Chapter 38, Stirred Heart
Suddenly, a piercing pain shot up from her ankle, causing her heart to clench. She quickly looked down and saw a snake, about as thick as a thumb, climbing up her leg. Since childhood, she had never been afraid of anything—her mother often said she had a boyish personality. Caterpillars, cockroaches, mice—none of these bothered her. But this slippery creature was her one true fear.
She covered her mouth, too terrified to scream, and watched helplessly as the snake slithered up her leg. The sheer terror made her body shake violently. For the first time in her life, she wished she could just die.
Standing there, paralyzed with fear, she watched as the snake coiled around her leg, nearly halfway up. She suddenly remembered the makeup case in her right hand, but sh
