Once upon a time, a cheerful family of gingerbread people lived in a far-off land called Kit' Chen. Their life was easy, and they never had to leave their giant gingerbread home.

They grew gumdrops and candy canes in their garden, worked out on the "Breadmill", took syrupy showers, and celebrated Christmas all year long. Joseph, the husband, had married Holly years ago. They had a sweet little son named Gingy.

They lived by a routine, doing the same things every day. As usual, when the sun had set, Joseph and Holly had put Gingy to sleep and then went to bed. But when they had awakened, Gingy was gone! The parents scoured the house. Looking in every cabinet, closet, and crevice. “Gingy!” Holly frantically screamed outside.

But there was no reply. Joseph ran outside and noticed a trail of large footprints in the snow leading to the dreaded forest---a place that no gingerbread man or woman ever dared to go.

“You have to do something! You must find him!” Holly pleaded to her husband. “But no gingerbread person has ever gone into the forest and made it out alive!” Joseph argued. Holly’s temper rose, slapping Joseph as she exclaimed, “You wouldn’t dare abandon our only son!”.

So the couple dashed inside and quickly prepared for Joseph’s long journey ahead. They grabbed several bags of gumdrops, tree ornaments for some extra Christmas cheer, a backpack, and an extra-long candy cane that he could use to defend himself if needed.

“Oh no”, the stranger replied, “They have crossed the line. They aren-”. All of a sudden, a savage pine tree lept out from behind the trees. The stranger jumped up, grabbed the tree midair, and split it in two.