Apatheia~ Chap 1. "Dwelling"

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The long dark serpent, ever hungry, slithered in and out of the shadows in the moonlight around the happy, but dimly lit cottage. Her soul was empty and her cravings were monsterous.

Silently she glided past a bright red plastic ball and a slightly rusty tricycle, inhaling the scent of the children who lived and played in the cottage. Everyone was asleep, or so it seemed.

In fact, the mother of the home, Clara, was not asleep. She was in bed reading something about current events, something political, an article that didn't have to do with pre-school, weight loss, or romance! She sighed as she glanced over at her snoring husband who lay next to her and was breathing heavily. His features had changed a lot. She marveled at how different he looked now compared to the man she married 13 years earlier. She had changed too. A tiny, but deadly feeling of dread came over her as she wondered what 13 more years would do to them...but she quickly forced the ill feelings away. They would mange, they always did.

Outside, the serpent suddenly lifted her head, as if the scent of something she was looking for had brushed by her. She flicked her tongue and continued to look for an entrance into the cottage. Yes, she was hungry, but she could be patient, vey patient. This family might suit her needs perfectly...

The next morning a sleepy Clara, who had stayed up too late reading, arose to the sound of little bare feet skipping down the hall. The 3 year old was making her way to her mother. A golden haired creature named Hannah, full of sunshine and music would soon cross the threshold of of her mothers room and find her mom sitting up on the edge of the bed, trying to wake up. Daddy would be in the shower, or off to work already.
"Mamma- I want...." And this is how the family's day began, almost every day.

The sun was coming up and the serpent had found a way in, under the house, long before day-break. A vent in the foundation of the house had been left open.
She curled and coiled her long thick body into a pile to keep warm, and she listened. Though the serpent was a night creature, she could hear and feel the vibrations of the morning routine, and was becoming aware of the occupants of the house. She heard the tiny steps of Hanna, a shower running, the heavier footsteps of a slightly bigger child, a boy perhaps? She could hear Clara calling out at various times, "Breakfast is ready! Where are your shoes? Don't forget to brush! Billy, where is your homework? And a phone ringing."

The serpent sighed, and an evil smile curved on her wicked mouth,
"Yesssss"...her toungue slithered, "This family will work out jussssst fine."