Red Hood

The Wolf

I couldn't tear my eyes of the animal that was growling at me. The lightning flashed, making the wolf silver in it's light. The animal bared it's teeth and that's when I understood that I was occupying its den. I slowly moved out of the place without breaking the eye-contact. The blue eyes drinking my every movements, it snarled a couple of times when I moved to fast. I was now a good two feet away from the den, the rain soaking my red hood and seeping through the fabric of my shirt down my spine.

The wolf moved closer to the den, and once inside turned back to look at me. The lightning flashed again, red of my cloak bright against the dark surrounding of the forest. At last the wolf turned back into its den and let me go. I figured I would have to try to do the road to Grand-mère's in the dark, which could be difficult with the rain and above all dangerous now that I knew that wolves roamed around at night and whatever other predators.

After walking a bit further and nearly crashing with trees for almost 5 times I thought it be best if I just waited till the sun would come up. I sat down next to a tree and wrapped myself in my cloak, not caring if it was wet. I tried keep my eyes open and kept my knife in my hand at all times.

The air was chilly and the sunrays weak when I woke up. Mist curled around ferns and came from the wet trunks, I could hear birds making their nests in the leaves. I got up and wringed my cloak and hood, my legs were stiff from the cold. I moved away from the trunk, listening to the soft crisp of the dead leaves underneath my boots. I stopped and stretched out my arms, the autumn breeze blowing in my face. I turned around and tried to find the wolfs den, but it wasn't there, bushes covered everything. It was still a miracle that the animal hadn't attacked me. I decided to warm myself up by continuing my trip to Grand-mère's.

I finally arrived at the old house with the tree curling around its roof. I knocked on the door and called,: "Grand-mère? It's me Rouge, I brought you some broth and bread!"
The door opened with a creak and I met my grandmothers dark chocolat eyes, "Oh Rouge, what good to see you!" she exclaimed with her arms wide open. I entered the little cottage and hugged her, she was a head smaller than me. Suddenly she pulled back from me, wrapping her shawl tighter around her, "Mon pauvre garçon, you're freezing! Come quickly warm you up by the fire."
I followed her into her living space and sighed in relieve when I saw the burning hearth spreading its warmth in the room.
"Here, let me take your cloak and sit down by the fire," she said. I smiled, I loved my Grand-mère. She was the sweetest person on earth, always smiling, always helping others (even when sick).

"Grand-mère, you're the sick one. I'm here to check upon you, maman send me with broth and bread," I explained.
"That's very sweet, but you're the one who came cold as ice into my house. So I'll first be taking care of you and then you'll be taking care of me," she chuckled. I nodded.
Grand-mère gave me a cup of herb tea and a loaf of homemade sugarbread.
"How come you're so cold anyway?" She asked while sitting down in her chair, I took a sip from my tea, enjoying the hot stream running down my throat.
"I had to spend the night in the forest," I explained. Grand-mère looked at me with wide eyes, "You slept alone in the forest? In the dark?"
"Yeah pretty much. It was no big deal, just a little cold," I told.
"Don't do it again, it is dangerous. You know it, mon dieu," she bristled. I had to hold back a laugh, how would she react if she know I had seen a wolf.

But soon enough I saw her mouth corners curl up, I knew she was joking.
"Bien, now that that's said. Tell me how was it?" her eyes glittering impatiently.
I took a bite of the sugarbread and looked at her, "I had to take cover from the rainstorm, luckily I found an abandoned den and decided to make camp there. What I didn't know was that the den belonged to a wolf," I explained. A heavy silence fell, my Grand-mère's eyes lost their glimmer and flashed with shock, "A wolf?"
I nodded, "I saw him, a beautiful beast. Silver fur like a lake under moonlight and eyes as blue as Ice. It just stared at me, I moved out of the den and sneaked away never leaving the stare of the wolf."

Grand-mère waited, debating what to do with the information I had just given her, her chocolate brown eyes smoldering in the firelight, "Was this the first time you ever saw a wolf?"
I nodded.
"So they're back," she whispered.
"Who's back?" I asked nervously. She locked her gaze in mine, "You're very lucky that wolf didn't attack you, the moon was full last night. Perhaps it was the storm that kept them in tow-"
"If you're talking about the Werewolves, Grand-mère, everyone knows that those are just legends," I cut her.
Grand-mère sighed, "Oh non mon garçon, those creatures do exist. I've seen one."