Ophiology by Karen Southall Watts

A man found a beautiful little viper in a field. Now, he was no fool, and he knew vipers bite, but this one was special. It was shiny and tan, with huge chocolate eyes, and it could talk, and cry.

“I’m not bad, it’s just that no one has ever loved me enough.”

The man imagined legions of farmers and gardeners chasing the poor viper with sharp shovels, and his heart was moved. He scooped the tiny snake up and tucked her into his pocket.

When his friends and family insisted he was crazy for inviting the viper into his home, he just shrugged. The man was convinced he could love her enough to change her reputation and nature. He spared no expense, and showered the tiny creature with gifts. Though he was put off by her vicious feeding habits, he learned to live with her quirks and loved her all the more.

The man worked long hours to afford the viper. He fed her rare live treats, and cleaned up the aftermath. He bought her mountains of treasures to crawl upon and hide in, but as each got dusty she begged for more.

One day, he said to her, “I’m running out of money. Can’t you be content with what we have? Or eat the mice from the field?” She replied, “I could bite you for being so mean, but I won’t.”

Five years passed in a tense routine. The man worked and worshiped the viper, and she insisted each day he didn’t love her enough. All this while the man was growing tired and poor as the viper remained sleek and fat.

Of course one day, the viper did bite the man, and left him crying and gasping on the floor. She slithered out the door into the sunshine, feeling pleased and ready to find a new caregiver and home. In her delight, she missed the hawk, and there was justice.

Karen Southall Watts, is an educator, speaker and coach in addition to being a writer. Her flash fiction and poetry have been featured at Fairfield Scribes, Free Flash Fiction, The Drabble, Sledgehammer Lit, 101Words, Paragraph Planet, Soren Lit, Spillwords Press, and The Chamber Magazine. Karen was a 2021 and 2022 Pushcart nominee for poetry. Her poetry chapbook, Desire, Dreams and Dust was released in April of 2023.

Instagram – @thoughtsbykaren

Twitter – @AskKaren

Web – karensouthallwatts.com

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