I am 8 years old. I see a 9 foot viper nearby. It
I am 8 years old. I see a 9 foot viper nearby. It slithered closer. Human, why are you here It hissed. I…got lost I whimper. Lost? You say? Well, You’re in for a treat It hissed. What do you mean? I say. Today is Halloween, My child, You should be trick or treating It replied. Go, My child, Have a Great Halloween! It said.
The air hung heavy with the scent of damp leaves and decaying pumpkins. It was Halloween, and I, a scrawny eight-year-old, was hopelessly lost in the woods behind my house. I’d chased after a runaway kite, my eyes glued to the bright orange fabric, and forgotten all about the path. Now, the trees loomed around me, their gnarled branches like bony fingers reaching for the twilight sky.
A rustle in the undergrowth made me jump. I whirled around, my heart pounding a frantic tattoo against my ribs. There, coiled beneath a fallen log, was a creature that made my blood run cold. A viper, at least nine feet long, its scales shimmering like polished obsidian in the fading light.
“Human,” it hissed, its voice a gravelly rasp, “why are you here?”
I felt a lump form in my throat. My voice came out a mere whimper. “I… I got lost.”
The viper chuckled, a sound like dry leaves crunching underfoot. “Lost? You say? Well, you’re in for a treat, little one.”
“What do you mean?” I stammered, my eyes glued to the serpent’s hypnotic gaze.
The viper uncoiled, its head held high. “Today is Halloween, my child. You should be trick-or-treating.”
The words hung in the air, a strange echo in the darkening woods. “Trick or treat?” I repeated, a flicker of understanding lighting up my face.
“Go, my child,” the viper urged, its voice surprisingly gentle, “Have a great Halloween!”
Hesitantly, I took a step back. The viper, as if sensing my fear, lowered its head. “Don’t worry, little one. I’m not here to harm you. Just… go find your way home.”
I nodded, my heart still hammering, but a strange sense of relief washed over me. I had been lost and frightened, but the viper, the creature I should have feared, had actually been kind. Maybe, just maybe, Halloween wasn’t so scary after all. Turning away, I took a deep breath and started walking, following the last whispers of sunlight filtering through the trees. I didn’t look back, but I could feel the viper’s gaze on me, a silent guardian in the darkening woods.
I found my way home that night, my heart full of a strange mix of fear and gratitude. The viper, a creature of myth and legend, had become a guardian angel on this Halloween night, a reminder that even in the darkest of woods, kindness could be found in unexpected places.
