Amused, I ask, “Any special reason you want to be hidden?” I keep my eyes on the trail. It badly needs to be cleared, detritus from the last rainy season making walking difficult. Maybe Sud and I can do it for Pah before we leave.
“You never know when we might have a secret meeting,” Ten says, making me chuckle. He’s still ahead of me, eager to get to our destination. I don’t know what makes me look ahead at that moment, as my eyes have been on my feet up to that point, but I do and immediately spot the snake, standing up half its length with its ribs spread into a hood and head reared back. Lunging, I grab Ten around the waist and pull him backward several steps just as the snake strikes.
“Cover your eyes!” I say sharply, and Ten immediately lifts his shirt over his face.
“I-is it…” his voice is shaking. Pah has taught us all about the deadly snakes of Thailand, and Ten knows as well as I do which of them can spit venom and permanently blind a person.
“Yes,” I say quietly. “I saw the circle on the back of its hood when it struck.” Plus, the snake’s head is small, so I’m fairly certain which of the three species of cobra it is.
Monocled cobras are notoriously aggressive, and have a variety of toxins in their venom, including neurotoxins that often result in amputations and deformities. All this runs through my mind as I slowly back away, partially shielding my face behind Ten’s covered head while trying to put distance between us and the agitated snake.
Once, years ago, Sud and I were walking with Pah on a friend’s property and encountered a king cobra that reared up like this one is doing and growled at us like a dog. It was terrifying. Fortunately, king cobras are relatively shy, and we were able to leave the area without harm. Not so the monocled cobra.
This snake isn’t growling, but it’s hissing and swaying. Pah taught us that cobras have very good eyesight, and the one on the path in front of us is looking straight at us with its dark, beady eyes. My heart beats hard against Ten’s back. I’m holding him to my chest with his feet off the ground, and I want to run back to the house with him, but I know I can’t make any sudden moves or turn my back on the cobra.
“Is it gone? Is it gone?” Ten asks fearfully through his cotton shirt.
My eyes never leaving the snake, I say, “No. Be very still, I’ve got you.”
I continue to inch backward, but, when the snake suddenly slithers toward us, I stumble and fall.
“Ten, run!” I shout. “Run home!”
Ten scrambles to his feet and takes off down the path, footfalls loud in the morning air. I sit perfectly still on the ground, eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the strike. I can hear the snake hissing close by and know that at any moment, its fangs will sink into my skin. All I can think is at least Ten is safe.
Chapter Twenty-eight: Sud
My father’s shout, full of urgency and fear, snaps me out of a dream about swimming under a waterfall. Alarmed, a spring from my bed and grab a pair of shorts, hopping toward the door of my room while pulling them on. Only then do I remember that Noi spent the night in my bed and look back for him.
The bed is empty.
“What’s wrong? What happened?” I ask as I barrel down the stairs. Pah is nowhere to be seen, but Ten stands in the middle of the room, shaking and crying. The sight scares me so much I stop dead on the stairs. Mae rushes out of the kitchen, wiping her hands on her apron, looking as freaked out as I feel.
“Ten! What is it?” she says, grabbing him by the shoulders as I barrel the rest of the way down the stairs.
“P’Mee Noi…in the woods…a snake!”
My blood runs cold. “A snake bit him? What kind of snake?” I go for my shoes by the door. “Did Pah take his gun?” If the snakeis still in the vicinity and is aggressive, Pah might have to shoot it.
“Ten, what kind of snake?” Mae repeats when he doesn’t answer.
“A m-monocled cobra.”
Mae and I share terrified glances, and I take off, leaping over the stairs leading down from the porch and running as fast as I can toward the woods. I’ve just turned the first corner of the path when I hear a shot. Speeding up, I turn the next corner and skid to a stop. Pah is kneeling on the trail beside Noi. The snake lies dead a few yards away.
Frozen in place, I say, “Pah?”
Pah looks over his shoulder at me. “It didn’t bite him,” he says, relief in his voice.
Shoulders sagging, I take a couple of breaths before approaching where Pah is helping Noi to his feet. He’s paler than usual and visibly shaking. Silently, I put my arms around him, holding him tightly as he bursts into tears.
“It’s okay,” I murmur into his hair.
“I-I saw it on the path,” Noi says through his tears. “It reared up and hissed. I grabbed Nong and started slowly moving backward.” He peers at Pah over my arm. “Like you always tell us to do, Pah.”
“You did well, Son.” Pah pats Noi on the back, but his eyes are on me. I don’t care. I won’t let go of Noi, and I won’t hide my feelings. I can’t. My eyes go to the snake, which is indeed a monocled cobra. If it had bitten Noi…I can’t bear to think about it.
“I thought we might get away, but the s-snake lunged, and I stumbled. I told Ten to run.” Noi buries his face in my neck. “I was so scared!”