"She will kill you if you look at their eyes"
"She will kill you if they hear you"
"She will call you a witch"
"Isn't she the witch?"
A small crowd had gathered, one made of golems, who all whispered to one another, and who spoke carefully as to not let "them" hear.
As they spoke, they failed to notice the shadow that crept closer towards them, failed to see the smiling girl whose pale skin and blood-shot eyes came over them, and lifted her sword. Not a second later, a light came crashing down, and a pale purple light flashed, releasing the golems from the Library, taking their lives, and releasing a colorful array of inochi that traveled towards the pale blue ribbon decorating her clothing.
The remaining golems didn't think twice before they fled, leaving the girl all alone to dwell in her thoughts. As she turned around, the last of the inochi changed course, away from her ribbon and into the cage she held in her left hand. The moment the cage was filled up-
"AHgHhh-"
A piercing sensation governed her body. She collapsed, scraped her knees as they hit the cold, rock-covered soil, and held her head tightly. She was being flooded with memories of the past, of times when her brother was alive. She saw the trail of breadcrumbs, the candy house, the blistering furnace, and the wretched, evil, disgusting witch.
Gretel, eyes closed shut, was breathing heavily, her body shaking, pain visually contorting her smile into a cry for help. A cry that she hoped would reach her brother. She hoped for nothing but her brother. She wanted to see her brother. She wanted to hear her brother.
And yet
"I don't see you!"
She shrieked once more with a dry voice and teary eyes. In her mind were racing, repeating, and vivid memories of her fairy tale. She relived the same moments almost a dozen times before she cried out, and yet, for some reason, she didn't once see her brother in her story; In her memories
"Why can't I see you! Brother! Brother… Brother!?"
She struck the ground with her forehead, again and again, and again until the spot was wet with blood. She begged the pain to stop, and she begged for her brother to help her. The pain, however, did not stop, instead only got stronger. The last thing Gretel remembered was seeing the tears fall from her face and onto the blood-stained dirt beneath her.
"WHO ARE YOU"
"I AM ME"
"WHO IS THIS"
"Where am… I?"
Awake and armed, Gretel jumped back and away from the two golems who were talking before her. The two looked up, eyes full of curiosity before one spoke up
"WHO ARE YOU?"
"Who… am I?"
"I AM ME"
"SO WHO ARE YOU?"
"I'm-"
But she stopped. Gretel didn't answer. She had no answer; none that she wanted to admit. She thought back, her memories as clear as the tears she shed in that instant. She remembered everything, or rather, she decided it was time to stop herself from forgetting.
She remembered when she and her brother dropped crumbs of bread, she remembered being made to eat from the candy house until she could eat no more. She remembered her brother being pushed into the furnace. She remembered the witch being pushed inside the same furnace, and she remembered the witch being pushed into the second furnace
She remembered watching everything from within the furnace
She remembered herself pushing the witch, and she remembered herself pushing Gretel inside the furnace
"I saved… me. But… I killed me"
"WHO ARE YOU"
"I am not… me"
"WHO ARE YOU"
"My name isn't Gretel"
There was determination was in the boy's eyes. The clouded look of delusion left his face. He had, for the first time in an eternity, a clear mind.
"I'm not Gretel"
"GRETEL?"
He remembered his name and his story. He remembered his sin and the sin of his sister. Delusion was his sin, and lust hers. A carnal desire for her brother left her infatuated with him. She knew for him a different love than he knew for her. Her love was primal, the same he could find in a wild animal. He was certain his love came from a place of family, while her adoration was so strong she wanted nothing more than to devour him.
To consume him.
The poor boy remembered the look in Gretel's eyes as she saw him burn. She opened the furnace and drew him in for a hug. She gave him a kiss and bit his cheek tenderly. It was in that moment, the fear he felt for the witch vanished, replaced by a fear far greater than that. He closed his eyes and pushed his sister. He heard her flesh char and heard the blood sizzle as it touched the flames below. He stayed until her body was blackened ash. There was nothing left as he hid in the house.
He didn't know for how long he was there, but by the time he left, he had been consumed by the guilt. So much so that he pretended his sister was never dead. Pretending came like second nature for him. Lying to be another person was a simple task. He played pretend until he no longer thought it was a game, until he was consumed by the thoughts of his sister
Laughing weakly at himself, he said "That was the easy part, I did it every day while I was still $+= ?&#€"
He stopped that thought instantly. He held his head, trying to shoo away the pain that tried to drill into his head once more. He had no desire to unlock any new memories, after all, it took all he had to get rid of her.
To rid himself of her voice, her habits, her mannerisms, her desire, her pitiful delusions.
He had taken them all and left no room for himself.
He sat down, shoulders slumped and cried. He cried a stream of tears that had no tomorrow. He was alone. He had no brother, no sister. His only company was himself, someone, who for so long had felt like a distant memory.
"Gretel… Gretel! Gretel!"
He cried out for the only thing he feared to be by his side. He wished for her love to come back to him, he wished for her desire to devour him once more, even if just for an instant. He wanted to see her, to coddle her, to apologize to her
The golems huddled together, watching as the frantic boy came closer towards them, and pulverized to dust, with uncertain eyes, and regretful tears running down his face. All the while the two confirmed their identities
"I AM ME"
"I AM ME"
"YOU ARE YOU"
"WHO ARE YOU"
Sitting back down, the boy buried his head between his knees and continued to sob. To the finals words of the golems, with uneven breaths, he confidently proclaimed to himself the answer
"I am Hansel"
