The Curse

In the dead of night, I abruptly awoke, my consciousness emerging from a seemingly eternal slumber. It felt like I had been in a deep sleep for years, perhaps even decades. My vision, initially hazy, gradually began to regain its clarity. As the sensation of blood coursing through my aching muscles returned.

A profound sense of sorrow enveloped me, causing my eyes to brim with tears. Yet, these teardrops transformed into wide-eyed astonishment when they fell upon a serpent's tail resting on the edge of my bed, I found myself curiously devoid of the shock or fear one might expect in such a situation. A peculiar hollowness had taken root in my heart, rendering me impervious to fear and excitement alike. My gaze, guided by a strange sense of detachment, followed the sinuous tail upward in search of its head, only to find that it led to my own torso. It was me.

A resigned sigh escaped my lips as I realized that the burning sensation I had mistaken for skin was, in fact, scales, and the searing frustration I had felt welling up within me was nothing less than a venomous poison. In the midst of this surreal revelation, I couldn't help but break into laughter at the absurdity of it all. I questioned why I had awakened at all, pondering whether eternal slumber might be the preferable choice.