Red Riding Hood - Chapter 3
She clutched the basket tightly, recalling the priest’s warning to beware of the wolf.
A long time ago, when this village was first established, the priest who built the gray temple had said:
“Beware the black wolf. When the black wolf appears, much blood will be spilled, and everyone will die.”
Perhaps because of this, the residents of Mindie feared wolves. They avoided the forests and fields where wolves might appear, and the phrase “Beware the wolf” had even become a common greeting among them.
Was it because of the wolf’s howling?
Cinq’s mind grew increasingly dizzy, and unfamiliar voices began to echo in her head.
The mischievous wind shoved her back and forth, pushing her hard in the back, tangling her legs, then slipping under her feet to trip her while laughing mockingly.
“Cinq! You can only pretend to be innocent for so long!”
“Soon, White Goat will be the one to take off your red hood!”
“It’s inevitable. You belong to that brothel keeper who deserves to rot in hell!”
“But don’t worry, Cinq. White Goat said he’s very gentle!”
Not wanting to hear those voices, Cinq tightened her red hood with one hand and trudged forward with difficulty. The wind danced around her, following close behind.
“Cinq, Cinq!”
She shook her head vigorously, trying to rid herself of the voices clinging to her ears. But the wind swirled around her, taunting her persistently.
“Cin-q. Cin-q. You will never escape this place!”
Cinq murmured,
“Stop it. I already know.”
Soon, Old lady Vinya’s house came into view. Still clutching her basket, Cinq covered her ears with both hands and broke into a run.
But she had to stop abruptly. In the middle of the snow-covered path, a faint, pale shadow loomed.
Cinq stared intently at the shadow. It was pale and sorrowful, resembling Six.
Cinq asked,
“Six? Is that you?”
The pale shadow wavered as if beckoning her to follow.
Cinq looked beyond the shadow, where the forest lay shrouded in pitch-black darkness.
She shook her head.
“Six, it’s too cold and dark to follow you.”
Fixing her gaze on the contents of her basket, she walked past Six’s shadow.
“Don’t do that. Come with me instead. Tonight’s dinner is roasted pork.”
Her dizziness worsened. She needed to hurry home and drink Old Vinya’s tea; that would ease her dizziness.
Climbing the steps to the house, Cinq felt as if Six, the wind, and the darkness were trailing closely behind her.
The house was dark inside. It seemed Old Vinya had gone to bed early. Cinq opened the door and stepped inside.
“Vinya, I’m back.”
She placed the basket on the cupboard, then removed her red hood and coat. Golden curls spilled out like a waterfall, revealing her small, lovely face and pale blue eyes, moist like dew drops.
A creaking sound came from within the room, as though her arrival had woken Vinya.
Cinq went to the fireplace, picked up the poker, and began stirring the burnt-out logs.
“Don’t be angry. I couldn’t get any fish. There wasn’t anything fresh.”
Finding a faint ember among the ashes, she blew gently on it, coaxing it back to life. Then, she added a few logs to the revived flame.
Placing the poker down, she turned around.
“But instead, I bought meat. Fresh meat is hard to come by, so…”
In the center of the room, illuminated by the fireplace’s light, Vinya lay sprawled on the floor.
Vinya looked strange—very strange. Her hair, always twisted into an onion-shaped bun, had come undone and sprawled on the ground like a slug. Her face was crumpled beneath it.
Her eyes were open wide in a mean-spirited glare, yet they didn’t seem to be looking at anything in particular. A long, purple tongue lolled out of her mouth, reaching all the way to the floor.
Cinq blinked as she stared at Vinya.
A sudden thought occurred to her.
If Vinya is lying there, then who got out of bed?
Cinq turned her gaze toward the bedroom.
Standing there, dark and enormous, was a black wolf balanced on two legs.
Cinq looked up at him with her innocent expression.
The wolf growled, his voice rough.
“Are you that old hag’s granddaughter? Sorry about this. I didn’t mean to kill her at first, but she tried to poison me.”
He clicked his teeth together with a low growl before muttering.
“Anyway, I’m sorry for the trouble.”
The wolf stretched out a large hand and wrapped it around Cinq’s neck. His hand was rough and massive, saturated with the smell of leather and metal.
Feeling the hard texture of his palm, Cinq spoke.
“I’m not her granddaughter.”
The wolf blinked his large golden eyes.
Cinq continued,
“Vinya was my brothel keeper. She owned both me and Six. Six suffered under her for a long time before finally dying, and now it was supposed to be my turn.”
The wolf bared his teeth and growled.
“What? That old hag was that terrible? Good riddance.”
He looked Cinq up and down with his gleaming golden eyes and asked,
“Little one, do you think the same?”
Cinq nodded.
The wolf slowly let her go and stepped back.
“That’s a relief. To be honest, I was at my limit.”
And in the next moment, the wolf’s massive body swayed backward and collapsed with a loud thud.
