HT YOUNG WRITER OF THE YEAR - Lovely Red and Granny

By Auraillia Von Dayme

Once upon a modern century in downtown Brisbane, there lived Miss Crimson Damaris with her witchy old grandmother. For Granny’s latest youth potion, she still needed the heart of a werewolf.

Recently Crimson had begun dating a handsome young fur coat critic named James C. Wolfheim, who owned a particularly special wolf-fur coat. He wore it once a month for nothing suspicious.

On Crimson’s twentieth birthday, whilst having dinner with Granny and James, they ran out of wine. Crimson was eager to escape the awkward vibe and offered go to the store. Upon leaving, she nearly tripped over Danny the electrician who had come to fix something in the basement.

As Crimson zoomed through the crisp night air on her red e-scooter, the full moon reminded her of how James had howled at it earlier, before transforming into a werewolf. Initially, she’d been frightened but he assured her with a sharp-toothed smile that he loved her with his monstrous heart.

Crimson ducked into the bottle shop and purchased some wine before zooming through the darkness again. Hopefully, Granny hadn’t seen James as a werewolf after she’d walked in unexpectedly. Never mind that. James would never hurt anyone.

Meanwhile, Granny peered at James and dished herself some stew, waiting for James to do the same. He dived in, smacking his lips, then dishing out some more. Granny was beaming when his eyes rolled back and he slid off his chair, heavily drugged. Granny dragged James to the basement where she tied him to a tabletop and retrieved her sharpest knife.

Crimson returned, feeling uneasy by the empty kitchen. She gasped when she felt something severe in her chest. A connection she did not know existed had just been cut, leaving her empty.

Granny’s ears pricked at Crimson’s footsteps, and she hastily washed her bloody hands. She glanced at the organ that gushed ruby blood, the mangled body of Mr. Wolfheim, and her fluorescent anti-ageing potion. She chucked the heart in, stirred it, and gulped some potion down. Granny rushed to her mirror and gasped, dropping her mug.

Crimson jumped at the sound, and remembering Granny’s potion boiling away in the basement, flew downstairs.

Her now hairless grandmother stared as Crimson shrieked, “Granny! Where’s your hair?” 

Granny puffed, “It didn’t work. Your boyfriend did this! Look at me!”

Crimson pushed past Granny and looked frantically around the basement.

In the shadowy corners she could see the outline of a human covered by a black sheet on a table. With shaking fingers, she ripped it back to find her lifeless beloved.

Clearly Granny had killed James for his heart and the spell had backfired. Crimson recalled James saying that she had his monstrous heart, but she didn’t realise he meant it literally!

When Crimson spun around, now toothless Granny was holding a shiny knife, smiling. Granny exclaimed, “Yes, of course! He gave you his heart.” She then tossed the blade with surprising force, and it shot like an arrow into Crimson’s thigh. She seethed with pain.

Crimson lunged at Granny just as a Makita drill smashed into Granny’s face. Her slippers went flying as she stumbled backward into her boiling potion with a fizzle.

Simultaneously, a muffled male voice yelled, “Oops, sorry!” Crimson remembered Danny the electrician. She stumbled over to James, and painfully regretted everything wordlessly.

James was drifting above them, watching Crimson cry over his corpse. He peered at her closer and noticed that her tears were running into his empty heart cavity. Each droplet urged him to stay, tugging on their past connection to renew once again. His heart began to grow with each tear drop, until his eyes flew open, he took a breath, and his new golden heart began to pump.

Crimson felt his chest tremor, and saw his eyes flick up, as he burst to life. With joy, she kissed him, feeling their connection alight once again. It was so terrifying to think that she could have lost James forever! From then on, Crimson trusted her heart and together they avoided strange old ladies for the rest of their lives.