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On my way to school today, I decided to walk along the railroad tracks as always. I was listening to Alice and Chains, minding my own business, when I noticed a movement out of the corner of my eye. I looked down just in time to see a rattlesnake take a second lung towards my shin. I watched as it coiled up and prepared for a third strike, and simply walked to the side. It just sat there and stared at me, eyes filled with a terrified hate, and I turned and left it there. I looked behind me to make sure it wasn't following behind me, which it did not.
I was lucky; It didn't make contact either time it tried to bite. I thought on my reaction long and hard. I just stood there, as if I didn't care how long it would take for the venom to make my heart stop beating, its vile ooze coursing through my veins. Have I really lost that much regard for life? I honestly must no longer fear death. True, I may fear the horrible ways in which it can be dealt, but dying by itself no longer bothers me. I will probably think on this for a while. How close the snake was to biting me, and how I simply shrugged aside the encounter and kept walking. I'll probably end up taking the same path tomorrow as well. What's the likelihood of the same snake being there twice?