Fun, Games, And One Real Snake

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I remember a time I went to visit my aunt; when I was very little, she stayed with us till she got married. She stayed with us for so long that she took us as her younger siblings and her as our big sister.

I was very happy for her when she got married because the moment she got married, so many good things started happening for her and her husband; it was like a domino effect. Her husband's import business profits skyrocketed, and she got a land surveying job with a huge monthly salary. In that same period, she conceived. Their first child was a boy named Emmanuel. When Emmanuel was around seven years old, she conceived again.
She was close to the due date for delivery when they completed their new house and moved in.

So when she finally gave birth and had a baby girl, she invited us to come to the dedication and stay for some days in her house after the dedication.
Our entire stay there was awesome; it was a time I would never forget.

The house was huge and beautiful, and with the type of food we ate alone, it would tell you that they were freaking rich.
Just one week with the constant light and air conditioner made us look different overnight.

The house was always full of fun and games, thanks to Emmanuel. Emmanuel was very fun, welcoming, and kind. He always had new ideas for games and ways to entertain us, especially with his endless supply of jokes and pranks. There was never a dull moment.

I can remember the first time he pranked me; it was in the afternoon, and he told me his mom was in her room and asked me to bring a plate to her room so she could dish food.
Unsuspecting, I innocently carried the plate to his mom's room. I knocked, and she permitted me to come in. She was with the baby on the bed.
I walked in and just held the plate as we looked at each other for some seconds, confused. The more she looked confused, the more I got confused.
She asked me why I came to see her and was holding the plate, and I told her. She just laughed and told me she didn't ask me to do anything.

After that, I got used to his numerous pranks, and everyone knew him.
Until one day.
Do you know that story about a boy who keeps pranking the villagers about wolves attacking the sheep?
And then, one day, the wolves came, and when he alerted everyone, they ignored him, thinking it was still a prank.
Yeah, that is exactly what happened.

So that day in the evening, we were all in the parlor with me, my siblings, Emmanuel, and my aunty and her baby, while my aunt's husband was upstairs in his room.
We were watching TV. Most of us were seated on the chairs, while Emmanuel and my brother were seated on the floor, close to where the baby was kept to sleep on the thick mat, padded with cotton mat and swaddle on the floor.

We were all watching the movie quietly when Emmanuel just stood up and cautiously carried the baby as he said, “Jesus, snake.”
The way he said it was weird because he didn't shout or panic, and besides, he had pranked us with pulled-weaved hair many times, saying it was a snake.
We all ignored him and sat, concentrating on the movie.
Until he realized we weren't moving and shouted again, this time about the snake, and pointed to where it was. The first person to see it and run was my sister, and the rest of us didn't even need to see it before following suit.

We stood in the dining, and we all finally saw the snake. It was medium-sized and black, slithering slowly. I remember how scared we all were.
My aunt's husband came downstairs as he heard the commotion. Then he went out from the back and took a huge stick he used to kill the snake.

I can remember how, after that night, we all avoided the parlor and were very cautious of the ground. We spent most of our time upstairs. But that didn't stop us from having fun; we played upstairs, and whenever we wanted to watch TV, we would use the TV in my aunt's room. And we forgot about it in a jiffy.

As for Emmanuel and his pranks, he didn't stop, and I don't blame him because we were kids back then. But looking back, Emmanuel was really brave that night; the way he calmly carried his baby sister to safety before panicking was very mature of him.