Red's Untold Tale by Wendy Toliver

Author:Wendy Toliver
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Disney Book Group

Just before twilight, Granny and I darted about the cottage, lost in our own thoughts as we prepared for Wolfstime. When she pulled the portcullis over the fireplace, she grunted as usual, but suddenly, her grunt turned into a shriek. I dropped the cups of cider on the table and ran to her.

Grasping her right arm, she said breathlessly, “I’m all right. I’m all right.”

“You are not all right, Granny,” I said as I helped her onto her favorite spot on the sofa. “You’re in agony. And it’s getting worse, isn’t it?” Now that I thought about it, when I’d come home from school that afternoon, she’d been in her bedroom instead of in the kitchen baking. As I put together other oddities, such as there being only a few baked goods on the kitchen counter, packaged and ready for me to deliver in the morning, and Granny’s quietness in general—which I’d admittedly found refreshing, especially since I had so much weighing on my mind—I realized how selfish I’d been not to have noticed earlier. “Does it hurt too much to bake?”

“After tonight, there’s only three more nights to go. And then plenty of time to recoup before the next Wolfstime.” Her quivering lips formed the slightest of smiles.

As I sopped up the spilled cider and topped off our cups with more, I hoped the smile on my face was more convincing. However, Granny had to make it through four more nights and three more days. It would not be easy. “I wish there was something I could do,” I said.

She clicked her tongue. “Don’t waste something as precious as a wish on something so silly. I’ll survive. Always do. That is, unless I have to bake another damn muffin. I swear, I have no inkling why people are suddenly so cuckoo over my muffins.”

“They’re delicious, that’s why.” I was glad to hear that giving out muffin samples was paying off.

“Well, I can’t argue with that.” We sipped our ciders without speaking for quite a while. Finally, she sighed and said, “You should be getting to bed, child.”

I nodded and brought the cups back to the kitchen. I might not have been able to relieve Granny’s pain, but perhaps I could bake something in the morning and help her keep on top of her orders.

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