I headed out on a grand adventure. I made my way to the school and struck off in a random direction. Today it was to the left at the fork. I rode and enjoyed the changing world around me, greens, reds, blacks, pink and purples…the colors of spring and new life. I rode around twenty kilometers then rounded the river and headed back. As I was passing the school I must have gotten caught in a narrow rut, and as I biked through, it bent my rear rim pretty badly. Removing my rear brakes I was able to get the bike home.
Sweaty, frustrated and tired I fumbled with the lock on my door, opened it, set the lock on my cool little shelf, and yelped. Sitting on my reed mat in my reading room was a five foot brown snake!!! Cursing up a storm, about a huge snake in my house, I yelled for my neighbor to bring a stick and backed out onto my patio then out onto the dirt. The snake, terrified, and as I was to learn after, not poisonous, saw the opportunity to escape through the door and charged me, another bout of angry expressions and some quick foot work and I was out of the way.
The snake bolted for my trash pit and with some urging from me and my stick, found its way in. Two stunning blows and a large rock to the head kept it still. I grabbed a shovel I’d been using that morning and played the part of highlander, severing its head. Threat averted and electrical impulses spent, I surprised my neighbors by inspecting the snakes skull, only to discover that it was not, in fact, poisonous. I thanked the snake for its life, apologized for having to kill it, took a photo, and dumped it down the pit latrine. Thoroughly amped from my ride and then adrenalin pumping adventure, I grit my teeth and re-entered my four room, dark, brick hut. Stick in hand and head lamp in the other I thanked my intense desire to have nothing on the floors as I quickly scanned my rooms.
Satisfied I was indeed alone, I ate some termites – flying ants- and dried fish and set back to work.
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