Herpetophobia

“Even if I was about to be bored to death, I wouldn’t dare come to your house.”

“But I got a new one!” 

“So what? I can’t celebrate that. You should. But don’t expect me to do the same!” 

“But you’re supposed to be my best friend!” 

“I am your best friend, but that doesn’t mean I have to like everything that you do, Ari.”

“I’ve been with you through every possible life event with you and this is what I get for it?”

“Oh please! I’ve been through the same with you.”

“Please! I’m begging you! Just come over, José. I have acai~”

“I have acai at home.”

“But yours is store-bought. Mine’s fresh.” 

He can just imagine her pouting, and truth be told, he really can’t reject acai. Especially when it’s Adriana’s. It just has a...certain flavour to it that none other does. He should probably ask her what the secret ingredient is someday.

“Hello~ You still there?”

“Okay fine. But keep me far, far away from them.”

“Deal!”

And that ends it. José could only avoid Adriana for so long. That girl never gave up because she never knew when giving up was a good idea. 

He sighs, setting the phone face down on the small table beside the couch. He wishes to lean back and enjoy what he can, but how long can he do that before Ari haunts his thoughts again? Letting out a deep breath, he picks himself up from the sofa and allows himself to be dragged by sheer dread alone as he puts on a light jacket and walks across the street to Adriana’s house. 

The door pulls open before he can even touch the doorbell and Ari pops her head out, beaming at the sight of him. Sickly pale fingers beckon him to come inside and he follows after them, welcoming himself inside the house as Ari steps back, still beaming, but this time with her fingers running down the back of wide-eyed yellow gecko. That’s probably not the actual name, but that’s what José has been calling it. 

“Is he the new one?” José asks, exchanging his outdoor shoes for indoor ones, pointing with a finger at the reptile on her shoulder.

“No, I told you, the new one is a snake. And he is a she, so be respectful.” Ari chides, waving her finger in his face and backing away before José can push her away. 

“Nooo! Stay away!!” Backing away, José crashes into the door, rattling the empty cage beside the door. 

The gecko flinches, jumping off from Ari’s shoulder to the floor. “Leo! No, don’t run away!” Straightening up, Ari runs after the reptile, nearly crashing into another cage herself before managing to grasp the slippery animal in her bony fingers. “I’m sorry, Leo, I know Uncle José would make a horrible dad, with his clumsy self and all,” which causes a huge and very loud protest from said person, “but you don’t have to face him anymore. I’ll put you back in your home now, okay?” And sticking out her tongue at the male human in the room, she disappears into a dark hallway. 

With the promise of acai still lingering in José’s mind, he follows her like a lost puppy, yearning for some treats. 

And he enters the forbidden hallways.

Well, Ari’s never forbidden them, José has done that on his own. Even just the sight of the reptiles might just make him…

“I thought you weren’t coming?” Ari asks, looking up at him with caramel eyes. She’s not that short...he’s just too tall. Or that’s what she says as her excuse for her having to look up at him. “Did your fear of reptiles disappear? I didn’t know that could happen—”

“It’s called herpetophobia, and it’s a real thing, so no, it hasn’t disappeared. I just want my…” he trails off, much too shocked by the scene in front of him. The room that was drenched in darkness just moments before had just lit up, revealing the beauty hidden beneath. 

Cages line the wall, and the heat José hadn’t noticed before pricked at his neck now, instantly breaking him out into a sweat. His eyes widen and his mouth gapes as his mind rushes to process the number of animals that are in this room alone. The room is an explosion of colour, reptiles ranging from a blinding black lizard to a snake that looks like it could be the twin of a clownfish. 

“You’re staring.” Ari chuckles. 

“Since when do you have so many?” José asks, mouth still open in shock as his eyes trail over the variety. 

“Since mom and dad found out I have a life-threatening, untreatable disease and that I’m destined to die.”

Ah. The million-dollar answer. The answer that gets Ari anything she could ever want. And she used it to get as many disabled animals as she could. 

“Do you want your acai or not?”

“Yes, let’s go.” José shudders, following a giggling Ari into the kitchen. 

Making light conversation, José watches as Ari takes the bowl of acai from the fridge, her hands shaking as she performs the menial task. Setting the bowl down, she wrings her hands in an averted position, but he can still see. Her hands are shaking more and more as she squeezes her fingers. 

“Here’s your acai.”

“I can have all of it?”

She pauses to think, “Yeah, you can have it all.”

“Thank you!” he cheers up, watching a smile light up her face too. He grabs her hand, slowly tracing the lines on her palm with a finger, lines he’d memorized because he’d done this so many times. Every time her hands started shaking in his sight, he’d take them and trace the lines of her palms with a light finger. It made her giggle, and he enjoyed watching her be happy. The spoon already tucked into the bowl finds its way to his mouth, with a huge spoonful of the food and he nudges her towards the hallway. “Let’s go see your animals.”

Her face glows and she grips his hand and pulls him. He fills his mouth with another spoonful, this one bigger than the last and follows after her. Upon entering the colourful room again, José can’t help but still be surprised. He counts in his head but gets tired after he hits fifteen. She has a lot. Speaking of Adriana, she’s not beside him anymore. 

He turns around, coming face to face with Ari. And a giant snake slung around her neck.

“Wanna hold her?” Ari grins.

José screams.