Addiction

It was normal for Young Red to bring her Grandmother treats. Her grandmother was an old, sickly lady, but that surely didn't mean that she didn't love her granddaughter and long for these visits.
One morning, Red's mother sent a letter to her mother, stating that she would be sending Red over the next day with a basket full of cakes and wines.
This had made Grandmother very happy and she went to cleaning her old cottage, despite being old and frail.
Red, of course, hadn’t been informed of this arrangement until that very next morning, when her mother handed her a basket full of warm, sweet smelling cakes and strong wines. Her mother told her that the shortest way to her Grandmother's house was through the forest, which Red knew already but she listened to her mother anyway.
As always her mother told her that she should not talk to strangers, she should take little breaks in between hours and never ever leave the path.
Red had never left the path before, having memorized the pathway to her grandmother's house after several years of trips there and back again. And every time Red left the house, her mother would fasten her favorite red hood over her head and shoulders, telling her daughter that it would keep away anything bad.
Red had believed this for some time, due to never having anything bad happen to her while she was wearing her hood.

So holding her basket, Red skipped off into the woods, waving to her mother behind her as she disappeared into the trees.
But unbeknownst by Red, there was someone watching her. Someone with big yellow eyes and brown fur and a large maw and a mouth full of sharp teeth.
The Wolf watched Red as she walked along the path her basket swinging on her arm as she went. Due to his heightened senses, the Wolf could smell the cakes in the basket, which didn't really appeal to him because gluten made his stomach uneasy. But hiding behind all those cakes, was a scent that the wolf knew well. Wine.
Most would think that wine would be bad for an animal, and they would be right. Although too much of anything is bad for everyone, human and animals alike, wine was not the best thing to give a wolf.
But for our Wolf, wine was an importance. It was a great creation. It was the end all be all of anything. For the Wolf, wine was an addiction.
And like always. Addictions make people do crazy things.

"How do you do?" The Wolf greeted Red as her stepped in front of her.
"How do I do what?" Red asked curiously.
The Wolf was confused for a moment. "It's a saying. To ask someone how do you do, is like asking how they are" The Wolf explained.
"Then why not say that in the first place? I do hate it when people say things that mean another thing, it's very confusing"
The Wolf thought for a moment "It is isn't it? I apologize. How are you?"
Red smiled excitedly at the Wolf. "I am well. How about you?"
"I am tired. It is hard to be a wolf"
"How so?" Red inquired.
"Well everyone has expectations of you. You have to have a pack, you have to be strong, and you have to eat meat-"
"You mean to say that you don't eat meat?" Red asked appalled.
"Not at all!" The Wolf told her "My mother taught me to eat what your belly tells you to eat. My belly has never once told me I need to eat meat, so I haven't"
Red looked at the Wolf with a growing interest. She'd never met a Vegetarian Wolf before, she'd never even met a wolf before! She doubted that any of the other wolves would be as kind as this one was.
"Say, is that Wine I smell?" The Wolf asked with almost a shameful tone.
"Indeed it is! I'm taking it to my Grandmother"
"You don't suppose- Well of course you wouldn't- How silly of me to think- I just hoped that-" The Wolf trailed off, looking to the forest floor, with a distant look in his yellow eyes as he swayed where he stood.
"Whatever is wrong Mister Wolf?" Red asked, alarmed by the Wolf's sudden change in demeanor. She watched him as he swayed in his spot, almost like he was dancing to a music that wasn't there.
"Would you mind too much if I took some of that wine?" The Wolf asked, almost begging.
"But why?" Red asked "Isn't wine bad for Wolves?"
The Wolf nodded sadly "I cannot help it. I need it" HE told her.
Red thought for a moment. She remembered her neighbor who had always been drinking wines and ale. He had been her favorite neighbor for a long while but he had gotten into trouble for drinking too much. He had gone to the Fairy tale rehab center far outside of town around seven months ago and had returned just a few weeks ago. He still was the same fun-loving person that Red remembered, but he no longer drank.
"Mister Wolf. If I give you some Wine today, would you mind too much if I brought you somewhere say tomorrow?"
The Wolf looked back up at her, his yellow eyes filled with hope and slight dread. "That would depend on where you would take me. I would hope that it's not a dog pound"
Red laughed at the Wolf's silliness "Of course it’s not a dog pound. I would be taking you to the Rehab center outside of the city"
"Rehab? Do they have a rehab for Wolves?"
Red took this into consideration for a minute. Would they accept him even though he was a wolf? They have all sorts of creatures there, so why wouldn't they take him in?
"They have rehab for Fairies, Mermaids, Trolls and Gnomes. Why not Wolves?" Red stated brightly.
The Wolf looked at the little girl. He could have just taken the wine from her and run off faster than she would have been able to imagine. But here was a part of him that knew that he shouldn't. That he should take up the girl's offer. Maybe it would help him.
He had begun to think not too long before that he couldn't be helped. That he was beyond saving and that he would be stuck like that for the rest of his life.
But here was a chance to change. Here, in front of him, was the next step. It was a big step of course, one that not many people would take because they feared the unknown. But the Wolf knew he needed help. He knew he wanted help.
"I will go with you to the Rehab Center tomorrow"

And with that, Red handed the Wolf a bottle of Wine like she had promised she would and skipped past him, a new pride around her as she went to Grandmother's house.
Behind her, the Wolf looked at the bottle of deep red wine, contemplating it for a moment, then he opened it and poured it on the ground in front of him, taking his first step.
Meanwhile at Granny's house, Red was retelling her tale to her grandmother, not leaving out anything as her Grandmother laughed at her Granddaughter's ridiculous story that surely could never have really happened.