Julie

 

Having washed the dishes, Julie stepped down from the high stool where she was standing. A long day, she said to herself, as she took her tired body - clothed in a Little Red Riding Hood outfit – towards her bedroom. She had been wearing this as a token, given to her by her momma. She had been wearing this ever since…

Ever since the Big Bad Wolf had killed her momma, and had started beating her.

She saw that creature seated over by the telly, munching on fish and chips, and drinking a can of beer. He was wearing a brown-coloured jacket, over a checkered shirt. The spectacles dangled from his right ear. He seemed to be asleep. After checking on him, Julie tip-toed back to her room. She opened her geometry book, and taking a very battered looking exercise book, she started doing some sums given over there – especially the ones on circles. She did not complete the one on triangles yet. She chose circles, for…

Suddenly, she stopped. The circle lay over there, half-drawn – like a crescent that had been stopped from waxing further more. Julie heard someone coming to her room. She gripped her compass tightly. The door suddenly burst open, and there stood in the frame – that nasty, Big, Bad Wolf. He clearly was drunk (who wouldn’t after boozing on ten cans?), and staggered himself into the room. His eyes were red, the residues of foam lined his mouth, and he straightaway darted towards the Little Red Riding Hood.

‘You killed her. You brat. You….you…’ he thundered. The revolting scent of alcohol wafted from the deep bowels of his mouth. Julie just stood there, frozen like a statue. No more fear…no more will she let herself be at the mercy of this monster…for nights, for countless nights had she been waking up, due to the deep cuts and bruises she had got…she so much feared that belt…the belt…

But not – Oh, not today.

‘Well, it seems you ’aven’t got a lesson. But you…you are my sweet lil’ girl right? Well, then I’ll…then I’ll…’

He slumped down to the ground, with his head in his hands. Then, with a roar similar to a hungry animal, he lashed out the long leather strip from his back pocket – known as a belt – and whipped it on Julie’s right leg. Julie fell over, but gave out no whine. Enraged, he proceeded with his brutality. When he lowered down to give the sixth whip, he suddenly fell back down on the ground, whimpering. He had been suddenly stabbed by something sharp. Before he knew it, something silvery attacked and went straight to his heart, from where blood gushed out, spilling all over his shirt. Then, suddenly, the lights went off…someone had switched it off!

In that darkness, a loud, terrified growl was heard, along with the lashing of the belt upon human flesh. After some moments, everything fell silent, only to be broken by these words:

‘Sorry, but I’m not your sweet lil’ girl anymore.’

***

The next night, Julie sat alone in the dining room, doing some sums from the geometry book in her exercise copy. The telly was not on, neither the sound of the munching of fish and chips nor the drunken footsteps after the emptying of ten beer cans. Gone, everything was gone. The mother was already gone, having been beaten to death by her husband. Now, the husband was also no more…the devil was gone. The Big Bad Wolf was...gone.

Julie smiled to herself.

The dried bloodstains on her hands gleamed in the dim light, so did the scarlet pencil-cutter and the compass.

***

M. Macabre

20.10.2020

Dedicated to: Bela Lugosi (Happy Birthday!)