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The Big Bad Wolf is…?
The day was dark and gloomy; gray clouds covered the sky, threatening to spill their rainy contents over the land. Few birds chose to fly about and only a squirrel or two skittered about. They knew the rain was coming, so last minute meals were in order. Even most of the people in Gravesfield were deciding to stay in, save for those who had to go in for work.
One of those people had been Luz's mom, Camila. Despite what day it was, the older Noceda hadn’t been able to get the day off of work. This left Luz all by herself to deal with the day, and her depression certainly wasn’t helping.
As she eyed the calendar on the wall of the kitchen, she walked over to it and ran her fingers over the circled date; August twenty-second. The day her father had passed away eight years ago; he’d lost his battle with cancer. It was rough for both Luz and her mom after that day. But, despite the loss, Luz still did her best to help her mom out around the house. Even if she was ornery about it sometimes.
Luz noticed a magnetic clip with a note and a twenty-dollar bill hanging on the fridge and walked over to it. She grabbed the clip with one hand and the paper items with the other before unclipping them. Luz opened one of her velcro pockets and carefully put the twenty inside, then took a look at the note.
‘Sorry that I can’t be with you today mija, here’s some money for some extra flowers to take to your papi’s grave. Use what’s left over to get yourself some lunch. I love you. -mama’
Luz couldn’t help but smile at her mom‘s note. She really thought of everything, didn’t she? She was a great mom, and Luz would have to show her that appreciation later in the day. Maybe she could make dinner to help her mom out a little. She would be tired after work, after all.
She decided to leave the note on the kitchen table so that her mom would know that she’d seen it. From there, she walked over to the front door and got her shoes on. She grabbed the umbrella her mom had left out for her and made sure she had her house key before heading out, locking the door behind herself.
Her first destination was the flower shop in the small shopping district of Gravesfield. Owned by her friend Willow’s dads, she often found herself there just to take in the sight of all the pretty flowers they had in stock. It was one of the places she and her friends liked to hand out at. As she walked in, she was greeted by one of the owners, Willow’s dad, Gilbert.
”Afternoon, Luz, come to hand out with Willow?” He asked.
”Not today, Gil, I’m here to get some flowers,” Luz replied, her eyes switching their gaze to the floor. “It’s a…special day.”
”Oh, gotcha,” Gilbert responded, “I’m sorry for your loss, kiddo.”
”Thanks, Gil,” Luz managed a small smile at him.
”I think I’ve got the perfect bouquet for you, if that’s alright,” he suggested.
”Sure, I trust your judgement when it comes to flowers,” Luz replied.
”I’ll be right back, then,” Gil nodded before going further into the shop to pick out what he had in mind.
When he returned, he had the most beautiful bouquet Luz had ever seen in her life. It really was perfect for the occasion. There were many perks to having a professional florist in your life. One being that they knew exactly what you needed in terms of flowers.
”Thank you so much, these are perfect for my papi,” she said to Gilbert.
”Good to hear, kiddo,” Gil replied. “And since it’s a special day for you, I’ll get you half off.”
”Are…are you sure? I wouldn’t want to mess up your business or anything,” Luz responded.
”Trust me, we get plenty of business,” Gil winked. “Besides, you’re my little girl’s best friend, it’s the least I can do.”
”Thanks, Gil,” Luz smiled softly.
”Anytime, kiddo,” Gil smiled in return. “Let’s get you checked out.”
Luz nodded and stepped up to the counter with Gilbert. He typed on the register’s screen a few times, bringing up the final price for Luz. He said it to her as she pulled the twenty out of her pocket, handing it to him. He took the bill from her and opened up the register, putting it inside. He then grabbed her change and handed it back to Luz. She carefully put it into her pocket and closed the velcro before taking the bouquet from her friend’s dad. After that, she thanked him one last time before saying her goodbyes and leaving the store.
Next, Luz made her way to the local diner to pick up some lunch to take with her to visit her dad. Her friend Masha was working, and they gave her a discount as well. This allowed Luz to get a milkshake with her burger and fries. She decided to make conversation with Masha while she waited for her food.
”How’s work treating you today?” Luz asked them.
”It’s alright, though kind of slow because of the weather,” Masha replied.
”It must suck when it’s slow,” Luz said to them.
”Eh, just a little,” Masha answered. “It gives me more time to do my side work.”
”That’s good, at least,” Luz replied.
”Yeah,” Masha nodded. “So, what brings you out in this kind of weather?”
”Well…it’s kind of…depressing,” Luz sighed. “It’s…the anniversary of my dad passing away.”
”Oh, that’s rough,” Masha replied. “I’m sorry to hear about your loss.”
”Thanks, Masha,” Luz gave her a small smile.
”Can I ask what he was like?” They asked.
”He was amazing, and a total nerd for Cosmic Frontier,” she replied. “He’s actually the one that introduced me to The Good Witch Azura. He gave the book to me just before he died.”
”No wonder you like it so much,” Masha chuckled.
”It’s not just that, there’s so much more to it than that,” Luz replied.
”So you’ve told me before,” Masha chuckled again.
By then, Luz’s food was ready to go, and one of the other staff members brought it out to her. She thanked the staff member before turning back to Masha.
”It was good seeing you,” Luz said to them.
”And you as well,” Masha replied. “Tell your dad I said hi.”
”Okay, I’ll see you later,” Luz waved at them.
”Later,” Masha nodded, also giving a wave.
Luz then left the diner and made her way to the graveyard, taking notice of an animal that shouldn’t be in Connecticut. Except for in the zoo, maybe. Across the street, just behind the tree line, was a wolf. Luz was certain they’d gone extinct in her state. She’d looked that up ages ago out of curiosity.
She made sure to be careful as she walked, going slowly and doing what she could to not attract its attention. It took her longer to get to the cemetery this way, but it was better off for her own safety. She would have to tell her mom about this later. And maybe call the nearest zoo to see if they had any runaway wolves.
It took Luz a few minutes to remember where her dad’s gravestone was, but she eventually found it in the far corner of the cemetery. She shuffled the stuff in her arms around, setting the umbrella and her food down before placing the bouquet of flowers just in front of the gravestone. After she did that, she carefully sat down, moving the umbrella to be next to her and her food in front of her. She smiled somberly at the gravestone.
”Hola, papi,” she said softly, “it’s already been another year; wild, right? I’m fifteen now. Me and mama celebrated by going to that fancy restaurant we used to go with with you. It was nice.”
She opened her bag of food and pulled out her fries. Luz always ate her fries first, it was just how it was supposed to be.
”I saw a wolf on the way here, it was pretty weird, but also pretty cool to see,” Luz said as she popped a couple of fries into her mouth, finishing them up before she continued. “My friend Masha says ‘hi,’ by the way. They wanted me to let you know.”
Luz continued to talk to him about all the fun things she and her mom had done that past year. From holiday and birthday celebrations to just small things they’d done at home. He deserves to know all of the important things, no matter how small they might seem to someone else.
Her time was cut short, however, when she felt something on the back of her neck. It was wet, like a dog’s nose. She froze when that thought came to mind, slowly turning her head to look at what had touched her. Her eyes went wide when she saw the wolf from earlier. Her body tensed up. There was no way this could be happening, right? But she’d felt the concrete proof when its nose touched the back of her neck. She was face-to-face with a wolf that has stunningly pretty amber-colored eyes. It had followed her here.
Its auburn fur looked so soft and pettable, but Luz knew better than to mess with a predator animal, even if it did just look like a massive husky. Those sharp fangs would be able to tear her apart in seconds. But playing dead would be pointless at this point. Wolves were smart, it would know she was just pretending. So, she remained frozen in place.
That was, until she heard the growl of an empty stomach. And it wasn’t hers. She gulped audibly, wondering if these would be her last moments. On her father’s grave before she could even finish her lunch.
”I can swear that wasn’t me,” Luz said just above a whisper.
But the wolf didn’t make any sort of aggressive moves. In fact, it walked around her and lowered its head, sniffing at the burger still in the paper bag from the diner. Was this wolf friendly? When she heard it whine, that’s when she finally let herself move. She slowly reached for the bag and pulled the burger wrapped in special paper out. She unwrapped the burger and placed the paper back in the bag to avoid littering, the wolf watching her with drool dripping out of its mouth the whole time.
”Are you…just hungry?” She asked it.
the wolf gave a nod, a very quick nod, which caught Luz off guard. It understood her. That was weirder than the wolf even being there in the first place.
”Do you want my burger?” She asked it.
Another quick nod left Luz a little stunned that this wolf could understand what she was saying. But regardless, she held the burger out, offering it to the wolf.
But before the wolf took the burger, something happened that really shocked the hell out of Luz. It started to transform, bones cracking, sounding painful to the Latina’s ears. It became human; a human girl. Though, she kept her wolf ears and tail. The girl had faded lavender-colored hair, the roots growing in from the top of her head that draped down passed her shoulders. She wore a maroon sweater with the face of a white cat on the front, a pair of blue jeans that were ripped at the knees, and a pair of pretty fashionable brown boots. She was the most beautiful girl Luz had ever seen, despite the drool dripping down her chin.
The girl snatched the burger out of Luz’s hands and dug into it, making sounds of joy as she ate. Meanwhile, Luz felt her cheeks grow warm at how pretty she was.
”Crikey…you’re so pretty,” Luz breathed out, making the other girl’s face go red.
The girl finished the bite she had in her mouth and wiped the drool off of her chin before she replied.
”I, uh…thank you,” she replied, stumbling over her words a little. “For both the kind words and the burger. You’re very pretty, too.”
”Oh, I, uh…thank you,” Luz’s gaze went to the ground before she came to a realization that made them snap back up in excitement. “Ohmygosgh! Are you a werewo-?”
There girl used one of her hands to cover Luz’s mouth.
”Not so loud!” She hissed. “But…yes, I am.”
”That’s so cool!” Luz exclaimed.
”I suppose so,” the girl replied.
”I’m Luz. Luz Noceda,” Luz greeted. “May I get your name?”
”Amity Blight,” the girl now known as Amity replied. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Luz.”
”You too,” Luz answered. “So, why are you so hungry? And why come to me?”
”Well…my mother sort of…disowned me, so I’ve been on my own since then,” Amity explained. “I didn’t mean to scare you before, but I smelled your food, and thought that hopefully you wouldn’t run away or call animal control.”
”Well, I did contemplate calling a zoo, but now that I know what you are, my lips are sealed,” Luz replied. “I’m sorry you got disowned.”
”Better that than deal with my controlling mother,” Amity sighed. “Did you…lose someone? I can only assume that’s why you’re here.”
”My dad…” Luz’s gaze fixed itself somberly at the grave in front of her. “He passed away from cancer eight years ago today.”
”I’m so sorry to hear that,” Amity replied, placing a gentle hand on Luz’s shoulder. “Loss can be tough.”
”He was a great guy, the sweetest dad you’d ever meet. And a total nerd,” Luz explained, tears starting to well up in her eyes, “It was rough…seeing him all hooked up to wires and tubes in his last days.”
”I can’t imagine how you must’ve felt,” Amity said to her. “Would it help to have a hug?”
Luz nodded and turned towards Amity, who gently wrapped her arms around Luz. The Latina tightly wrapped her arms around her new acquaintance and cried into her shoulder. She could feel Amity rubbing her back as she cried.
This went on for at least ten minutes before Luz finally felt cried out. She loosened her grip on Amity, but kept the hug going, feeling comforted by her warmth.
”Sorry…your shoulder’s all wet now,” Luz mumbled into her shoulder.
“It’s okay, I don’t mind,” she replied softly. “Did that help you feel better?”
”Yeah…thank you,” Luz nodded before finally pulling away.
”You’re welcome,” Amity replied with a soft smile.
”Do you…wanna come with me back to my house? I could use the company, and you said you got disowned, right?” Luz asked.
”Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to impose,” Amity replied.
”I’m sure,” Luz nodded. “Besides, I’m sure you don’t wanna be out in the rain when it starts.”
As if the universe had heard her words, the first few drops of rain began to fall from the cloudy sky. Luz was quick to grab her umbrella and open it, covering up both herself and Amity with it. She grabbed her trash from the diner and stood up, prompting Amity to stand up as well.
”Ready?” Luz asked.
Amity gave a nod, and Luz started to walk alongside her, saying a goodbye to her dad before they got too far. It started to rain harder on the way back, but fortunately, they were able to get back before puddles started to form.
They spent the day gushing over The Good Witch Azura and watching the movies before Luz’s mom got home. And when she did, there was only one question.
”Did you bring a werewolf into my house?!”