Serpentina's Story

Lightning Strikes Twice

The fact is I was dumbfounded by all Serpentina had revealed about a friend she'd called Knobby Knees, in particular that unbelievable singular detail stating that the creature who'd rescued her was a centaur, and yes, I was also feeling guilty about being peremptory when she'd attempted to tell me this long before now.

Undeniably Tina has always been in-front-of-me tangible because I'd found her in my garden before I ever heard of a lamia in any way, shape or form, therefore I've never had a sane reason to repudiate her existence. On the other hand, I'd read about centaurs since childhood and they are purely fictitious; they always have been and always will be... well maybe... I'm not sure... especially after listening to Tina. Nonetheless, every cell in my mind was screaming for concrete evidence.

"Tina..." I aspirated, struggling to find adequate words to express my genuine contrition, "I'm truly sorry for not listening to you when you tried to tell me before."

"Are you apologizing because you believe me now?"

"I have no reason to doubt you... but I'm struggling with some of this." without any attempt at excuse or sugar-coating.

She lifted part of herself erect, placed her hands upon that part of her that resembles hips, and dug, "Back then if you'd found K.K. instead of me, and K.K. just told you about me, would it be easier for you to believe her?"

I was unduly distracted by her tongue's appearance. I shouldn't have been but I was, and instead of answering her, I pondered, "What am I dealing with?"

Rather than hold myself in check like usual, I deliberately allowed my eyes to wander and head to tail survey her fully exposed lengthy body. From her long blonde hair, blues eyes, mostly pink and oft busy tongue, pretty face; down to her ample chest and that curious demarcation where human-like skin in front meets long hexagonal-like ventral scales; along her brown and yellow scaled muscular footage that circles around and always over (never under) her trailing footage and eighteen feet later her tapered tail.

On the floor before me was something dangerously deadly yet affectionately docile, ruthless and unfeeling yet thoughtful and emotional; every inch of her a cold blooded reptile but possessing more warmth and humanity than a human could. I looked downward at this paradoxical but beautiful creature that shouldn't exist, and now she was too busy examining her finger nails to notice me gazing at her.

In spite of my best efforts to prevent it, our lives had become inexorably intertwined and I felt we were becoming inseparable. Although for differing reasons and as much as I didn't want to admit this fact, I depended on her staying and being with me as much as she depended upon me to provide and care for her.

"Talk about caught in her coils." I thought, the irony hadn't gone unnoticed.

My awakened awareness made me feel uncomfortably vulnerable because I was no longer impervious to being hurt or possibly devastated by the shifting whims of another, nonetheless Serpentina's involvement in just about every facet of my life made me feel alive... she truly did.

"Cog?" waving her hand.

Musings interrupted I sighed and rendered my verdict, "No... it's easier to believe you."

"That's so not like you." and again her tongue appeared.

"People are capable of changing their minds."

She laughed, sagged back onto the loose hay covering the floor, pointed and then inquired "Including that crazy old geezer sitting over there?"

"I see you every day and constantly confront proof of the impossible... and then I hear something impossible from equally impossible you... so how can I not believe you?" still trying to digest the implications from what she'd revealed.