Author: Rachel Handley

“This is a terrible idea” I said.
My sentience had arrived after the first gingerbread brick was lain. I was now almost fully formed and, with nothing else to do, I told the witch exactly what I thought of her so-called house.
“Be quiet, house,” said the witch.
“Seriously though, why not have a normal house with sweets inside it? Why go full candy-house? Why make me sentient? I think you need to take a good long look at yourself.”
The witch sighed.
“Silence” she said, digging a small hole in my gingerbread limbs with her long black nail. She picked out a chunk of me and threw it onto the floor.
“You can hurt me all you want” I said, “but you know this is weird. Like, why make a sentient house from food to catch even more sentient food?”
“You are not food. You are merely a trap for the food. I like my food plump.”
“I don’t even know what plump means” I said.
“You will soon enough” she said just as two small humans came into view. I could hear them shouting at one another.
The witch opened my candy cane door and beckoned the children in.
“Welcome, children. Please, help yourselves” she said, closing the door.
The air was thick and sweet inside. The children looked, open-mouthed, at my chocolate ceiling. My decoration was of my own choosing; icing window frames of pink and white, chocolate veins reaching through the walls until they reached the rich dark ceiling. My body stretched beyond the sweet walls. I was the sweet air itself.
“Ouch” I said.
The smallest of the children, a blonde boy with a toothless grin and a chunk of gingerbread in his hand, jumped back.
“Quiet, house,” said the witch.
“What?” he asked looking around.
“The house is alive?” said the girl, eyes wide.
The witch thrust her hand into my wall, and I clung to it. Sugar seeped out.
“She means to eat you” I said.
“That’s so weird,” said the boy.
“I know.” I said as the children threw me to the floor and ran.
The witch clawed at me with her feet as I took her other arm.
“House! Stop this at once! What are we to eat? You fool.”
“We? I already have my dinner planned” I said as I sucked the witch into my chocolate mouth.