Week 2 Story: Scarlet in the Sun

There once was a woman that longed to see the world. Her name was Scarlet. She lived in a house in the middle of the dark woods all alone. She spent most of her time doing chores and was so tired of it! One day when she was cleaning she heard a knock on the door. She opened it and to her surprise she finally had a visitor, an old man. 

Scarlet opened the door and said "Hello! I haven't had a visitor in so long, please come in!!" 

The man was surprised at how kind she was and immediately thanked her. He sat down at the table, looked around and noticed it was only her in the house. 

He asked "May I ask what your name is and what you're doing in this tiny house all alone in the middle of these dark woods?" 

Scarlet was taken aback but kindly answered as she was just happy to be talking to someone. 

"My name is Scarlet, may I ask what you're doing knocking on strangers doors?" 

The man laughed and said "I was lost and could smell how delicious that dinner must be. I had to stop by!" 

She smiled back at him and said "I'm happy you did. I made a roast, would you like some?" The man nodded. As they ate dinner together the old man said he had to make it up to her. She insisted he didn't have to but the old man wouldn't allow it. 

The man said "If theres one thing you want to do or a place you want to go, just tell me and I can make it happen." 

Hesitantly, Scarlet said, "Well I.... I've always wanted to see the world. I've been in this house for so long and I want to experience life with other people and see new things. I want to go to the tallest mountains and the deepest parts of the ocean. I want to see everything in between!" 

The man looked at her and said "Consider it done." 

The old man sent Scarlet to the top of the tallest mountains. She found it to be beautiful but entirely too windy and cold. He sent her to the deepest depths of the ocean and she found it to be magical but entirely too dark and lonely, just like her house. She experienced everything in between and fell in love with the feeling of the sun as it was nothing she had experienced before. She finally felt something warm. 

The old man asked her if she was happy with her experiences with the world. Scarlet nodded but quickly pointed at the sun and said "I want to go there!" 

The man was weary of her decision. He decided if he were to send her there, she would have to stay even if she ended up hating it. Scarlet agreed then thanked the old man for everything. He sent her up to the sun where she has been living ever since. She never feels lonely as she gets to see the world and everyone in it, brining them happiness and warmth. Her own happiness makes the sun shine brighter everyday. 

Authors Note: This story was created as an alternate story based off "The Man in the Moon" where it's a woman that shows kindness to the man who granted her wishes. I changed the main character to a woman who lives alone and wants to experience things for herself instead of a man who is unhappy with his life. Since the characters are complete opposites I wanted to make their endings opposite too. In the original story the man ended up on the Moon due to his decisiveness and the tale of seeing an actual man on the moon. I wanted Scarlet's kindness and personality to be so bright that it's the reason the sun is shining, so you're ultimately unable to see her. She end's up happy with the decision whereas the man who ends up on the Moon is not. One element that is the same would be the old man who sends them to these places. Both stories also have earthy elements to them. 

Bibliography: "The Man in the Moon" from Laos Folk-Lore by Katherine Neville Fleeson

Image Source: Unsplash, Selvan B