hello there, snake

24th of august 2007 | friday

it might as well be just my luck.

after my late morning bath, i ate breakfast, slept until past noon, woke up, changed my houseclothes with a black shirt and pair of denim pants, combed my messy hair, brushed my teeth, put on my contact lenses, went downstairs, pushed my feet into my trusty pair of tribu sandals, told my half-asleep mother that i was going out, got the house keys and shoved them into my bag, opened the wooden door, looked through the screen, saw something, opened the screen door, and, in split-second, i pulled it back. i slammed shut the wooden door, quickly locked it, and clutched my heart before i squeaked, "mamang, nakakita kog halas. naaaaaaaaaa! nahadlok kaayo ko." (ma, i saw a snake. naaaaaaaaaa! i got really scared.)

what could have been a very laidback la di daaaa la di da daaa daaaa i'm-on-my-way moment turned into an OMG moment. when i opened the screen door, i came face to face with an adult snake making its way to our doorstep. i really saw it on our doorstep!

because of the brief ruckus i made, my mother got on her feet and suggested that i open the wooden door again to check the whereabouts of the snake. with my heart still beating triple time, i opened the door -- the snake was no longer there.

my next-door neighbor (who also happens to be my cousin) called out if i indeed saw a snake and went over the fence separating our lots to take a look. my brave mother went out with handfuls of crushed garlic in her hands and threw them on our doorstep and inside the holes of the concrete blocks near it. i told her not to bother going anywhere near those just yet because the snake might have taken refuge there and might attack her. but as i've already mentioned, my ma is brave. she even poked the holes with a stick and disturbed the area the way she does during her daily gardening activities.

i got a huge, huge scare from seeing that venomous snake (it had the skin pattern of a cobra). my heart established a new 'normal' hearbeat rate -- faster -- and i went close to running a fever.

BUT i think it was a 'two-way' traumatic incident. i reckon the snake also had to contend with the trauma of having to deal with the frightening sight of me and my panic-inducing reaction. in that sense, we're quits.

for all the efforts, the meter-long snake could not be found. we have no idea where it went. we could not agree whether it's long been around to stay or if it's a temporary refugee looking for a cold place -- what with the relentless heat in the fields at the backside of the compound.

in the meantime, all seems to be well. the naughty cats in the neighborhood still come around to 'play' in our kamalig. so i say, all is well. global warming be damned. PLEASE, please, don't make me see another snake that way again -- with my own two eyes and with nothing between us. it's too much for one heart. really.