Chapter 1: Little Snake
It was a fairly normal day in a small town outside of London. The number of trees there were numerous due to the forest that co-existed next to the small town. The people there were quite happy with their daily lives and continued to live on peacefully.
It was also another normal day at St. Meredith's Orphanage for Boys. It was time again for all the boys to have their recess for the afternoon. Most of them were playing games like tag and a newly invented sport called football, where one kicked a ball past the other team's post. There was however, one boy who wasn't engaging in any of these activities.
There was a small boy with fairly colored, cow licked hair, and skin which looked like that of a snake, sitting isolated underneath a tree, reading a book containing the works of Emily Bronte, a famous writer and poet. Because of the boy's snake-like skin, the other kids often resented him, leaving him by himself and without many friends. He didn't really mind too much because that meant that he could keep on reading. He loved to read, and his list of favorite authors was quite something.
He read works by famous authors such as William Wordsworth, Oscar Wilde, John Keats, and many, many more. The boy was interrupted as he heard the call to come back inside, as recess had already ended. The boy wanted to keep reading, but he knew the adults would come looking for him if he didn't go inside. Reluctantly, he stood and started walking back to the tall, two story brick building.
Since he was so far away, it took him a little while to reach it, resulting in him being the last one inside. The boy saw a woman with a bright smile standing at the door. "Hello Snake, what book do you have today?"
The boy, Snake, didn't answer, but instead turned the book face up so she could see the title. "Wuthering Heights huh? I read that book last year and I love it. It's an amazing book."
Snake only nodded in agreement. "Well, you'd better run along now. It's best not to be late to your English lesson."
Snake nodded and took a few steps inside, then stopped in his tracks. "I-I like it a lot, too."
The woman was startled to hear him speak. When she turned around, Snake was already walking down the hallway. After a few more seconds of shock, she smiled and closed the doors to the building.
After lessons for the day were finished, Snake headed back into his own room. He wanted nothing more than to get back to his book. Snake slid into his bed and pulled out Wuthering Heights. The story so far had intrigued him and he understood what was going on perfectly. He was better at reading and writing, and his literacy skills were a bit higher than most of the other boys at the orphanage.
Snake sighed. "I wish I could write a story as good as this."
He decided to close the book for now and he put it on his night stand to finish later. He turned to look at the room. He had books everywhere and the rest of it was neat and organized. But there was one thing about it that bothered him. "It's kind of lonely in here."
Usually, there were two boys to a room, but there weren't enough kids for Snake to have his own roommate. He figured it was because no one wanted to be his roommate, that he wound up in a room, all alone. Of course, having his own room did have its advantages. He wouldn't have to engage in any awkward conversation or have to deal with whatever that roommate might throw his way. Even though having a room by himself could be a good thing, Snake still couldn't shake that loneliness he felt, no matter how hard he tried.
His eyes searched until he found his favorite stuffed snake toy, a product of Funtom co., a company that deals in toys and confectionaries. As far as he was concerned, the stuffed snake was his only friend. He stared down at the thing, his mind thinking about his lineage of half human and half snake. He remembered that his father was a normal human man, while his mother was a beautiful snake turned woman, much like in the story Madame White Snake, an old Chinese fable he liked to read every once in a while.
By then, the sky was already pretty dark, and for some reason, Snake decided to get out of bed and take a walk over to his second story window and open the curtains. He couldn't really see anything as it was already too dark to do so. He slumped to the ground and sighed, resting his head on the windowsill. He sighed as he looked up to the sky with those young, curious eyes of his.
In another second, Snake could see a shooting star traveling across the sky. Snake immediately perked up at the sight, and immediately closed his eyes and grasped his hands together, already having a wish in mind. "I wish I didn't have to be so lonely. I-I wish I could have a family of my very own. I don't wanna be lonely anymore."
Snake opened his eyes and looked up to see that the shooting star was already long gone. He stared at the sky a little while longer, apprehensively. "...Please?"
Another minute went by and nothing happened. The sky was still dark and the moon was full and high in the sky. Snake sighed and left the window, closing the curtains behind him. He sat back on his bed and stared at his plush snake. "Well, looks like it's just you and me, Rosaline."
He wrapped the snake tight in his arms and gave it a kiss on the forehead. Of course it didn't respond, being a stuffed animal. Snake smiled just a little. "Do you wanna read Wuthering Heights with me?"
Again, he received no answer, but instead he took the silence as a yes. Snake pulled the book off of his night stand and opened it to the page he was currently on. "All right, let's start here."
Snake began reading aloud and his stuffed snaked had no choice but to sit there and listen, if it could listen that was, but it was good for Snake to have someone to talk to, even if it wasn't alive. The clock ticked, and soon, Snake became so tired that he couldn't even keep holding the book. His eyes closed and he let the book fall on the floor.
Being a kid, he couldn't stay up all night without accidently falling asleep. He still had his stuffed snake, Rosaline, in his arms. He hoped that the shooting star had heard his wish, if they actually granted wishes that is. Snake wasn't really sure if they did or not. Fortunately for him, it had.
