"Hey there little red riding hood,
you sure are looking good.
Your everything the big bad wolf could want.
What big eyes you have,
the kind of eyes that drive wolves mad."
I was just another normal teenage girl, walking with my best friend Kathy, but then things changed. We were on the bus, coming back from the mall of course! Everything was normal, we were just goofing off and acting like teenage girls, but then I noticed him. It was him…
Every night I dreamt of this skinny black wolf, I started to think I was nuts actually. In Alice and Wonderland, Alice dreamt of Wonderland everyday from ten years old to eighteen. I'm nineteen but still, I dreamt of this wolf since I was eight. It started to be so odd to me that I fell asleep faster just to see the wolf. He was never a threat or a danger to me; he was like an old friend that was just very fierce.
Yet there I sat, on the bus, looking dead in his face. It was him, the wolf, my wolf. Only he wasn't a wolf, but exactly the human version of him. Sleek black hair that looked slightly messy and wild framed his face. Popping out against the dark brown of his messy hair was narrowed stormy blue eyes. His nose was slightly crooked and pointy, but all together he was my wolf.
When Kathy noticed I stopped breathing she slapped my back hard and I sucked in a deep breath. She asked if I was okay, I nodded and said I was fine, so she went back to her endless talking. That was fine to me though, it meant she wouldn't notice me staring at him, or him staring back at me. He looked somewhat cold or mean, but I could tell he was playful and kind.
I had no doubt he was my wolf, so why didn't I say anything, I said nothing at all. I noticed he got off a stop before mine and he nodded his head to me. I felt like he wanted me to follow him, I wanted to as well, but I didn't. I couldn't just leave Kathy on the bus! As he walked down the street he didn't once look back at me, not even a brief glance back toward the bus. I knew I'd see him again though; he was walking down the street my friend, Yamane, lived on. He'll be back again, because just like I knew him, I know he knew me too.
I came home with Kathy and after just laughing and goofing off, she left. My apartment was tiny, to the point where it's almost un-breathable. I live with my grandmother and my mom, who both have their own room. But in our tiny two bedroom apartment, I had no room, so I slept on the couch. Sometimes I even slept on the floor by the couch. I roll around a lot.
I was in pajama shorts and a loose tank top, of course I wore a bra underneath, and I never sleep without one sadly. It was the beginning of August and yet I still had blankets around me. I used to have night terrors when I was little. That means you have a nightmare, you start crying or screaming in your sleep, sadly you can't even wake up until the morning. My night terrors were about this giant beast that would chase me through a maze, all the while a soft male voice called to me.
"Crimson, honey, where are you?
I'm waiting for you.
Why did you leave me?
Crimson, run away, run as far as you can.
Oh Crimson, if you could only see the beast you made of me."
Always the same words that voice said to me. He was always calling my name; his voice was so sweet and wonderful. He made it seem like the beast chasing me wasn't why I ran, I ran to find him. Only I never did find him, not once, and I had that dream every night when I was a baby. Then when I was eight I dreamt of the wolf.
So now I always sleep with a blanket or else I get scared. Sometimes when I sleep without a blanket I get the feeling like someone has they're hand on my shoulder. So I never forget my blanket, even in August!
I had just turned off the light and I was snuggled face first into my pillow. I started to hear breathing in my ear not even a minute later. I was going to whip my head back to see if I was nuts, but the sound was calming. "Crimson..." I heard someone whisper, they're lips brushing my ear while they said my name. I shivered involuntarily, why did I know that voice? Why did I start to cry?
My droplets of tears sunk into my pillow and I felt someone run their hands through my hair. They made cooing sounds and finally I was freaked out enough to turn around.
I only found air.
I turned back around, I was now totally sure I'm insane. But the voice seemed so real, so familiar. The touch was so welcoming and gentle. Whoever it was, I'm totally comfortable with them. I wish so badly it was my wolf boy, but I live on the second floor of the apartment building, he couldn't possibly climb the pine tree by my window. Even if he did climb that tree, when I turned no one was there.
I soon fell asleep, expecting the same dream I always had about my wolf. But for the first time in a very long time, I dreamt of something else.
"What a big heart I have, the better to love you with. Little Red Riding Hood, even bad wolves can be good."