Supper Pact​

Issue 18

A Green Mamba
corkscrewed around a branch
turned to me
 
"I'm hungry, dear one" he said
 
Dripping his morphinous grin
 
"I'm lost" said I
 
He told me to fetch him three eggs
and he would show me the way home
 
I shook his tail, compliant
 
So I tripped and wove my way
through the braided undergrowth
 
Until I happened upon three eggs
 
Gleaming as quartz 
 
Gazing through the mesh of the brush
I spotted the beginnings of a trail
carved out by footfall
 
On the air I felt a hum
of village chatter
 
I looked at the eggs 
I looked at the trail
I thought of the snake
 
I turned back
 
"I've brought your supper" I said
"I've brought a friend" said the Mamba
"To show you the way home"
 
The leopard swallowed me whole

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BRYN WOOD is a writer based in Cyprus whose work explores varied styles and approaches. Writing, a relatively recent passion shaped by chronic illness, serves as both an outlet and a means of engaging with the world, human experience, and all its complexities.
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