Once upon a time, in a forest far away from any settlements, a girl was running, carrying a basket full of berries, mushrooms, seeds and much more to prepare and eat later.
The birds were singing and the flowers were blooming; in stark contrast to the beauty of the forest, the girl, wearing a red hood, was crying and trying to hurry to her grandmother's house deep within the woods.
She soon reached the house, grabbed the door handle and pushed it open, hoping to be greeted by the warmth her grandmother usually gave her. However, she couldn't find her grandmother anywhere until she stopped in her tracks when she saw a sheep lying weakly on the floor, covered in blood; it was clear that its stomach had been ripped open, causing some of its organs to spill out.
The girl hadn't yet processed it all when she heard the sound of heavy footsteps; she immediately lifted her head and saw a wolf with a mouth full of blood. But the wolf was much larger than it should have been—blink—as the girl blinked, she realised it wasn't a wolf at all.
It was a huge man, his hands and clothes caked in blood. The man was running towards her, and she could only stand frozen in place, her legs too weak to move.
The girl glanced at the sheep once more, only to realise that it wasn't a sheep at all—her eyes widened and tears were already streaming down her cheeks.
"Grandma…?"
RING! RING! RING!
The sound of the alarm immediately woke the girl lying on the bed from her nightmare; she turned towards the alarm and, in that very instant, a fluffy white rabbit hopped over and switched it off for her.
"Thank you, Mimi, but I want to go back to sleep..." said the girl before turning to face the wall; judging by the time on the clock, it was still far too early for her to get up.
Knock, Knock, Knock
The sound of knocking came from outside her room. "Red, I know you're awake! Don't even think about going back to sleep or I'll splash you with water" said an annoying girl—her flatmate.
The girl covered her ears with a pillow to muffle the sound, but before long the pillow was pulled away. As the girl called Red turned her head, she saw a blonde girl whose hair was a similar colour to her own, though the other girl's hair was longer; her blue eyes met the red eyes of the girl lying on the bed.
"Good grief… Why is it so hard for you to wake up in the morning?" she asked, continuing to grumble, whilst the girl was staring at her own reflection in the mirror. I could really relate to the torment of being nagged first thing in the morning, because the girl lying on the bed was me.
"You're listening to me, aren't you?" She said, tilting her head slightly, before letting out a long sigh. "You'd better get up quickly because Mother's given us another mission now."
I got out of bed and sat on the edge of it; the girl took a step back before we exchanged glances once more. "What mission has she given us this time, Alice?" I asked, and from the tone of my voice she must have realised I wasn't fully awake yet.
"We've been told to find a cannibal; she says he's already claimed many victims" replied the girl called Alice. She noticed me staring at the wooden floor and immediately took hold of my chin, lifting it so our eyes met again. "Good heavens, why are you spacing out?! Did you hear what we're supposed to look for?"
I sighed. "Yeah, I heard. We have to find an animal, right?" Hearing that immediately set off the blue-eyed girl's temper, and she released her fingers from my chin.
"A cannibal! Not an animal!"
"What's the difference?"
"Ugh! Anyway, you'd better be downstairs in five minutes, or I'll drag you down there myself!" Alice said, frustrated, before walking out of my room with a white rabbit perched on her shoulder.
I let out a long sigh; I'm always being nagged at every day, but I don't think I'll ever get used to it. Still, I have to accept all of Mother's missions because one day I might well run into that scoundrel I met at my grandmother's house that day.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror again; my left eye was hidden by my fringe—a reminder of just how chaotic that day had been. A red light flashed before finally disappearing, revealing a shotgun in my hand; remembering that man's brutality immediately put me on high alert.
I raised the shotgun and aimed it at the mirror. "No matter what it takes… I'll kill you" I muttered; this hatred will never fade, and I'll carry it with me until I die—for the person who killed my grandmother.