Chapter 2 The Mysterious Snake
When Peter said that, my dad looked totally confused.
He felt something was off about the whole thing. Honestly, he thought it was pretty weird that I, a kid who had crawled out of a grave, was even here.
He glanced at me instinctively, and I hesitated, thinking, 'Why didn't that little snake bite me last night?'
I figured that would be the end of it, but three days later, a strange disease started spreading in the village. On that morning, people noticed that the snake bites had healed miraculously. But by evening, the flesh around the wounds turned black, causing unbearable pain that went straight to the bone. People screamed in agony all night until they died.
The village was thrown into a state of panic.
The village chief brought in an astrologer from out of town. The guy checked out the stars and quickly found my mom's grave!
This angered my dad, prompting him to confront the astrologer.
However, the astrologer explained, "The Mourning Locust Tree was meant to bury the soul of someone who died with a child, but your son didn't die and crawled out of the grave himself. This has turned the Mourning Locust Tree into an aberration, disrupting the cosmic balance and challenging destiny."
He warned that if this wasn't fixed, our family would suffer too.
Hearing this, my dad didn't stop him anymore.
The astrologer performed a mysterious ritual, declaring the issue resolved by sunset. He then dispersed the crowd, leaving only my dad and me.
As he walked through the snow, the astrologer paused at the southeast corner of my mom's grave, accidentally stepping into a black hole. My dad was stunned. That was the hole I had crawled out of!
The astrologer sighed and told my dad that if a snake came to our house on my 12th birthday, we had to keep it!
My dad asked why, but the astrologer didn't answer and just left.
In the end, the strange disease was indeed controlled by the astrologer, and no one died from it anymore.
However, the villagers started saying that my dad and I, who were left alone by the astrologer, were evil spirits that would bring disaster to the village.
The village chief came to our house and told my dad to take me and leave the village.
Our family had lived here for generations, so how could we just leave?
My dad refused, and the conversation got heated, almost leading to a fight with the village chief.
From that day on, we were seen as the plague of the village, and even Peter kept his distance from us.
My dad spent his days either working or drinking, always drunk.
Soon, it was my 12th birthday.
That day, my dad made me a bowl of spaghetti as usual, and after I was full, he took me to town to buy a cake, a bouquet of fresh flowers for my mom, and a bottle of Bourbon Whiskey for himself.
Then, we went up the mountain to pay our respects to my mom.
Back home, my dad made two small dishes and poured me a small glass of wine. The cake was extra sweet that day, and the wine had a special kick to it.
After we ate and drank, my dad clutched my mom's photo and cried, while I, feeling the buzz from the alcohol, curled up in bed and knocked out early.
I don't know how long I was out, but I woke up shivering from a bone-chilling cold.
I groggily opened my eyes and found my dad and I inexplicably asleep by my mom's grave.
It was late at night, snowflakes were falling, and my dad was still holding my mom's photo, sound asleep.
Suddenly, a weird noise broke the silence, startling me. I turned towards the sound and saw a white stone lying quietly in the snow.
I frowned, remembering that spot was where I had crawled out of the hole years ago.
So I got up and walked over. By the faint light, I saw that the stone was engraved with a winged white snake, its eyes glowing green in the snow, looking kinda creepy.
Six years ago, the astrologer had secretly told me that I was the reincarnation of Quetzalcoatl. He assured me that as long as the celestial alignments and aura remained undisturbed, I would be bestowed with lifelong blessings and prosperity.
At that time, I had no idea what Quetzalcoatl looked like. However, the stone statue before me immediately brought the image to mind.
The astrologer had told me to keep the snake that appeared today. Could it be this stone?
Thinking of this, I hurriedly patted my sleeping dad, but he was too drunk to wake up.
Feeling helpless, I went back to the stone statue, reached out to hold it, and tried to carry it home.
But as soon as I touched the cold statue, the green light in the snake's eyes suddenly vanished, and everything went pitch-black.
I was so scared I froze, not knowing what to do. From my mom's grave, about 9 feet away, came a faint voice, "Baby... my baby..."
The voice scared me so much I wet myself. I shouted and stumbled to my dad's side, kicking him hard, but he only responded with snores!
"Don't be afraid." This time, the voice was clearer. "I am your mother."
I burrowed into my dad's arms, holding his arm tightly.
My mother?
I swallowed hard, seeing a dark figure float out of the grave and stand motionless in front of it. "Your father asked me to heal your eyes."
I was stunned, realizing that my eyeballs could move freely. Tears, which I had never shed before, instantly streamed down my face. "Mother? Are you really my mother?"
My mother, whom I had never seen, whom I had only dreamed of embracing, was now standing in front of me.
"I have to go. Take care of yourself and your father." As the figure spoke, it began to blur. I struggled to follow my mother as she left, but my dad's grip held me back.
When I tried to push it away, I realized it wasn't his arm—it was a large white snake coiling around me tightly!