Imagination is the greatest tool any child can ever have and my grandmother, even as a grandmother, had the most vivid imagination I've ever known. She once told me a story, a Cajun tale, passed through family, filled with wonder and excitement. Now it is my turn to pass it on to you. It all began with a sister and a brother, Loretta and Nelson. The siblings were three years apart but still so close. They had been through a lot but never lost faith that they still had a friend in each other. 

Being the grandchildren of a magician and a storyteller, life was never ending with tales being told and adventures of the mind. PawPaw could make skyscrapers with just a wave of his hands and MawMaw could make your imagination soar with the most fascinating stories. 

They lived in a quaint little Cajun neighborhood, peacefully happy together in Houston, Texas. One day when their PawPaw went to work his magic in the big city and MawMaw was making her infamous gumbo, the kids were playing out in the front lawn.

Anything and everything was within their imaginative reach. If they wanted they could swing through a forest, scale a castle, climb a volcano, but right now they chose to play with their toys. Loretta had her pink teddy bear and Nelson had his Hercules and Woody figurines. The toys would go from being in a wrestling match to fighting off bad guys.

It wasn't until Nelson looked over and saw the shadow of a man standing in the screen door of the house across the road that he gathered his toys and returned to the house unexpectedly. Loretta follows him, curious about why he was spooked, and found him in their room. "I just wanted to come inside," Nelson would comment when she asked him why he left so suddenly. There was a small part of her that believed him due to the overbearing heat of the Texan sun that summer but he still seemed bothered.

The next day, the family ate a nice lunch and walked to the nearby park. They tagged, hid and adventured all about until late that afternoon. When it was time to walk back Nelson saw the man's shadow again and he scurried into the house. Loretta looks over, also seeing the shadow now and asked MawMaw who the man is. Startled by the sight, MawMaw got her into the house and it was only when PawPaw laid down for a nap that she shared a story with the children. The story of the big Mr. Fat Man.

"There is a man called the Mr. Fat Man who offers any child who crosses his house all the candy they can eat. As children pass his house, he stands in his doorway and asks, "Hello there little one, would you like some caaaannndddyy?" When the child stops and turns to the house he opens the door and the warm smell of sugar fills the air and nearly hypnotizes the child into his house. They eat their fill till their tummies are ready to burst and just as they feel they can't budge he bellows, "Now I'm gonna gobble you up!" And swallows them whole. Never cross the road or pass that house."

The tale sent shivers down both Loretta and Nelson but it was strongly believed that MawMaw was just telling them a story again. They didn't consider it had any truth but it did spark their curiosity. Several days later while MawMaw was inside cooking, and PawPaw was away at work, the children were playing in the front yard. Their eyes darted back and forth from their games to the house across the road. Oddly enough, as their games progressed, so did their movements toward the edge of their yard.