Lesson learned (Five minutes freewrite)

The girl spent many hours sitting by the window, pretending to look outside, mostly day-dreaming. Hannah wasn't allowed outside, but she was fine with that. After her three-day ordeal lost in the woods, all alone, she had no envy to go out. Not anytime soon. The memory of those scary nights, spent crouching at the base of some tree, trying not to breathe for fear some beast would hear her, was so fresh and palpable it kept her awake in bed, even though now she was safe.
She had only a vague recollection of finding the house, with bright lights in the windows and a mouth-watering smell of fresh bread. She hadn't eaten almost anything in those three days, except for a few raspberries, ripe and sweet, but, oh, so few!

Hannah had been lucky, the old woman had told her, for there wasn't any other house for many miles. The house was far bigger on the inside than it had seemed from the outside and way more cozy than you'd expect from a little place on the edge of the forest. The woman gave her a warm bath and wrapped her in a soft white towel made out of bamboo fiber. It felt like luxury. It made her feel so good she stopped crying and shaking. The bedroom was right out of a fairy-tale, with a four poster bed and delicate lace curtains to keep away all those insufferable insects that swarmed the forest.
The old woman did not talk much about herself, but Hannah was smart enough to figure it out that she must have had a daughter. The bedroom must have belonged to her, just like the book the kind lady brought her one day. A dog-eared copy of classic children tales, with Cinderella and Snow White or Hansel and Gretel. Boring, for a girl of Hannah's age, but she thanked her nevertheless and always kept the book nearby, to make her feel the gift was appreciated.
The old lady was like those grandmas you see in the movies, always coming in with a nice treat. Hot tea with cinnamon flavored scones. Chocolate milk with cookies fresh from the oven. And the lemon cake! No girl could resist and Hannah needed to get her strength back.
She did miss her mother a little, but she was in no hurry to get home. She was afraid her mother will be mad at her - it was her fault that she got lost in the woods. That morning when she'd left on the long-awaited school trip her mother had told her to always stay with the group and not lose sight of the teacher. But than she'd seen the pretty flowers and then... she found herself all alone.
Days went by and Hannah was starting to feel restless. The old lady was not much company, always busy in the kitchen were Hannah was not allowed. Her own mother was like that, too, always telling her she was in the way.
One evening when thunders were making the whole house shake, Hannah thought she should venture downstairs for some company. She regretted it the moment she pushed the door open, as the old woman bent over the oven gave out a startled cry and turned to her with a terrible scowl on her face. She was mad with anger.
'Damn kid, do you think you can fool me with that old trick and burn me alive? I read the story many times. You didn't!'

Story written for @mariannewest's freewrite challenge. Today's prompt was: bamboo. Check out her blog and join our freewrite community.

Image: Pixabay