Hansel and Gretel

We were hiking on the left shoulder of an empty highway. Leading me were two kids in elementary school uniform – a boy and a girl who were probably in first or second grade. These kids were walking a few meters ahead of me. Facing me were black packs hanging on the kids’ backs, which looked identical. We walked in a slow choreographed cadence. It looked like we were dancing as we walked. I wasn’t sure though. There was no music. We never talked. Both sides of the highway were grass fields with sparse trees. The far end of the highway was a clear blue sky.

After a while I saw perfectly spherical pebbles drop from the girl’s half open fist: a pebble for every forward step. This, too, looked choreographed – pebbles fell in slow motion, pebbles didn’t make a sound as they touched (and instantly got stuck on) the concrete road, pebbles didn’t bounce back. The pull of gravity seemed weak so that the fall was slow. When I looked back, I saw a perfectly straight line formed by equally spaced pebbles stuck on the concrete highway. It was dusk now and the pebbles lining on the highway gleamed. The spectacle on the highway reflected on the now dark sky. The three of us noticed it. We all looked in awe at the makeshift constellation at the sky. Then rain started to fall. From the sky fell light and tiny beads of water first which later became spherical marshmallows the size of the pebbles lining on the concrete road. Ecstatic, the boy unzipped the girl’s pack without removing it from her back and opened it like a crocodile’s mouth. The girl, equally excited, returned the favor. I thought their bags were empty all along. In no time their bags were full of marshmallows. I could only collect two handfuls of marshmallows and devoured them at once. When the rain stopped, we noticed that we were at the end of the highway. The kids were unmindful of their position, just a few inches from the edge of the highway, next to a deep ravine. I was a meter or two behind them. They looked happy with their haul full of sweet pebbles. I yearned for more sweets. I coveted the sweet things in their packs. I decided to snatch the back packs from the kids. The kids, surprised by my attack, outbalanced, then fell into the ravine. I was able to salvage one of the packs. When I opened it, I found pebbles, real stone pebbles. Then two little winged kids – a boy and a girl who were probably in first or second grade flew out of deep ravine. They were angels, I was sure, but they were in elementary school uniforms. They waved as if saying goodbye and happily they soared.

Then I woke up.

{June 9, 2009}