Littler Red Riding Hood

There were two young girls... swinging on a swing set. One in a short swing, the other in a shorter swing. Almost everyday, they would be there, but those days were becoming less and less frequent.

 A few weeks passed. The air seemed to just get colder and colder as leaves fell to the frosty ground. A merry go round screeching every time the cool wing blew. Not a single bird's chirp heard in any trees. Just silence, blowing wind, and a young child crying.

Only the short swing could be heard making that high pitched, squeaky sound of metal against metal. Only the short swing going back, then forth in a pattern... Only the short swing carrying a crying child. The child had just witnessed her little sister pass away. The little girl who sat in the shorter swing.

She just sat, crying and reminiscing of her sister who only lived a short life. Remembering that she will never hear the joyful laughter she once heard before. Never being able to push her, trying to teach her how to swing herself. This was, of course, a dark and depressing time for her and her family.

That is until... she saw a pile of red and yellow leaves beside a tree nearby her. It gracefully blew into the air in front of her. At first, she thought she was just seeing things, until it took shape of a younger girl. The younger  girl stood there and raised her hand to wave, but didn't receive a wave back. Just a young, red-cheeked girl staring blankly back at her. She understood and continued on with her purpose.

The younger  girl slowly reached into her chest and pulled out a big, red, maple leaf. She closed it in her hands and it turned into a full sized, red, hood. She lovingly gave it to the sad child crying in the swing, as she blew away in the wind.

Tightly grasping the hood, the girl continued crying, but this time, with tears of joy. She wasn't thinking about what she will never be able to experience with her passed sister anymore. She was thinking about what she had already done to make her sister's short life, a good life.

Having this positive feeling in dark times inspired her to spread it with the rest of her friends and family. So she hopped up, put on her new hood, grabbed her whicker basket filled with treats, and ran into the woods down the path to Granny's house.

She lived happily ever after.

The End.