31 Days {Rooted in Love - three}

To start at the beginning ...

image from deviantart

As they walked through the woods, she secretly dropped crumbs of her father's bread.  He was a baker as well as a woodsman.  In fact, he was quiet famous throughout the forest glen for his hearty breads.  His love of nature found its way into his culinary expertise as he chose unique and flavorful seeds and seasonings to add to his baked goods - sesame seeds, flax seeds, sunflowers seeds and more.

Sadly, those breadcrumbs we quickly snatched up by the birds and squirrels of the forest and when young Hansel and Gretel found themselves hours later deep in the heart of the forest and utterly alone, there was no trace of those precious morsels left to follow home.  Huddled together on the forest floor, they wrapped their cloaks around one another and cried bitterly.  Soon it became apparent that the two children would have to find shelter and food and so they set out even deeper into the woods, looking for someone who might help them.

Gretel and Hansel wandered for a few hours before finding the gingerbread cottage and the old witch who lived there.  Out of desperation and hope, Gretel had continued to drop crumbs of her father's loaf even right up to the cottage's front step.

"How about something cold to drink."

Gretel jumped and looked up from her place on the porch.  Hansel stood behind her with two glasses of chilled, chocolate milk.  She smiled and scooted over to make room for her brother.

As she sipped the cold, creamy drink, she looked down the path that lead from the steps out into the woods.  She could see the little blue flowers peeking up from the soft green brush along the edge of the well-worn trail.  Every spring those little buds appeared and every spring she tried to ignore their arrival.  Little seeds nestled in her father's bread and left behind by the birds.  Little seeds that had bloomed and beckoned her to take a walk.

And in her heart, she knew those delicate forget-me-nots would lead her all the way home.