A Non-Existent Sequel to the Original "Little Red Riding Hood"

“Honestly Sidney, I still just cannot believe that you allowed Red out there all on her own to go visit your mother,” Brittany said. Brittany was the main source of gossip in the village, and she was Sidney’s best friend.

            “Don’t worry Brittany,” Sidney said to her friend. “Red will be fine. I wouldn’t send her out on her own like that if I didn’t believe it myself.” Sidney turned from the kitchen counter to look at Brittany, who was seated at the table with a cup of tea. “Oh calm down Brittany, it’s me who should be worried, Little Red is my daughter after all.”

            “Little Red Riding Hood,” Brittany muttered into her tea. “The name suits her.” Sidney smiled and turned back to the cookies she was baking.

            It wasn’t long until there was a knock on the old creaky door.

            “Can you get that for me?” Sidney asked Brittany. Brittany nodded and got up to open the door. Sidney listened to Brittany’s conversation from the kitchen.

            “Hello Brittany, can I speak to Sidney?” a man asked. It was Jacob. He was a lumberjack.

            What is he doing here? Sidney thought.

            “Yes, come in,” Brittany said. “She’s in the kitchen. Why? Has something happened?”

            “I just need to speak with Sidney,” Jacob persisted. Brittany nodded. Jacob walked into the kitchen and Sidney turned to look at him. He looked sad and very, very nervous. He was shuffling his feat and twiddling his thumbs. In that moment Sidney knew something was wrong. Very wrong.

            “Jacob what’s wrong?” Sidney asked calmly. Jacob took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak, but only a chocked sob came out. He put a hand over his mouth and blinked his eyes hard. Brittany put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

            “Jacob it’s okay, just-” Brittany started to say.

            “No! No it’s not okay!” Jacob yelled, cutting Brittany off. He shoved her hand off his shoulder and turned to face Sidney right in the eyes. “It’s about Red.”

            With those words Sidney felt as though she was going to collapse. She slowly turned her back on Jacob and held on to the counter for support.

            “What happen to Red?” Sidney asked urgently.

            “Red, well, she was, well…” Jacob sighed. “Red is dead.” His voice squeaked at the last word. He started to cry softly.

            Sidney was in shock. Red was dead. Her daughter. Her daughter was dead. Sidney heard Brittany gasp. Sidney’s bottom lip started to quiver. All the strength she had in her legs was lost and she collapsed to the kitchen floor. She one hand to cover her mouth and kept the other tightly gripped onto the counter. She didn’t cry. She was in so much shock that her tears didn’t know how to fall.

She took a shaky breath.

“No,” She whispered. She stood up and turned around to face Jacob. “No,” she said with more confidence. Jacob opened his tightly shuteyes and looked up at Sidney. “Red is not dead. She can’t be! She’s been to my mother’s house so many times, what was so different about this one?”

Jacob looked at Sidney with so much sadness in his eyes. “Some lumberjacks said they saw Red talking to a wolf. But the wolf and Red went separate ways, so we didn’t think much of it. When Red didn’t come back down the pathway for a few hours, we had figured that we’d ought to go check out her Grandmother’s house. When we got there the place smelled funny. We went in, and well…” Jacob trailed off.

“I am going to find her,” Sidney said. She went over to Jacob and looked at him right in the eyes. “I am going to find her, and you will be sorry that you ever played this trick on me. Jacob looked terrified, and that was her intention. Brittany looked at her friend with sadness in her eyes. Even Sidney knew that she wasn’t behaving like herself. But that wasn’t enough to stop he from barging out the door to go looking for Red.

Sidney was almost at her mother’s house. Admittedly, she was still nervous. After all, there was still a slim possibility that Jacob was telling the truth, but she tried not to think like that. After a short while, Sidney reached the door to her mother’s house. She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. No one answered. Sidney tried again but got the same response. Complete and utter silence.

So Sidney opened the door and stepped inside the house. It felt cold and empty, and there was also a strange smell in the air. Sidney walked though the house slowly, almost as if something was going to come out and attack her. Nothing did.

            Sidney slowly made her way to her mother’s room. She opened the door hesitantly, and peaked her head in. She saw blood on the floor and the bed, just too much. Her eyes cast over to one section of the floor. Sitting on the ground was a small bundle of red. Sidney carefully walked over to it, trying her best to avoid the blood. She picked up the red article carefully. After she rolled out the cloth, she immediately knew what she was holding.

            She was holding a little red riding hood.