Aaron Walters had it all; lived very comfortably in an expansive luxury penthouse atop one of those desirable downtown glitzy condo towers, possessed the right education credentials to get to know influential people who willingly opened those invisi...
If at first I heard Tina speak before I'd ever laid eyes on her, then from her voice alone I would never have been able to guess she was a reptile and not human. Unlike lamia depictions in some of the fiction I'd skimmed through while researching online, Tina definitely didn't hiss like a snake when she spoke; not in the least. Her voice was soft and would best be described as medium pitch for a girl, and from those few sentences she'd spoken, I detected a slight trace of an accent that I couldn't identify.
Hoping that she wouldn't give up in frustration and then suddenly vanish because of my confusion, I very slowly knelt on the floor while maintaining constant eye contact with her, gauging for a likely reaction. Her little tongue kept busy but she hadn't budged thus far.
With both hands open and palms up for her to see, I lowered them to the floor before her and then hopefully inquired, "Would you let me pick you up and carry you over to the kitchen table?"
Right away she responded with an affirmative nod of her head and then hesitantly slid toward my left hand; I was astounded and she didn't challenge my purpose. Seconds later and barely perceptible I felt her tiny tongue tracing over the ends of my fingertips but this time I was much more relaxed and ready for just about anything.
Tina smiled at me, nodded again and abruptly raced up and around my left arm, slid beneath my armpit, wrapped around my upper arm in a second pass, wound herself back up to my shoulder from behind and then speedily constricted her loops to apply her brakes.
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I felt her tiny hands grab onto my shirt at my back left shoulder near the collar but I didn't try turning my head to look at her; doing so would have been awkward anyway. Of course her tiny tongue was very active because much to my astonishment I faintly heard it first and then felt it touching me; she was that near to my left ear.
Although she was agreeable to this unusual impromptu arrangement to lift and carry her, I could only wonder what her thoughts were about being transported this way.
Constantly mindful against jostling her too much, I slowly rose to my feet, gingerly stepped into the kitchen and went straight to the edge of the table. After leaning forward slightly and lowering both hands palms-down on the table to provide her with an exit ramp, Tina effortlessly slid down my arm, glided into the center of the table and waited. I pulled out my usual chair, sat facing her and waited to hear what else she might want to say. For reasons only she knew, about an hour ago this amazing little being had taken the initiative to approach me and finally end her silence; yes, I was extremely curious.
Except for near where I was seated, she slowly slid around most the perimeter of the table top, pausing slightly to give each vacant chair a cursory inspection and then she settled at the far end of the table from me.
She shoved her hair back over her shoulders, looked up at me and then softly repeated, "The subject is choosing to remain."
For a few seconds I simply stared back at her because my mind was racing to correctly interpret what she'd repeated again.
