Snake coiled around my shoulders giving the appearance I was the most dangerous thing between us. I wanted to show him one of the places I hang out at (literally) when I needed solitude. He asked why I didn’t fly up to the top of the pines. I said the physical excursion of climbing was part of the process. He noted it was easier, and less scratchy and less pokey. I noted the concentration took me away from other issues that would ride my ass if I flew, and the scratches and the pokes were not so gentle reminders to keep to the task at hand.
He said nothing. But I heard him smiling all the same.
At the highest limb that would support our combined weight, I perched, and waiting for the sun to come up. The mists in the valley below were gathered thickly, as if to share the spectacle. We talked of many things while night slowly receded.
Mostly about the Imposter Snake and his realm. I offered to take him there to meet the Imposter Snake that turned out to just be a Lonely Entity. He staunchly refused, saying only that the outcome would not be as I intended, and that it would end bad for all parties involved. It was better, Snake said, that I continued to meet the Imposter Snake alone, if I continue to meet him at all. There’s a secret about the Imposter Snake, that once I figured out, would change my attitude about the imposter completely.
I spoke what I felt the secret would be.
Snake remained quiet for a long time. “And yet you still want to visit it again?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he is reflecting my own feelings of abandonment and loneliness. And as I cure those, when I meet with him, his own are alleviated. Illusion or not, the feelings of contentment and peace we shared at the cute little tea party were real. I understand that I must not use that as a crutch or become emotionally dependent on it. I just don’t understand why you shouldn’t go.”
Snake coiled tighter around me. “Let’s just say, my imagination is magnitudes greater than yours. What I unleash there… well… ” He relaxed his grip slightly, as if suddenly aware of his strength. “No. I should not go there. And the nature of that realm means Imposter Snake can never leave.”
The sun kissed the horizon. The sky blushed and welcomed its lover. Snake and I weren’t watching what was happening above. We were watching the valley below. As the sun rose, the mists warmed and expanded slightly. A breeze came up the cliff, bringing with it gossip of night bloom’s last scents, beehives dispensing foraging orders, prey animals darting to get a sip of water, and predators watching but content to leave them for now. Silently, we watched the transformation of the valley from mysterious to open.
I spoke, more to myself than to Snake. “Things change. The flower that bloomed yesterday is not the flower that blooms today. An animal died. A seed germinated. A fungus dropped spores. The water that flowed through the river yesterday is now a day’s worth of flow away. Nothing remains as it is forever. Sometimes the change is subtle. Sometimes the change is drastic. When I feel like I’ve changed too much, too fast, I come here. Sometimes I watch with the patience of the pine we’re sitting in. Sometimes I watch with the darting of the mayfly. Sometimes I understand Little Miss Saturn’s point of view. Sometimes I am the universe in a drop of evaporating water. Change is life. Stasis is death. And I’m not dead yet. So I need to stop acting like it.”
Morning became noon before Snake said anything. “Did you really cry at that painting?”
“It’s not a painting, it’s a digital image. I think. It should be a painting.” The valley breeze warmed now that the sun’s energy penetrated to the valley floor. “Yes. I cried.”
“Why?”
“I missed you, you sunnavabitch! [Many redacted words go here.]”
“Well, for what it’s worth… I like it, too. And you should wear more jewelry. You have the bearing to elevate everything you wear.”
“Ass kisser.”
“World breaker.”
We both laughed, and watched the worlds continue on without us.