🐉 The Dragon And The Snake
Once upon a time, there was a snake who was wandering in the woods. The snake was searching for a rat that skittered by, but due to the convoluted nature of the path, its prey was nowhere to be found.
The snake was hungry. It hadn’t eaten in three months. I’ll just keep going forward until I find something, it thought. So the snake slithered between the sticks and stones in its way, making its way towards a new region of the forest it hadn’t explored before.
Suddenly, the floor felt colder and smoother than usual. Everything became darker, exacerbating the snake’s already poor sight. “Who’s there?”
Something felt off. The snake sensed a signal it had never encountered before.
“If you’re going to intrude, could you at least do it more quietly?” said a yawning voice.
“Who’s there?” the snake repeated.
A brief moment of silence. “I’m a dragon whose sweet, sweet dream was just disrupted by you.”
“That can’t be. My mom told me that dragons don’t exist.”
“Well, my mother told me that snakes should be avoided because of what the serpent did to Adam and Eve.”
“Hey, we get that a lot. But I can guarantee you that not all of us snakes are like that. There are good and bad snakes, just like how there are many things that are good and bad and in-between in this world.”
“Not sure how convincing your statement is. Anyway, what brings you here?”
“Umm… Well, I was hunting for some food since I’ve been starving for three months, and I just happened to land in this unknown place. I’ll take my leave now. Sorry for interrupting your nap.”
“Wait.” The dragon extended its tail, ruffling its scales.
“What was that sound?” the snake asked.
“Oh, my scales clink against each other when I stretch. I’m surprised you heard that. Aren’t snakes not able to hear most frequencies?”
“I can pick up a couple of lower frequencies from time to time.”
The dragon blushed. Due to the infrequent visitors, it was not accustomed to being noticed by others and was thus overly self-conscious of the movements and sounds it made. The dragon preferred to maintain an invisible presence whenever possible.
That was a beautiful sound, the snake thought.
“Stay here for a bit. I’ll bring you better fortune in your hunting endeavors if you do,” the dragon remarked.
The snake was famished, but for some reason, it didn’t mind the thought of staying in the dragon’s company. The dragon and the snake breathed in silence for what seemed like hours. In reality, only five minutes had passed.
The snake cleared its throat. “Earlier, I said that dragons didn’t exist. But to be honest, I only denied their existence because I’m jealous. People admire you. You’re revered throughout history, in books, fables, paintings… You’re associated with fortune, whereas I’m always seen as a symbol for darkness and negativity.”
The dragon remained still. “I’m probably not what you expect,” it replied. “Even though I’m talked about a lot, I stay in my cave alone because I feel depressed most of the time. I find social interaction exhausting. I can’t just hug anyone tightly the way you can, because my scales would hurt them. I also don’t look like the way that dragons do in books, so I feel like I always let people’s expectations down.”
The dragon’s response sparked a growing curiosity in the snake. I wonder what you look like, the snake thought. “I doubt that you are letting people down. It’s the inside that really matters,” it replied.
“You think so? I know that’s true, but I wonder why I still feel so low sometimes,” the dragon chuckled.
The snake wanted to hug the dragon. My body probably wouldn’t be able to wrap around theirs, though, it thought. I want to know more about them. I don’t care how different we are. I want to wrap my skin around your scales, even if their pointy edges poke me.
“Will you let me see you?”
The dragon was taken aback by the question. No one’s ever asked me that before, it thought.
“…Okay. Please be gentle with the comments.”
The dragon slinked towards the entrance of the cave, where it turned around to face the snake in the sunlight. The glow of the afternoon sun formed a dark silhouette against the landscape.
The snake flickered its tongue, visualizing the dragon’s appearance based on the infrared signals it gathered.
Pink, cyan, and white scales shimmering in the sun. One side of your face is silver, whereas the other side is rose. What beautiful colors. You’re smaller than I thought—even smaller than me. Something I never would’ve expected.
Your presence fills the air with fortune, but I can sense this depth of pain lingering within you. You’ve tried to hide it for so long that it’s become a part of you. The image that people have of you is far different from who you are inside. Now I understand why you’ve been suffering. The truth is, I’m the same.
I don’t know your story or how you came out to be this way, but I know one thing for sure: I’ve never met anyone like you.
. . .
You’re staring at me so intently. I’m scared, but at the same time, I feel a soothing urge to reveal myself to you. I wonder what you’re thinking right now. I wish that you would say something, but at the same time, I’m afraid of showing you how awkward I am on the other side of the conversation.
I don’t know how much of me you can see right now. My scales are unnaturally colored. My face is split in half. I don’t think I can be loved in the way normal entities are.
But if I had the privilege of choosing the one I could spend the rest of my life with, I wouldn’t mind if that individual were you.
. . .
The snake’s hunger was gone. It was satiated with love.
The dragon gathered the strength to go outside for the first time in years.
Together, they watched the sunset until stars fell from the sky.
🎵 Songs I listened to while writing this:
yeule - Pocky Boy
yeule - Pixel Affection
beabadoobee - Dance with Me
Gryffin & Slander - All You Need To Know (JVNA Remix)
yeule - My Name Is Nat Ćmiel
yeule - Too Dead Inside