Total pages in book: 99
Estimated words: 92460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 92460 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 462(@200wpm)___ 370(@250wpm)___ 308(@300wpm)
“I am not the witch who dwelled here before,” the beautiful witch answers. “She is dead, and will not return. But the damage she did to both of you has lingered, and deserves to be repaired. I felt that the two of you needed to return to this place to see that you had grown in spite of what happened here, and I feared that without a hand to guide you, you would never come to that conclusion on your own.”
“Repair?” I echo, my mind working slowly after the rush of adrenaline and fear.
“You are meant to be together.” Her bright blue eyes stare through me. “There is no one on earth who is better suited to either of you, and I cannot let that precious love die from the harms of that evil creature. It is my duty and honor to do what I can to offer true love a chance to survive, and to grow.”
Tears slip down my cheeks. I watch through blurry vision as the witch takes something from around her neck.
It is an amulet with a dark red gem shining on the surface. I recognize it immediately and all hope is paused. My heart misses a beat at the sight of it. The beautiful witch holds it up in the light, and as we watch, it snaps in two in her hands.
She drops the pieces to the floor, but they disappear before they land.
“Was that keeping her away?” I ask, my voice shaking with emotion. “You don’t mean for us to face her, do you?”
“She is gone,” the witch promises. “I have not lied to you. The amulet represented the harm she did in her living years, and now I hope you will be able to let go of the pain she caused you here. There is still good in the world, after all—and the most powerful magic is love. You carry that between you wherever you go.”
Hansel straightens, like he’s just waking up. “You aren’t here to punish us? There’s no one to fight?”
The witch steps closer and puts her hand to his cheek. She does the same to mine and looks into my eyes, then returns her gaze to Hansel. “You’ve been fighting all this time. The battle is over.”
Hansel makes a rough sound. “So you’ll let us go?” he questions.
She nods solemnly. “You were only children back then,” the witch says. Her eyes are so kind. There is nothing in her touch that speaks of the evil witch. “You can let it go now. You can have your happily ever after.”
“Thank you,” I whisper, and close my eyes, unshed tears spilling. Relief spreads through me although a part of me will not trust her until we are gone.
Hansel holds me tighter. I inhale, trying not to cry, and when I exhale, the heat of the witch’s hand is gone.
I open my eyes.
The witch is gone, too. The cottage is quiet around us apart from the cracking of the fire, and remains transformed. It’s bright and clean with a basket of apples on the table and a pastry cooling in a dish near the sink.
But it’s the glass jar on the windowsill that catches my eye. The firelight reflects off of it, and inside—
“Hansel,” I manage to say. “Look.”
“What is it?” he says into my hair.
I turn both of us so he can look without letting go of me. Hansel’s eyes move over the room and all the transformations the witch made in the blink of an eye.
He takes a quick breath when he sees the jar and guides me closer, one hand steady on my waist, the other reaching out for the jar. His hand trembles as he lifts the lid and sets it carefully aside, then reaches in.
He plucks one of the pieces from the jar, folds it in his fingers, and smiles down at it.
Then he holds it in front of me and opens his hand.
There, in his palm, is a perfect twist of pure white wax paper, wrapped lovingly around a piece of orange-and-yellow taffy.
It’s the color of the sunrise. It’s the color of a brand-new day.
“I need you Gretel,” Hansel whispers. “Please stay with me forever.”
Lifting my chin I look deep into his eyes, “I’ll never leave you ever again. I love you.”
As he kisses me, I hold him like he’s mine forevermore. Because he is.
He was always the love of my life.
He breaks the kiss and breathes deeply, repeating over and over, “I love you.”
* * *