Restless and Wild

According to old people, killing a snake inside the house is a sign of bad luck.

I was born in a place where people are full of superstitions. My grandparents used to say superstitious beliefs and one of which is killing a snake inside a home.

As a kid when we were told of something like norms we tend to believe and obey without questions. Sometimes these norms are kind of superstitious. And as an innocent kid we just obey without knowing the reason why.

One specific example is the beliefs about the unseen. When I was growing up my grandma used to tell me about those entities that they believed exist but can’t be seen. So whenever we pass by a place that looks strange or unfamiliar, we have to say “excuse us” so that they would give way. It was like we had to ask permission to pass. If we fail to do so, we might hit them and they will punish us in return.

As a kid those are confusing on my part because I can’t figure out what those unseen looked like. Whether I like to believe it or not, I will just have to obey my grandparents.

For some reason that I was ill, they would blame me because they believe I have unintentionally hit the unseen. My parents would bring me to an old woman (magtatawas) and she would talk to the unseen by means of divination and ask forgiveness on my behalf. The next day I would be fine.

People in our place are fond of resorting to these quack doctors (for want of a better term) back in time. Perhaps because we lived in a remote place where hospitals are far to reach and or don’t have enough budget to go to the hospital for simple fever.

I killed a snake inside a house

I remember a long time ago that I once killed a snake inside a home but not ours. It was from my aunts. I think I was in my early 20’s when that happened. I was staying at them for a couple of months because I was looking for a job in Metro Manila. My aunt is my mother’s best friend so I am kind of comfortable staying with them. She is a priestess born again Christian and they were living in a large compound where their church is located. The owner of the church wanted them to live there.

One afternoon while my cousins and I were watching television, a snake suddenly crawled on the floor from out of nowhere. One of my cousins was surprised and jumped on top of the glass dining table and it broke. I was sitting on a couch and I saw the snake heading towards me. So I jumped off the floor and stood on top of the couch. I grabbed the nearest chair with a tubular steel leg and hit its body when it went near me. I stepped on top of the chair adding more wait so the snake can’t let go. Then my cousin handed me something to crush its head.

The snake was like a python and about eight feet long. We are not sure of where it came from but I think it has long been residing in the junkyard. The place has a lot of old wreck vehicles and spares of trucks and huge old tires. There was also a creek nearby.

I don’t think it’s a bad luck but I guess it should not be killed

After the incident, I think of the superstitions my grandparents used to tell. But I just ignored it and waited for whatever circumstance on the following days. I realized then that I need not have to kill the snake. I could have just driven it away and helped it find its way out of the house. But my intuition was to kill it because in my mind it might attack us but I don’t think I violated some law about wild animals.

There have been a lot of reports in several places about snakes living in our home for a long time. Some are really huge and you wouldn’t imagine how they made it grow big while inside the house.

Snakes look harmful and if you have some phobia about it you will not really like it when it will enter into your house unexpectedly. But as much as possible I must say that we should not harm them.

Metaphorically speaking, snake has some negative connotations. A snake in your dream could represent your toxic or poisonous behavior so you should not ignore it.

In Chinese symbolism, snakes are noted for being intelligent but reluctant to do something that one thinks may be wrong.

Thanks for reading. Ciao!

*The title may not be relevant to this post. It refers to myself when I was young, restless and wild. Sharing with you one of my favorite heavy metal band ACCEPT with their live performance of Restless and Wild (for those about to rock).

This is my participation in Writing prompt #21 by Jonica Bradley entitled Wildlife/ Wild Life.

The rules are simple.

1. Write anything about Wildlife/ Wild Life.

2. Write 100% original content

3. Write at least 600 words

4. Submit to the PromptlyJonica community (please join if you haven't already)

5. Tag  @JonicaBradley

6. Have fun!

Lead image source credits to David Clode

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To all those who support, Thank you!

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