Red Woods

The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window.

The clouds became dark, lightning began to flash along the horizon, and rain drops started to crash on the cabin roof in heavy sheets.

Bunny found herself sitting by the only source of light in the room, which danced on her face and caused her ocean blue eyes to occasionally glimmer in its flickering light. Her breathing was rhythmic and deep, despite the cabin's rather musty air.

There were very few places to sit inside the moisture-riddled structure, aside from a loveseat, a couch, and the place Bunny had chosen as her spot—a lone stool placed by the only front-facing window. At the moment, Bunny was admiring her hair in a small handheld mirror that she always managed to carry with her. As she sat, she ran her fingers through the thin crimson streaks that tinted her bangs. Her thoughts drifted to the wish that she had dyed the rest of her blonde hair when she had the chance, but knew it wouldn’t be long before she gave in to the urge to finish the job. Bunny loved to dye her hair and it didn’t matter the color. However, if monochromatic, she liked to aim for hues off the beaten path. Something about changing her hair color made her feel brand new, so it was hard for her to keep only one color or not to have random streaks running through it for more than two months at a time.

The door of the cabin swung open, bringing a chilly blast of howling air and pools of water which managed to sneak inside along the base of the door.

"I was starting to think you got lost out there," Bunny said as she stood up from her stool.

Jack, hands full, walked in and immediately started removing his muddy boots by pushing on the heels of his shoes with his toes while balancing on one foot at a time, only then proceeding to close the door behind him with his left foot.

“For a minute there, I did too, like for real. It was raining so hard that I could barely see two inches in front of me. Do you remember anyone saying anything about rain in the forecast? I feel like it came out of nowhere. "

“I can’t say that I do, but I don’t think a little water will hurt you; unless you are a witch, and you are afraid you are going to melt. "

I will have you know, I can’t be a witch because I am a guy, and guy witches are wizards, so suck on that fact. Besides, what if I am a wizard?" Jack said, smirking and waiting for Bunny to respond.

"Ok then. Tell me Jack, do wizards melt in the rain?"

"Obviously not, or I wouldn't be standing here, would I?" Jack chuckled before sticking his tongue out at Bunny, who immediately rolled her eyes but listened as Jack continued.

"Anyway, thank goodness you had that candle lit, or I am not sure I would have found my way back."

"You really are a city boy, aren’t you Jack?"

Jack set down the stack of wood that was cradled in his arms and began to remove his long brown coat and hat, which he hung next to the door. After removing his coat, Jack picked up the wood and walked over to the fireplace, where he began to place it before responding to Bunny’s inquiry.

"Hey, what’s that supposed to mean? If I remember correctly, I was the one that wanted to get a tent and not the one who was so adamant that we rent this hoity-toity cabin. "

"Oh? You think a tent would have been better with this rain? Besides, I would hardly call it hoity-toity if the lights don't work.” Bunny said as she walked across the room, carrying that single candle that had been burning in the window. She continued to hold it before sitting on the loveseat right behind Jack.

Jack continued to load the fireplace and didn’t look up.

"Well, obviously neither of us knew it was going to rain. Also, I don’t think I am going to be able to alleviate our light problem anytime soon, seeing how this wood is all wet.” As he said this, the hairs on the back of Jack's neck stood up, but he assumed it was because he was still wet, and did not think too much of it.

"Well Jack, that does make what I am about to do to you a whole heck of a lot easier,” said Bunny, pursing her lips to blew out the candle and gift the cabin to darkness.

****

A few hours later, the ground was still wet, but the skies began to exhale small amounts of light.

Jasmine tried to call her new friend, but it went straight to voicemail. She knew she had gone on a date the previous night and was excited to hear the details of how it went. She was about to give up when she saw Bunny walking over the bridge near the entrance of the woods where they had planned to meet and ran to catch up with her.

As Jasmine got closer, she yelled,

"Hey, I just tried to call you." Jasmine pulled up short. She was caught off guard by her friend’s change in appearance.

"Oh, I really like your hair, Bunny. You look like a completely different person. The blonde was nice, but this all-red color you got going on really suits you.”

"Sorry. My phone must have died, and thanks," said Bunny. "It wasn’t easy to find this color, but as they say, if looks can kill, you’ve got to kill for looks."

Not quite sure what to say about this but feeling the need to respond, Jasmine said,

"Oh yeah? Who says that? "

"People who murder wizards, of course."

"Huh? People who what? "

"Never mind," said Bunny, pulling out that small mirror to admire her new look.