Snake In The Building...

I love animals, and it has been my thing since childhood, even though I end up eating the ones I consider edible. Back then, I had chickens, snails, and a rabbit; seeing them grow as they should always made me happy. My love for animals isn't restricted to those around me; I love dogs, wild cats, and birds, even though I didn't possess one at the time.

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I finally had the opportunity to add a puppy to my collection, and the death of my dear dog over the course of the course of two decades broke my heart in a way I never expected. It was so bad that I became scared of owning another dog because I didn't want to go through that emotional breakdown again.

It's not like I haven't kept animals around me since then, but not dogs. One of my chickens became very fond of me and started giving me dog vibes. It would sit beside me and always run to me whenever it saw me. I became attached to it, and one day it was nowhere to be found. It left me sad for a few days because I missed the silly things it did to get my attention before it went missing.

Many times, I spend hours watching natgeowild because I find a lot of animals fascinating. I have imagined having wildcats and different animals around me, but for once, I haven't thought about reptiles because I find them very creepy.

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It would be fair to say that the few times animals have scared the hell out of me, reptiles did the most, and it was basically snakes. I really don't know the importance of them in the ecosystem, but to my understanding, they have no purpose here other than to scare people.

I do not like snakes and doubt if there are people who like them. Once I see a snake in an environment, it keeps me very alert because you will be shocked to find them in unexpected places.

My scary experience happened during my early teenage days. I was feeling like a man and buzzing with so much energy that it got me into a tight situation.

There was an uncompleted building beside the house we lived in then, and they did the floor decking some months before the drama. The bamboo sticks used for constructing the decking had been removed, but there were still some bamboo sticks laying around in the building.

I was in the bathroom one sunny afternoon when I saw a snake entering one of the bamboo sticks. I gently slid the bathroom window to have a clear view of the snake and rushed out of the bathroom shortly after to find the snake with a plank to scatter the head. My mom called me back when she saw the plank, but I didn't listen to her and just went into the building.

I hit the bamboo stick which the snake entered with the plank I was holding, but nothing came out. I felt disappointed, but something inspired me to enter the building, which I did.

My mom didn't stop calling my name, but I didn't answer. I was desperate to prove my bravery, not just to her but to my peers in the apartment. I slowly checked every corner of the building and finally checked one of the rooms where the window was blocked because some equipments was kept there.

Nothing was there, and the disappointment hit a new height for me. I was about to turn when I saw a lizard run across the door. It meant nothing to me until I remembered that snakes actually hunt lizards, and I was right because the snake appeared almost immediately after the lizard passed.

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I lost my strength immediately and felt like disappearing, even though the snake didn't notice me. I still managed to hold the plank firmly as I tried sneaking out, but the snake was already at the entrance of the building.

"What if there is more than one snake?" This question crossed my mind, and I started shivering immediately.

The snake didn't leave its position, and I dare not make a sound because I thought the snake didn't notice me. Finally, I summoned the courage to attack it after a few minutes.

My first strike failed, and the plank broke after hitting on the bare ground instead of the snake which made me scream so badly. I ran back inside the building, and fortunately for me, my mom was already at the building entrance.

She saw the snake running out of the building and killed it before it could escape. I wasn't aware of anything happening outside the building and just heard her laughing while calling my name. I stepped out and saw the lifeless snake outside the building.

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I felt ashamed because the neighbors who heard my scream had also rushed out to see what was happening. I shamelessly left the place, and I became a topic of discussion for days in the compound where I live.

The experience taught me to never be too confident in any situation I find myself in, especially when it is life-threatening. We can't be too sure of the outcome of our actions, and even if there is no other option than taking the risk, I must be very careful.

I could have just ignored the snake but what if it ends up crawling into the building where I lived? It's difficult to tell what would happen next and became careful with making decisions.