Stranger No More

It was never fun or easy to get to grandma’s house. She lived deep in the woods. Looking back it’s clear mom felt she has too many kids. Always sending them out into the woods by themselves. I suspect she wanted to lose more of us. She lost one girl early on and seemed pretty unconcerned. She never gave us warnings or any weapons, just sent us out like toy soldiers. Thomas was pretty good about keeping his wits about him. Me, I was pretty hopeless.

At the time of sending me out a new piece of technology came out called GPS. I also had a knife and some pepper spray that Thomas got for me.

Along the way I ran into a wolf who seemed very friendly. I would have thought he was a dog because he barked and wagged his tail at me. There was a teenage boy with the wolf. He smiled and said “oh the good old boy is quite tame.” His eyes glistened with joy and he pointed out some of the wild leaves and flowers that were worth trying. I tried them. I felt a little off but then again I find going through the woods disorienting.

He turns to me and says “hey my name is John.” I am hiding my smile when I say “I am Scarlet.” “Do you blush as red as your cape?” I turned bright red and said “yes.” “So what’s a gal like yourself doing in the woods?” I smile and said “I am off to help my grandmother get better.” “Oh so what kind of goodies do you have for your sweet grandma?” “I have plenty of cookies, brownies, fresh baked bread, and whiskey.” The boy lights up at the whiskey. “We could taste it together and make sure it is good enough for grandma.” I laughed and said “no we are too young for that. It’s for my grandma only.” I am feeling light and free with him. He looks at me and shrugged off the comment. “Well I should leave you red, I gotta take care of the farm. Maybe I could come over later and meet your grandma. Whereabouts would I find you later?” My head feels foggy when I tell him “I don’t know” and then I point somewhere loosely up ahead. He teased me for my bad sense of direction.

I remembered I had GPS and I pulled it out and showed him what it said. He smiled and said “see you later red.” I felt like I had entered another world. I was following the route and it kept routing me. It was getting dark and I was feeling quite sleepy. So when I arrived at a home and I looked at the GPS and it seemed like I was on track I just went with it. I didn’t really pay attention to the paint color which looked slightly different. And the shutters were curiously more tattered and older than I remembered.

I took a chance whether this was the right home and that they would be friendly. I mean I survived this long with no wolf attacks. And right now I couldn't help but think surely we are out of the woods.

I know on the door and I am feeling very woozy. It seems like my eyes have been playing tricks on me. I had moments where I swore I saw fairies and elves. I remember thinking I must have eaten something funny on the way. Because there was a moment where the handsome boy looked like a grey wolf walking on hind legs.

When the door opened, I saw a caped figure that was hunched over a cane. I thought I saw some grey fur but then again I had been missing seeing things after the edible journey I had with the boy. A raspy voice said “I am tired and need to rest” while moving towards the bed that was in the middle of the living room.

The hoarse hooded figure said “Can you bring me some tea?” I nodded and headed over the kitchen to the left side of the room. I started the water running into the kettle. Then I passed out. When I woke up, it was dark and I had a massive headache. I hear the screeching sound of the kettle going off. I tried to move to turn it off and I couldn't move.

I heard the sound of the door being chopped down. Then John asked “where is she?” The voice which feels like it’s vibrating around me said “what girl?” John said “Red can you hear me?” And I pound away and said “yes.” I hear John’s footsteps approach me. He now seems to be wrestling with my host. I realized then the furry being was actually a wolf. After much tossing back and forth, I feel the wolf has fallen to the ground. I hear John look through my basket. He finds my knife and cuts the wolf open.

When I stepped out of the wolf, I felt gross and disgusting. He looked at me “woah Red, that is a bit too much red for me.” I laugh and head over to the shower. He offered to help clean me up.

Although I think he is adorable, my mother did say I shouldn’t be too friendly with strangers. It was ok if I got lost in the woods until technology was there to supposedly help me. But it wasn’t ok to engage with a stranger. I wonder when he would no longer be considered a stranger.

I step out of the shower and find a set of clean clothes I can borrow. I change into them in the bathroom and said “Well stranger, let’s go find my grandma’s house together shall we?” He smiled and said “it would be an honor to safely escort you to your grandma’s house. You don’t need no pepper spray with the likes of me around.”

I think by the time we get to grandma’s house that he will be a stranger no more.