Red

There never was a wolf. Not a real one, anyway. The one in the fairy tale is a metaphor, maybe for coming of age, first love or even coming out. Sure, there were once wolves living in the woods long ago. But they were just a convenient plot twist in the fairy tale. That said, the tale itself has some truth. And it's been going on for centuries, in one form or another. I'm just the latest version. Me? I'm Ryan, but my nickname is Red. I do like the colour and wear it a lot but I'm called that because I have red hair. I'm not even a girl. I'm a guy. Definitely. Although I do have quite prominent feminine features and traits. As I grew up I got a bit of bullying for it. But I was also quite popular too, if you know what I mean! My parents died when I was very young so I don't really remember them. I was raised by Granny, along with my older sister, in her cottage in the woods. She had a dog, but it was as far from a wolf as you could get. The cottage? It's not exactly in the middle of the woods. It might have been once but the nearby village is now a fairly large town and the cottage is effectively on the edge of the town. It's down a track off a main road and there's even a large supermarket half a mile away. So there was never any need to traipse back and forth with baskets of food, like in the fairy tale. I live there now. Granny moved out a while back. To a very nice retirement complex just down the road. My sister's married with a daughter, got her own place in the town. I own the cottage now and live with my boyfriend there. I met him out in the woods one day and we hit it off. He's a tree surgeon and he's into conservation in a big way. As for the Red Riding Hood thing? I still visit Granny often. Take her nice treats sometimes although it's my niece who likes to do that even more. And the outfit? A bit of fun, although I do walk around the woods in it sometimes. Helps keep the old legend going!