Red Riding Hood Loves the Wolf

Behind That Tree

The sun shines through the green leaves above. The song of the birds flutters around the fresh air. The worn down path in front of me leads straight to Grandmother's house. Mother told me never to leave my path because bad things lurk in the woods, even during the innocent day.

As I travel the familiar path, past the twisted and dark tree, I get the feeling something is watching me. My heart starts beating faster, as do my steps. I clutch one side of my red cape as I walk toward Grandmother's cottage. As soon as I see the cabin in between two trees, I run through the door.

I take off my shoes and carry a loaf of bread into Grandmother's room. She's laying on her bed with the blue quilt Mother and I bought her a few years back.

"Sarabeth! So great to see you again, darling!"

*********

The faint sound of humming has woken me from a nap. I poke my head around the to spot a girl with wavy, blonde hair tucked under a red hood. I stand and smell fresh bread. The girl walks on and I follow. The woods can be a dangerous place for unarmed humans, especially if one of my siblings find them.

The red hooded girl walks a worn down path. Her beautiful humming eventually stops and her pace increases. She approaches a small cabin and goes in. I leave her be. What a compelling girl.

*********

I promised Grandmother that I would bring her some fruits from the market. Grandmother has injured herself recently. She was walking through the woods when she says she was chased by a wolf. She slid down a hill and injured her back. Even now, she claims a boy with hair as light as the sun helped her home. She called him an angel.

The next day, at the market, Miss Lucille has given me fresh fruit to deliver to Grandmother's house. Miss Lucille also warns me to be extra careful in the woods because it's a later hour. I tell her I will and walk down the dirt road, past the bakery, past the carriages, and people, until I get to the edge of the woods.

A while down my path I start humming a tune my father taught me when I was little. The sun isn't as high as it was yesterday, but that doesn't take away from the lush, emerald colored grass and leaves.

I get to the twisted tree and get the feeling something is watching me again. I turn around and see a quick movement of something bigger than me with a tail. I look to see where it is.

"Come out! I know you're out there!"

A boy with light blond hair steps out of from behind a tree. He looks at me but all I notice are his gray wolf ears.