There was once a young girl named Quinn who lived in a small village. Quinn had a younger brother named Kai who was a very curious young boy, and he often went for long walks by himself through a nearby wood. One day, before Kai went for his walk, their mother told him the same thing that she would always tell him as he left each day, “Never venture off of the path and do not speak to strangers”. Kai knew his mother had good intentions, but one day his curiosity got the best of him. ‘I wonder what those strange flowers are? I bet mother and Quinn would love them. maybe I should pick a few’, he thought to himself. Ignoring his mother’s warning, Kai strayed off of the path toward the strange flowers. As he stooped down to pluck a flower he was blinded, and his entire world became engulfed in darkness. Kai stumbled, trying to find his way home using nothing but his senses of touch and hearing. After wandering through the forest for hours, he happened upon a cottage that smelled of pastries and candy. “Hello little boy, are you lost? please come in”, the voice was smooth and silky, growing more captivating with every word it  spoke. Guided by nothing but this strange woman’s voice, Kai made his way into her home and took a seat at the kitchen table, “What is your name, little boy?”, Kai hesitated for a moment, unsure if he should be so trusting of a complete stranger, “It’s okay, I won’t hurt you.”, she reassured him. Something about her gave him a feeling that he could tell her anything. “I’m Kai”, he replied. “Well Kai, you must be hungry” she said, placing a steaming hot bowl of stew in front of him. As he ate, all of his worries melted away.

“Mother, it’s getting dark out and Kai still isn’t home, I’m going to look for him” Quinn called to her mother as she raced out of the door and into the night. Quinn tirelessly searched for her brother until morning, when she came upon the cottage. “Sorry for bothering you ma’am, but have you seen a boy pass through here?” “Kai? he’s right here, sweetie. Would you care to join us for breakfast?” Quinn was skeptical of the woman, but accepted her invitation to see Kai. As soon as Quinn entered the cottage, she recognised that something was not quite right about the woman or her house, but she also noticed that Kai had grown to be quite plump within the 24 hours that he was missing. Not only that, but he did not even look up at her. “What have you done to my brother?!” Quinn exclaimed, horrified when she realized that the woman was not in fact a woman, but an evil enchantress. A child eating evil enchantress. “ He loves it here, and I  love having him here.” she said with a grin. “would you care to join him?” Quinn began to scan the kitchen for weapons, but she found nothing that could be of use. The only things she saw were milk, water, and a bag of enchanted sugar. She grabbed the bag of sugar and trust it at the woman, but it only caused the woman to appear in her true form; a serpent as black as night  with blood red eyes that bulged out of their sockets. Next she threw the water, which only angered the witch. Lastly she doused her with milk, the purest substance, the only thing capable of defeating even the strongest evil in the world. As the witch fossilized into a pillar of stone, Kai regained his sight and began to slim down to his original tall, lanky self, and all of the witch’s evil had been undone. Kai and Quinn walked back to their home together, pondering what they would tell their mother. And in that moment, all was well.  But I can assure you, it was only the calm before the storm.