You’re so composed!!

I got up from my seat slowly. We were having dinner and sitting in the alfresco part of the restaurant. It was after rain so I was careful with what had dropped on my back. Something small but had weight. My seat was dark that I had to take a flashlight from my handbag. By then a staff from the restaurant was already present. It’s a dry flower ball!!

My friend said she could not be as calm as I was. She might have jumped and shouted out loud. I would like to do that actually… be spontaneous but living in jungly Ubud I have learned to merge with the environment. Animal can bite if they feel threatened. And we could unintentionally threaten them by making an abrupt movement. Anyway, I’m not that calm actually. I’m just cautious.

So after spending half-day with my dear friend watching bonsai exhibition in Ubud soccer field and had hot gossip over brunch, I experienced my first encounter with a snake in my area. My staffs don’t like to come to my house especially after dark for they are afraid of snake. Balinese like to kill bush because of the reason. A friend once asked me if I’m scared of snakes. I could not say until I see it!

I thought I had a bad sight when I saw the window frame move and become uneven. I went closer and realized that I was seeing a thin but long snake crawling up the frame. It twisted my heart. I thought about if there's any opening nearby and laid out Plan B in mind. She (I decided it’s a ‘she’ because she’s cute) moved along the frame like looking out a way to go in. Apparently she’s interested in my bedroom. She kept looking inside with her tiny head up and when I took pictures of her, she moved to where the camera was shooting. She was aware of my presence! I talked to her. I told her that she’s cute! We looked at each other for a while before she decided to move away crawling on tiles and climbed up a tree.

Now I believe that snakes exist in my territory. I’ve been wondering the past days what animals have resided in my neighbor’s house since she let all windows open 24 hours since she moved in three months ago. The other day, I heard (my morning unintentionally eavesdropping) she told her friend that she has at least four big geckos inside her house that they looked at her every time she went in. She also mentioned about some frogs. Does she have snake? I offered two thumb-ups for her. A foreigner in Ubud.

The experience has lightened up my day in a way. I feel tired since got up. Now I know which part of body that got significant impact from yoga. Tummy muscle!!

She is so cute. Isn’t she?