Red - Once Upon a Time

I never thought I was a princess only a child of the forest wild. Arriving unexpected, despite the hints along the way, to mother's chagrin, we never quite connected. I was quite the surprise on my birthday. She wrapped me in a bright red blanket and there I was unwanted and very much alive, warm, tightly wrapped safely in a bundle, left on my grandmother's doorstep to thrive learning to be most grateful and humble. That old, kind woman, took me in and recognized my face knowing well the secret of my birth and place surmising the very source from where I came and as I grew, she knew, the Red would become my name. My story was a secret that no one should ever be told but children share their secrets from the fold. A strange young boy who ran with wolves beyond the wood had often met and played with little Red riding hood. They spent their time together after school and spoke of the world and all its silly rules but they were not meant to be a part of it, the boy and Red were more simple spirits. When grandma died having given Red all she could teach her, it was said villagers saw two strange and wolf like creatures who came and took the most precious things away and Red riding hood disappeared that very day. The red blanket still hangs upon a line and in the window of that forest lost in time, some say they see, a wolf boy and young girl that run laughing and playing in the morning sun. 2/2/16