THE THIRD MATING
I asked again, taking a step closer.
No answer.
Just more rustling, louder, heavier. The grass parted like water, and then I saw it.
A snake.
Not just any snake, a green anaconda.
Thick as a tree trunk, scales glinting dark green and black in the patchy light, its body coiling and uncoiling in slow, endless loops. Its head lifted, tongue flicking, eyes locked on me. It was massive, longer than a truck, its muscular form exuding a quiet, deadly patience. It could probably swallow me whole.