The Snake and The Ghost
James and Michael had decided to finally take the de-stress trip they had been planning for months. They had managed to get a hold of a cottage in the middle of the woods through a friend at work. It was the perfect weekend getaway. Just the right mix of excitement and relaxation. They would be away from the hustle and bustle of the big city, away from the mundane rituals of day to day existence. And most importantly, away from work. They were really keyed up about it, and quite sure they’d made a great decision even before the trip started.
They left work early on Friday evening, kissed their lovely wives goodbye, and started on their four hour drive. It was dusk by the time they entered the forest road that would take them to their cottage.
When they reached the cottage, they took a small tour of the place and came to the conclusion that it was exactly what they were looking for. The friend had arranged for it to be provisioned for the weekend, booze and all. They cottage had no electricity, only oil lanterns. And they were out of cell phone coverage so there would be no annoying, late night calls from work. They lit one of the lanterns in the room they would share, kicked off their shoes, and popped open the beer bottles. It was a moonless night and the flickering lantern light was throwing all kind of weird shadows. They talked away late into the night, just like they did when they were roommates in college. They reminisced, shared their hopes and aspirations with each other, and bitched about their bosses. Many hours and countless beer bottles later Michael decided that he wanted to go to sleep. James wasn’t feeling sleepy yet so he decided to read for a while.
***
Michael had no idea how he’d got there. He was in the middle of the forest. It was a moonless night, cool and windy. He’d been walking around aimlessly for hours, thinking about something. The only problem was he couldn’t remember what. And now he was lost. His flashlight had almost given out. He decided to conserve whatever was left of it and take a breather. He sat down with his back against the trunk of a tree and closed his eyes.
***
“Ghosts attach themselves to their place of death, existing oblivious to human eyes, till they find the answers to the questions they couldn’t solve in life. For some the questions are so numerous or complicated that they continue existing for all eternity. Really old buildings may be teeming with such ghosts.
Some people claim to be able to channel these ghost’s spirits and communicate with them. Some also claim that they have been possessed by a ghost at one point or another. However, there is no definitive evidence to substantiate these claims”
James scoffed and thought maybe he hadn’t picked such a good book after all. But the eerie lights being thrown by the lantern and the sound of the wind whistling did spook him and made his hair stand on end. He decided he would be best off going to sleep himself and got up to blow out the lantern.
***
Michael had just about fallen asleep when he felt something crawling over his skin. He tried to swat it away but it persisted. He fumbled for his flashlight and turned it on. Then he heard the hiss and saw two pearl black eyes glowing and a tongue flickering barely two feet from his face. Then he screamed.
***
Just as James was getting up from his bed, Michael abruptly screamed and stared swinging his arms around his head like a madman. Or a man possessed. James screamed louder than Michael, dropped his book and ran for the door. He knocked over the lantern in his hurry. Michael saw James run and figured he’s spotted the snake. He jumped up and started running after his friend.
They ran for more than a mile.
