Chapter 5 - part v

When the last exam ended, the final term papers turned in, and the last homework was checked of her list, Sarah contemplated the horror that would be showing her family how much weight she'd put on. The fifteen was a distant memory, the thirty was fast approaching, and her siblings were going to tease her mercilessly. Unlike the forbidden thoughts of the pretty witch, that teasing very much did not excite her. Her parents would be much worse than that.

On the ride home Sarah was bombarded with accusatory questions and judgments; and being stuck in a car, she had nowhere to go to avoid them. During a lull in the litany of suggestions for managing her weight, she patted the pocket on her backpack where the old copy of Grimm's Tales was carried.

At that moment, the prospect of being caged and fed by a witch was preferable to the verbal and occasionally physical prodding of her mother.

At home, the torment kicked into overdrive. Between her parents and siblings she couldn't eat a normal sized meal of healthy food without an unwelcome suggestion that she have less, or go hungry. Several times the casual judging of her figure came within inches of a shouting match. The Christmas feast was a nightmare, with all eyes on just how much Sarah was eating and whether she needed it or not, no matter the occasion.

At night she imagined feasting at that lovely oak dining table in the gingerbread house. She let herself nibble on smuggled sweets while she read 'Hansel and Gretel' again and again.

... ... ...

The first night back at college Sarah has the dream again...

Gretel awoke on sumptuous pillows, but not the ones she'd fallen asleep on.

'Good morning, my sleepy little mouse.' Gryselda's ever sweet voice seemed out of place, it clashed with the cold chill running down Gretel's spine.

She looked up from the pillows in the dim morning light and found she was in a sort of cage, a square of space long and wide enough for a large bed, penned in with thick steel bars anchored at the floor and ceiling. A heavy door held fast in the direction of the main dining room. Gretel was at once frightened and perplexed... this cage, this part of the room, had not been there the night before. The very dimensions of the gingerbread house had changed to make room for her prison, and why?

'Gryselda... my wonderful host, my friend, what is going on?' Gretel knelt at the bars, peering out and begging in pretended sweetness.

'Oh, my tender darling, you were going to leave me! I couldn't have that...' Her voice was so sweet. 'And especially not before you're ready.'

'Ready for what? Let me out!' Gretel demanded feebly.

'Ready to eat, of course. You're much too peckish to make a proper meal, but in time you'll get to be a nice girl, a big girl. I'm going to pamper you and cook all of my sumptuous sweets for you, just the way you like!' There was no way to mistake the threat hidden in Gryselda's doting voice. 'And you're going to eat up like a good guest, like a nice, greedy little mouse. I really won't take no for an answer.'

'And if I refuse?' Gretel mustered up the last of her defiance in the face of her mounting terror.

'Why, if you refuse, I'll just eat you the way you are... Fat or thin.' Gryselda's loving and monstrous smile ended the argument then and there. 'Now here you go, get started! We've got lots of work to do before you'll be properly big enough.'

A series of overflowing plates of pastries and bowls of sweetened oatmeal were handed through the bars. When they were empty a plate of eggs and plump sausage followed. Gretel fed diligently, slowly, trying to make room over time for every bite, knowing that the only way to avoid getting eaten now was to cooperate... until it doomed her later.

After breakfast Gryselda demanded Gretel's dress, and left the frightened young woman to sleep off her meal naked on the pillows. At lunchtime she returned the dress with an alarming amount of room sewn into it: 'for her growing girl,' Gryselda said. The process of slowly feasting began again and that produced another nap. Dinnertime brought about the largest meal yet and left Gretel nibbling for two hours before it was all put away.

'Now sleep tight and rest up, you have another big day of feasting tomorrow. And the next day, and the next...' Teased the sweet, terrifying witch. 'And remember, just because I gave you bigger clothes doesn't mean I won't notice if you gain or lose weight. If you don't get a little fatter every day, I'll eat you all up!'