"Mommy, will you tell me a story?"
Axel groaned, "oh, not tonight. Tomorrow okay?"
"b-but daddy won't tell me a story a-and you said that last night," Roxel's large eyes filled and his lower lip quivered in a pout. "M-mommy, please?"
"but-"
"Ax, just do it."
"But Roxy! We were supposed to-!"
"Shush Axel! Not in front of Roxel. Later okay?"
Between Roxel's cute pleading face and his Roxy's relaxed argues (and conditions) Axel had no other choice, "alright, alright, but just one."
"Yay! Thanks mommy!" Roxel grabbed his 'mother's' hand and dragged Axel into the bedroom. Seating Axel on the bed, Roxel climbed under the covers, "don't make it boring, okay mommy?"
"Alright…"
"And don't make it one I heard."
"Mhmm."
"And-"
"Roxel, if you keep talking it'll be your bedtime and you'll never hear the story."
Pulling the blanket over his mouth, Roxel nodded, "sorry mommy."
"Okay… once there was a lady and"
"What's her name?"
"I don't know."
"Oh…" Roxel said a little disappointed.
"So… there was a lady and she lived with her very hard working husband."
"Is daddy, your husband?"
Ignoring his 'son,' Axel continued, "one day the lady decided she would make a treat for her husband."
"What did she make him?"
"I'm getting to that. She didn't want to make him any ordinary treat, so she gathered her best ingredients and began making a-"
"Gingerbread man, mommy I heard this one."
"You think you heard this one. Now stop interrupting. Anyway, yes, the lady made a gingerbread man. She made him a perfect and delicious little gingerbread man…
The lady worked long and hard on her cookie, but she didn't mind since her husband always worked very hard. Once the cookie was ready to take out of the oven, the room was filled with a sweet gingerbread smell and her husband, who was working outside, could already smell the delicious aroma.
As her husband walked into the house, the lady had just opened the oven. The couple stared in awe at the perfect cookie-man when, all of a sudden, it began to move! It wiggled its tiny cookie arms and kicked its small frosted legs. Immediately after, it jumped up, off the tray, and onto the floor. The lady and her husband stared, wide-eyed with their mouths wide open. They couldn't believe what they saw.
Now Roxel was sure he had heard this story. He knew he had heard this story. In the end a wolf would eat the cookie man and that would be the end. But Roxel couldn't help but love the way Axel told him stories. Especially since after a few minutes, he would get very expressive and he would move his arms and change his voice. So the young boy kept quite, it took a lot, but he did.
The small man-shaped desert wobbled around the kitchen floor, getting used to the feel of walking. He turned to look at his creator and his soon-to-be eater with his small candied eyes.
'h-how?' the lady whispered.
The Gingerbread Man stepped back, as if he suddenly realized his situation. He was food. Even worse, he was dessert. He spun around a second time and ran to the door. Before running to the outside world, he turned to the lady and man.
'You'll never catch me,' and with that, he ran and fast as he could from the house.
'Wait!' the lady and her husband yelled, running after the cookie.
'Run, run as fast as you can! But you can't catch me, I'm the Gingerbread Man!' the cookie laughed attracting the attention of many others. It wasn't everyday that they saw a running talking cookie. Especially one so tasty looking.
Soon many people accompanied the lady in the chase to catch the Gingerbread Man.
'Haha! Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me I'm the –whoa!' the Gingerbread Man halted his small feet, just at the edge of the river. Now, he had nowhere to go. There was no way around and the crowd chasing him would soon be closing in on him.
'Nowhere to run… nowhere to hide… now ends your fun, if you can't get to the other side…'
'Who said that? Who's there?'
The Gingerbread Man looked around finding no one other than a fox. A fox with a sly grin and a never ending supply of tricks and lies and schemes.
'Come with me, I can swim. I'll take you across the river. And you, my friend, will be free!'
The Gingerbread, not having much time to think, nodded and climbed onto the fox's head.
By the time the lady, her husband, and the town people had gotten to the river, the fox was near the other end of the river. People thought of jumping in and swimming across, but everyone knew that by the time anyone could get there, the cookie would be gone.
It wasn't a very suspenseful story, but Roxel, being a child, clung to every spoken word. His imagination going wild, he feared for the Gingerbread Man, hoping that he would be okay.
"And do you know what happened when the fox and the Gingerbread Man made it to the other end?"
"HE ATE HIM!"
"Exactly!
Munch, munch, crunch, crunch, gobble, gobble, swallow! The Gingerbread Man ate the fox whole!
"Who what?"
"Haha, didn't see that coming, did ya, kid?"
Roxel gasped in awe. His 'mommy' truly was amazing, "what happens next, mommy, what happens next?"
"Yes Axel, what happens next?
"Daddy!"
"Roxas! H-how long have you been listening."
"Hm… I dunno… the whole time maybe," Roxas sat on the bed next to Axel, patting Roxel on the head.
"How embarrassing…" Axel muttered under his breath.
"I think it's cute," Roxas smiled innocently.
"Mommy!" Roxel wined. "What's next?"
"Oh right…
Well you see, the people of the town stared absolutely horrified, unable to decide whether to be happy that the fox was gone, or revolted at what the cannibal cookie had just done to their most feared creature.
Many people ran away, afraid of what would happen to them. The lady and her husband stayed, along with several others. They whispered amongst themselves.
'What will we do?' one person asked.
'It will eat us all.' said another
'We'll have to leave the town.'
'We can't do that. Where will we go?'
'We have to get rid of him.'
'But how? There's nothing we can do! He'll eat any one of us.'
'Hush everyone,' the lady spoke. 'He's stranded on the other side of the river.'
'Who's stranded where?'
The crowed shrieked in horror. The Gingerbread Man stood at their feet, no longer at the other side of the rushing water.
'How did you-?' the lady's husband backed away.
'I don't know, but I do know one thing… I'm quite hungry. Now… you guys weren't planning on getting rid of me… were you?'
'n-no of course not!' the town mayor spoke quickly.
'Good then. I will be staying here. Or… is that a problem?'
'No, no not a problem at all.'
"Axel, it's almost time for Roxel's bedtime," Roxas spoke trying to stress a point.
"Now, now Roxy," Axel spoke low catching on immediately. "You said later."
"I didn't know your story would be this long."
"Be patient."
"Yeah daddy, be patient," Roxel chimed, completely unaware of what his parents were talking about.
"Fine," Roxas huffed. "Just don't let your imagination get too carried away."
So the people of the town lived in fear with the Gingerbread Man. They tried not to notice when someone went missing and pretended not to know it was the Gingerbread Man's fault, but soon people were getting tired. They were tired of being afraid of food. Tired of worrying about walking outside or leaving their children alone.
That night the town held a secret meeting.
'There's less of us now then there has ever been,' the mayor said with concern. 'We need to do something about this.'
'Someone should eat him!' was one of the suggestions.
'Yes, but who? He could eat us before we ate him!'
'Send her to do it!' a man pointed at the lady.
'Yeah, send her. She was the one who made it!'
'I guess… it's only fair,' the lady said.
'No! You made him for me and I won't let you get hurt,' her husband said quickly. 'I will go.'
The townspeople were awestruck. They couldn't believe someone was willing to go without force or volunteering. But no one argued and it was decided quickly before the husband could change his mind; that morning, just before the sun rose, the man would go to where the Gingerbread Man was staying and, hopefully, catch and eat him before he woke up.
The husband did as planned and snuck into the Gingerbread Man's house. The cookie was still fast asleep and the husband knew this was the only shot he had. If he was caught he'd be eaten and the Gingerbread Man would never again let his guard down.
The husband quickly grabbed the Gingerbread Man, waking him immediately and-
"Axel… not so loud. Roxel's asleep."
"What? When did he fall asleep?"
"When the husband offered to risk his life to save his wife," Roxas smiled sweetly.
"And you didn't stop me? Aw man, it was getting to the good part."
"I wanted to hear the end," Roxas spoke innocently.
"Well, that can wait. I mean… you made me wait," Axel said, his hands running up Roxas's shirt.
"Nngh, Axel… not here."
Axel chuckled darkly, "its time for mommy and daddy to have some fun."