My grown specter follows behind the girls. I feel everything that my younger self is experiencing. Right now, my mouth is dry and my breathing is hollow, raspy. I try to control it to stave off an asthma attack. I swallow against the dryness. And I follow Annie. Brave Annie who will never let fear stop her. I latch onto her bravery. With Annie, nothing will happen to us.
I was so wrong.
All we have to do is catch one snake. Then we’ll have a bragging right to last us a while.
We’d caught snakes before, but always in the daytime. Never at night. This will be a first. Something only the brave dare do. Even the boys in the neighborhood couldn’t boast of this thing we are doing.
I imagine holding the husk of the dead snake in front of Davin Coles who is always showing off his reptile catch
