I went hiking yesterday afternoon, in the jungle. It was only meant to last
a few hours, but it ended up being an overnight affair when I ran into a sea
serpent. I thought she might try to attack me, but instead, I led her
back to the ocean, where she could swim and be happy. I might even call her
my friend. I slept on the little beach that night, just out in the open,
content that the experience turned into so much more than just getting a few
extra steps for my fitness app. I’ve just woken up, and I’m hungry. I ate
all of my snacks last night before my sandy slumber. I almost feel like I’m
on a remote island, somewhere far from civilization, and have no choice but
to figure out how to fish with my bare hands, or hunt rabbits with a
flexible stick and some string. I can actually hear a truck driving on the
mountain side above me, so I’m not too far from other people. My sea serpent
and I just used the most direct route yesterday, so I take a few minutes to
find the actual trail. I do not want to have to crawl through the vegetation
again, even if it would possibly be quicker. It’s a struggle, walking down
the path, the hunger growing worse by the second. Mother always says to pack
twice as much as I think I’ll need. Father always said I’ll only ever need
half, so don’t suffer the weight. I always split the difference, and go with
my gut. Now my gut has turned against me, screaming across the abyss. I have
to find something worth eating somewhere around here. I’m not liable to find
a diner in the middle of nowhere. If I do see a diner, I’ll know the hunger
overpowered me, and it’s nothing more than a manifestation of my desires,
carried over to limbo from the living realm. Just when I think I can’t be
too far from help, the trail ends. It just stops at the shore of a lake. Oh
no, I am dead, but this isn’t limbo. I just went straight to hell. I could
keep walking, or turn around, or learn to fly, but it wouldn’t matter. I’m
never getting out of here, and I’m never getting food.
I stand there for a moment, ready to surrender to my fate, when a familiar
sight appears before me. A snake slithers out of the water, and stops a
meter away from my feet. He watches me carefully, but does not seem
concerned. Like last time, I don’t move. The sea serpent never hurt me, but
that doesn’t mean this one won’t. He looks a little more dangerous to me.
Perhaps I should try to run this time. Before I can, he begins to slither
off into the grass. I take that opportunity to walk in the other direction,
but he quickly darts back, and gets in front of me. We regard each other a
little more. When he’s satisfied with whatever he thinks he was
accomplishing, he slithers away again. I try to leave once more, but he does
not like that. He starts to circle me, and I know he’ll bite if I try to go
in the wrong direction. Seeing no other choice then, I head in the direction
he was going. This prompts him to stop circling, and slither beside me.
After several more steps, I realize that he’s leading me somewhere. Is he
that smart? Could he really know where the city is, and that I need to get
there? Well, his saltwater cousin seemed to possess a shocking level of
intelligence, so what do I know about what animals can really do? He keeps
slithering next to me, but a little ahead, and I keep following him. If he
ends up taking me to a giant Indiana Jones-style pit of hungry serpentine
brethren, I guess I’ll just deal with it. Before too long, I see straight
lines through the trees up ahead, suggesting some kind of man-made
structure. The water snake leads me right into the clearing where I finally
see where we are. My God, it is a diner.
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