Little Red the Beast

Sticks cracked under the girl’s feet like a heart after love has failed it. She soared over a tree stump as if it were her dreams, and if she were to ever reach them, they would burst into flames. (It has been a long time since she has trusted herself with such delicacies.) Breaths surged out of her unwillingly; she did not want to breathe this air any longer. It was too familiar, and the only thing the girl wanted was to escape this place forever. Behind her, the wolf chased her under a million unforgiving stars. His claws were sharpened from all the times she had disappointed him, deadlier than a dagger; more dangerous than her mistakes. He howled at the full moon and this was when she was sure the wolf was taunting her. Flashes of all the people she failed crossed her mind and she slashed at them with her last ounce of sanity to leave her alone. But they would not leave her alone. His paws slammed into the earth behind her, and she said to herself, Do not stop running. Never stop running from this beast. But then her cloak caught on a passing branch. First it stuck; then it tore. She could not help but cry out and tumble to the ground, the wolf’s jaw latching onto her mind. He stood above her now, glowering. Saliva dripped from his jowls and his fur glistened under the moonlight; it was an unjustly serene sight at the scene of her downfall. You’ve been caught, said the wolf. You cannot run from me any longer. But the girl was not afraid. Instead, she smiled, and her heart finally split in two. Little Red Riding Hood does not run from big bad wolves anymore, she told him. She only runs from herself.