A few weeks have gone by, and Miriam has grown quite attached to the red hood her grandmother gave her. Her favorite color used to be green, but ever since she got that bright red hood, she’s more into colors and shades of red.
She wears the hood as much as she can, so much, she’s gotten the nickname ‘Little Red Riding Hood’. But, most just call her Red, for short. The only person who really calls her by her real name anymore is her mom and her teacher, but she’s starting to slip into the habit as well. Calling upon Miriam as Red in class sure caused a ruckus.
“Hey, Red, did you hear about what happened last night?” Lucinda asked as they sat under the sole tree that stood in the center of the meadow, a blanket splayed under them as they munched on homemade sandwiches. Rosalina not present due to a cold, it’s definitely been going around as of late.
“No, what happened?” Red prompted, taking another bit of her peanut butter and jam sandwich. Lucinda leaned back and stared into the distance. “Well, apparently one of the children almost got eaten by a wolf while playing in the forest”
Red knitted her eyebrows together, swallowing the food she had in her mouth. “There aren’t any wolves in the forest” Lucinda shrugged “there is now apparently” the brunette leaned back on her hands.
Red shifted so she was sitting in a crisscross position. “Who was it? The kid, I mean” she glanced at her friend, who met her gaze moments later. “Jack Williams” was her simple answer as she glanced back out at the field. “But don’t worry, he’s okay. Just a few scratches I’m pretty sure” Lucinda quickly added.
Jack Williams was a ten year old boy who went to their school, but there was only one school in the village so of course he did. He’s overall a nice kid, friendly and kind hearted. Red is quite fond of him just like she is with almost everyone in the small village she calls home.
Later that day, Red returned home to find her mother making bread and sweet treats. She placed her basket on the table, which previously held quite a lot of sandwiches inside, and glanced at her mom. “What’s all that for?” She blurted out, her mother turning to her with loving eyes.
“Gramma isn’t feeling to well, I’m making these for her. Do you mind bringing them to her when I’m finished?” Her mother inquired, she must not have heard about the wolf story yet. But, Red wasn’t too worried about any wolves attacking her, especially since there hadn’t been any wolves in the forest as long as she’s been living, there’s not suddenly going to be a bunch of the wild beasts roaming around out of nowhere.
“Of course, tell me when you’re done” Red smiled and skipped off down the hallway to her bedroom. Her room wasn’t too decorated, sure there was her rosewood bed and beautiful mahogany wardrobe and book shelves, but there weren’t really any way you could tell it was her room.
The only thing to identify it was the bright red riding hood that was hung up by the windowsill. The light of day streaming in through the window and making the bright red even brighter. Red smiled at it and skipped to her bed, sitting down on the edge and thinking of what to do in the meantime, while she waited for her mother to finish baking.
Eventually, she decided on changing her clothes into something more appropriate. At the moment, she was wearing a frilly white sundress that had a blue ribbon around the waist. It was thin fabric that wasn’t meant for the cold of nighttime. Searching through her wardrobe, she decided upon a dress that looked like a white blouse and a skirt.
The skirt part of the dress was a dark navy blue, pleated as it went down to a couple inches above her knees. The blouse was almost cream colored, with a frilly black ribbon tied in a bow at the collar. She also pulled on some knee length black socks, just to keep her legs warmer.
“Miriam! I’ve finished, come bring these to Gramma now” she heard her mother yell from the kitchen, just in time. The fourteen year old quickly grabbed her hood and shrugged in on over her shoulders, buttoning the button in front before making her way back to the kitchen.
There, her mother was waiting with the basket from before, now full of freshly baked bread of all kinds. “Here. Now, come straight home, it’s already close to getting dark and I don’t wan’t you out there alone” Red nodded and grasped the weaved handle of the basket in her hands, she couldn’t see what her mom had made since there was a piece of fabric over top of the food inside, presumably to keep it heated.
“I’ll be back soon” Red singsonged as she was slipping her shoes on, her mom giving her a peck on the cheek before her daughter exited the house. Luckily, the entry to the forest wasn’t too far from her house, it was at the edge of the village and looked like an arch of bush while glades covered the space around it.
Without a second thought, she entered the familiar forest just as the sun was starting to set.
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