The Unknown
Casey Williams lived for binge-watching episodes of her favorite obstacle course themed reality show, Fearless. Every Thursday night, you’d find her glued to the screen and cheering on her favorite contestants. She marveled in amazement as one woman took a bite of the snake meat that lie in front of her. How did she do that?
Casey had always battled a fear of snakes; they were her worst nightmare; a girl at school once planted a plastic snake in her backpack. Casey never forgot the horror of pulling it out as she was looking for her juice pouch.
A flashback of a time long ago as the credits rolled sent a shudder throughout her body. Just a memory.
Casey walked into the bathroom to take a shower and get herself ready for bed. She looked in disbelief at the tiny visitor lounging in her tub.
A snake. A slimy, slithery baby black snake.
“Ahhhh!”, she let out a scream, unsure of what to do.
Think Casey, think. She came back into the living room. I’ll call Tyler; he’ll know what to do.
Tyler served as the protective big brother. She reached for her phone and found “Big Brother” in her contacts.
“… Case, if it’s a baby black snake, it is no big deal. Pick it up and let it outside.”
“No way, I’m not touching anything!”
Tyler knew there were few options. As he thought for a few minutes, an idea crept into his mind.
“Do you want me to come over there and take care of it for you?”
Tyler never understood his sister’s fear, but he would do anything for her.
“That would be helpful,” Casey replied
Tyler arrives to find Casey avoiding the situation at all costs.
“Hey, it’s a real fear!” she said as he stared at her in silence.
“I realize that, but you can show me where to find it.” Tyler pressed.
“I told you where,” Casey argued. She knew what he meant to do, but she refused to budge. After the next few minutes in silence, her stance eased as she led him into the bathroom. Tyler saw the tiny creature and reached down to pick it up. Casey cowered in fear as she looked on from the bathroom doorway.
The small, quiet sound of its slithering body collided with Casey’s ear as Tyler inched closer to her.
“At least touch it, you won’t get hurt… it’s a little one. You can do it.” Tyler was always an encouragement.
“No!” Casey protested, pushing him away from her.
Reaching out to grab her arm, he guided her fingers down its scaly skin. Freaking out at first, Casey calmed down as she realized the snake meant her no harm. Snakes aren’t all that bad; I can do this. I am doing this.
Tyler inched past her and on into the laundry room and out the back door to place the snake back into the woods. The creature slithered away, trudging further back into its natural habitat. Tyler returned inside to find his sister watching him. She cast him an excited glance.
“I touched a real live snake!”
“Yeah, you did,” Tyler was proud of his sister. As he hugged her, his heart filled with pride.
“You can go now. I’m fine, but thank you, Bub. You always know how to help when I need it.”
“Okay, but I’m always here. You’ve proven to me that there’s hope of you overcoming this anxiety you got,” he said. “You got to try, no matter how afraid you may be,” Casey remembered all the advice he had ever given her. He cared about her, and she knew it.
With one last hug, he left as Casey shut the door behind him. You got to try no matter how afraid you may be.
Casey smile as she slept that night fearing a little less of the unknown.
