TLC the Musical

Into The Woods

 The lights went out, and Sunto was a bit confused when they came back on. The set not took place in a forest, nothing like the castle or the ball, or anything from before.

Painted trees were scattered around the stage, and some of them had apples, or oranges hanging from branches. Bushes surrounded the trees, with blueberries and blackberries all over. Yep, Sunto could tell is was a forest. A fruity one at that.

From the left, a girl with a long red hood strolled onto the stage. The rest of her clothes were like the ones the people in the marketplace wore. Her shoes were old, muddy boots. Her shirt was white, and her skirt was blue and went passed her knees.

On her arm, she had a basket. It was covered with a piece of cloth.

Sunto's eyes bulged as he remembered that one story his mom read to him when he was younger. One that gave him nightmares.

Little Red Riding Hood. The tale of a young girl who got chased through the woods by a vicious wolf. Later, the wolf would eat her and the girl's grandmother. And a hunter would kill the wolf and set the girl and her grandmother free.

He gulped, unsure of what to do. Should he get up and yell to the girl to run and don't trust the wolf? Should he go to the bathroom until this part was over?

Sunto's mom saw his distress, and she leaned down and whispered, "Don't worry, Sunto. In this play, the wolf is nice."

He looked up to his mother. Her tired eyes and pale face a normal sight to him. "Really?" he asked, unsure of whether or not he could trust the wolf that would go on stage.

"Positive," she assured. She gently took her son's hand and held it on the armrest. She smiled widely, and Sunto was happy to see his mom smiling again.

For her to stay that way, Sunto took a breath and kept watching the play. Trying his hardest not to move or fidget. He wanted his mom to enjoy the play for now. Before they had to go back to the doctor's office again.

Little Red strolled around on the stage and hummed to herself. She plucked red berries from bushes and looked up at the ceiling. Instruments played sweet tunes that reminded Sunto of nature.

So far, so good, he thought. He was still a bit on edge at the idea that a wolf was going to come on stage and scare Little Red. What if he ate her? What if he tried to convince her to let him into her grandmother's house? What if he followed her there even if she said "no"?

What if he stole her food?

Okay, scratch everything else Sunto thought before. He knew what kinds of mean and terrible things people could think when people stole their food. One time, someone stole Sunto's food at lunch, and he punched the kid in the face.

Sure, the kid got a blood nose, but that's what you get when you steal Sunto's PB&J. His mom came into the office to talk to the principal about it. She didn't yell at him, but said he could have handled that better.

Oddly enough, he didn't really get punished by his mom that day.

Back to the play, Sunto caught a dark figure sneaking around the back of the stage. Glancing to his side, he saw that his mother glimpsed it too. Her eyes narrowed on the stage and a faint smile remained on her face.

The tip of Sunto's shoe tapped the floor furiously. He thought the wolf was the figure, and that the monster would jump out from behind the bushes and eat Little Red.

Which would make for a really short scene.

The creature made a rustling in the bushes, catching Little Red's attention. As Sunto took a closer look at her, he saw that Little Red was not very "little" at all. She was fairly tall. Her hair was bright red, long, and poured out from the sides of her long hood. She was about five feet tall, and was not too thin. The way she held the basket was like she was prepared to use it as a weapon.