The thing that always bothered me about the classic fairytale, Hansel and Gretel, was what happens after the children return home? Their father has abandoned them in the forest twice, but when the children come back with treasure from the witch’s house, all is forgiven. In some versions of the tale, their stepmother has conveniently died while they were gone, but in others they still have a mother.

This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.

I wondered what would life be like, trying to build a life with that family, when you know that as soon as times get hard again, they’ll be the first to throw you to the wolves. That’s got to make for some uncomfortable family dynamics.

Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed my fractured fairy tale!