English 11 Creative Writing: Fractured Fairy Tale
An adaptation of "The Gingerbread Man"
By: Joseph Jacobs
Labour of Love
By: Evan Keough
Slaving over the oven, the Baker knew that he had done well. After hours spent measuring, combining ingredients, and tending to the flames that heated the gigantic oven, it was time. Both the Baker and his wife spent many long years trying to complete one special task, but without success. The Baker and his wife desired one thing, to bake the perfect gingerbread boy.
Now, the Baker and his wife had tried many times to bake the perfect gingerbread boy, but every time they tried, something would go wrong. The first time they tried, they did not have enough ingredients to finish the gingerbread boy. Another time, the oven in which the unfinished gingerbread boy lay, broke. However, the most heartbreaking attempt for the couple was when they had all of the ingredients, and the oven was burning hotter than ever. The gingerbread boy was almost complete, but then, born from a brief moment of the inattentive eye, the poor gingerbread boy burned in the oven. Filled with anger and grief, both the Baker, and his wife promised that they would never again try to bake the perfect gingerbread boy.
After many years away from the oven, the Baker and his wife were starting to get old, too old. One day their eyes met, and they knew it was time. It was time for the final attempt at baking the perfect gingerbread boy. The Baker grabbed his apron and his wife her rolling pin. Together they stocked the wood burning oven, and gathered ingredients. After the fire was well lit and burning at the perfect temperature, the Baker added the ingredients and his wife tended the oven. This time it would be perfect, they both knew this, but dared not say their thoughts aloud.
After a painstakingly long time, the gingerbread boy was nearly complete. He was out of the oven, and ready to be finished. The Baker piped on a pair of open eyes, a little nose, buttons for his shirt, and finally, a wide grin. The Baker and his wife were overcome with joy, "Isn't he wonderful?" the Baker said. They both thought he was quite wonderful; in fact he was almost perfect, almost. He was missing something; a heart. The wife ran and grabbed a tiny, heart shaped piece of candy, and placed it over the left-center part of his chest. Now he was perfect. Suddenly, the gingerbread boy moved. The gingerbread boy jumped up from the decorating plate and grew to the size of a small child. The Baker and his wife were mystified at the sight of the gingerbread boy. The gingerbread boy looked up at them with large, trusting, and loving eyes."Mother", he said to the Baker's wife, "Father" he said to the Baker. The couple looked at each other, and with a short, unspoken agreement, turned to the gingerbread boy, who was still smiling, and said "yes, son." The three carefully embraced, for the boy was fragile. "What should we name him?" the Baker asked his wife. The wife thought for a moment, and replied "Matthias", a Hebrew name meaning "Gift from God". Matthias smiled in agreement.
As the boy grew older, the mother read to Matthias. She would read classics and adventure novels to him before bed. He would always lie down and listened to every word of every page in every chapter. Matthias loved stories, and his absolute favorite story was an adventure story. The story's plot surrounded the idea of schoolmates going on adventures and coming of age. He was enamored with the idea of school, and the friends he could make there. One night, he shyly looked at his mother and said, "When can I go to school mother? I want to be like the boys in the story." The mother looked saddened by his question, and upon seeing her face he quickly took back his idea, and kissed his mother goodnight. Although Matthias didn't ask about school again, he never let go of the idea.
Years passed, and Matthias grew older, slightly taller but never any stronger. He secretly dreamt of having friends, and what friendship was really like. He knew that friendship was a form of love, and Matthias understood love, to an extent. Matthias loved his books and deeply loved his mother and father but he didn't know the feeling of love from a friend.
One afternoon, as his father lay in his armchair, pipe in mouth, Matthias asked if he could go outside. To which the father replied "no son, perhaps another time." Every time Matthias asked his father or mother, they would reply with the same words. However, today was different; Matthias was going to go outside, with or without permission.
When his father was soundly asleep in his big armchair, Matthias slipped out the front door, leaving it ajar, and he ran down the long winding road, towards a tiny village. Matthias could barely contain his excitement as he ran past the trees. As his feet flew over the cobblestone he spotted his first new friend, elderly lady seemingly walking with no particular destination in mind. He slowed to a walk, and approached the nice lady from behind, and spoke, "Hello! I'm Matthias! What is your name?" the lady turned slowly, and paled when her eyes lay upon Matthias. She screamed, and then fainted, hitting the ground hard. Matthias was scared and confused, had he done something wrong? A lumberjack glanced towards the sound of the scream, his eyes widened as he saw Matthias. "What monster are you?!" The lumberjack roared, and he charged Matthias. Matthias ran past the lumberjack and though the village. Matthias didn't stop to see the gathering mob that chased him along the cobblestone road; he only heard scattered fragments of curses and rude names being shouted at him. "Freak!", "Devil!", "Outcast!", "Monster!" Matthias had never cried before. The frosted smile that sat on his face was crumbling, and fell off as tears poured from his eyes. The last thing shouted at him as the crowd dispersed was "100 gold pieces to whoever has him killed". Matthias slowed to a stop, and collapsed far away from his home. He just lay there, on the road, crying. Matthias was angry and confused. Why did this happen? What did they mean? Why did they hate him? He had done nothing wrong. Matthias only wanted a friend. He felt a sharp pain across his chest. These questions raged like an inferno, burning him inside out. But the question that burned the most was what was wrong with him?
He heard the panting before he saw the fox. Matthias looked up to meet the beady eyes of a lanky, malnourished, male fox. Its ribs could be easily seen and counted. Matthias sat upright, and reached out his hand to the fox. The fox quickly sniffed and bit through Matthias's hand, leaving a gaping hole where most of his hand would have been. Matthias felt pain, but he didn't really care. "You need it more than I do." Matthias thought to himself. Matthias broke off the bitten arm, winced in pain, and threw it to the fox. Matthias watched the fox engulf his arm. Matthias, weak from the ordeal, curled up on the ground and gave up. The last thing Matthias felt was grief, sadness, and self-hate, and the last thing he saw was a greedy fox approaching him.
The Baker awoke from his nap to an open front door, and the absence of Matthias. The Baker and his wife searched all around the small cabin, finding nothing. The wife knew something wasn't quite right. They raced down the cobblestone road, passed the trees and throughout the village. They came upon the body of a dead fox. The skin on the belly of the fox's body was completely stretched. A few feet from the fox, partly hidden in the grass was a fist sized candy heart, with a long, deep crack stretching across it. "A broken heart…" said the Baker's wife. As she knelt down next to the heart, trembling, the Baker put his hands on his wife's shoulder's and wept.
-End