Papa and Mother will be happy to see all these jewels." Hansel stated with joy in his voice.

"They sure will." Her voice carried dread. "Let's go."

The children walked for hours in the forest under Gretel's lead. Finally, they came to the back of a big lake. "Sissy, how will we cross this lake?"

"Come on. Let's ask that little swan there."

Gretel asked the swan to help her brother cross the lake, which she readily agreed. Hearing her words to the swan, Hansel asked his sister if she wasn't going to return home with him.

Shaking her head, Gretel replied, "Our journey was up till here, little brother. I do not wish to return home, but you clearly do. I have aided you to the best of my ability these past several weeks, but you must make the rest of this journey on your own. Follow the white birds and they shall lead you back home. Give the jewels to papa and mother. And if under any circumstance you need my help, you can visit me. Here," taking a hair clip from her head, Gretel handed it to her dear brother. "Take this. This will lead you to me shall you ever need to visit me. Only this pin will work as the key to the lock on my door, so don't lose it. And brother, beware. You can only use this once. If you leave after you've visited me, you'll be wishing goodbye to me forever." With these words, the siblings embraced one last time before Gretel helped Hansel on the swan. She watched him until he was out of sight and then made her way to the gingerbread house.

Gretel entered the house where she was kept a slave for weeks. "It's all mine now." Her whisper carried throughout the silent house. She muttered a quick incantation and the oven vanished into nothingness. She walked around the house. It was much bigger than what it looked from the outside. The exterior was just an illusion, the real treasure was inside. Gretel walked to the farthest room of the house—the witch's room. There, she opened the cabinet and smiled at Margaret's collection of herbs, potion recipes, and spell books.

"Perfect!" Gretel said louder than she anticipated. She sat down on the witch's bed and opened the first spell book. "Now, I will be able to help anyone who comes under my wings." And right there, on the witch's bed, Gretel practiced her witchcraft.

After walking for hours, early next morning, Hansel reached his father's doorstep and knocked. As soon as his father saw him, he embraced him. "I am so sorry for leaving you out there, my child. I'm so sorry. Your stepmother persuaded me until I gave up... I had not stopped wondering how I would go through this starvation without you two now that Henrietta is dead, too. You and your sister are my lifeline now. Speaking of your sister my boy, where is Gretel?"

Hansel listened on as his father rambled. He was glad to be back, although he was sure that now, with his stepmother dead and his sister in the woods, it was bound to get lonely. After not being able to see his family for a long time, Hansel was glad to be able to study his father well. His father looked healthier than usual, he noticed. Had anything changed since they'd been left in the forest? Was the problem of starvation now solved? Hansel wondered. No, that couldn't be, he thought to himself. His father himself had indicated that people were still going hungry for days. Hansel studied his father even more. Something seemed off. His father had put on some meat on his cheeks, they were not as sunken as he remembered. It simply was not possible. His family was a family of poor woodcutters with nothing to their name. It could not be possible that his father had put on weight while the entire village was going hungry, unless... On closer inspection, Hansel noticed specks of blood on his father's dirty white shirt. He also noticed a foul smell that seemed to linger around the house that he was sure was not there before they left. Suddenly, it all made sense to Hansel. He realized that his father's words had double meaning every time he talked about starvation. He realized why his sister was not keen on returning home. He understood his sister's words on how their birth mother died. She had seen it all. He understood why their step-mother was dead. He understood very clearly that he and his sister were truly the lifeline of their father, in the most literal sense possible. And as he realized all that, his blood ran cold.

"Hansel? Where is your sister?"

Hansel was brought out of his thoughts by his father's words. He quickly began to think of a way to escape without making it known to his father that he knew all about his plans. "Uh... umm... she's resting out in the forest as she was tired from the long journey. Hold onto these jewels, papa. I'll quickly run to the forest and return with her. We'll never be unhappy again."

Without waiting for his father's reply, Hansel dashed towards the forest. As a safety measure, he even yelled out, "Gretel, papa is so happy to see that we are both back safe." As soon as he was out of eyesight and earshot though, he brought out the hairpin gifted by his sister. It sprouted two wings and flew away and Hansel, without even thinking of how and when his sister had learnt witchcraft, broke into a mad dash after it.