The Twenty Virtues Book 1- The Twenty Generals

19-The Viper

Many snakes typically make their nests underground. Random, I know, but I remember watching animal documentaries, especially about snakes, and thinking about how limiting it must be for those little babies to live in a cave until they are finally ready to leave. I wonder, what if some of them weren't ready to leave the den? What would life be like for that poor individual? Who would have to learn to survive in such a harsh world without arms or legs, only their mouth to defend them?

We're going to a time fondly remembered and loved by the people, but in a part of society that is empty and forgotten by them, I mean, it's somewhat remembered, but incredibly despised. The plebeian part, the filthy and unnecessary part, everyone steps on it, made of dust and dirt. Those who are there are basically the living dead struggling for life. Tell me, when you look through those lenses, isn't it fair to say it's like the underground of society?

Underground, a young boy lived. He had no mother, no father, nor siblings. Well, he did have parents, but one disappeared and the other died, and now the boy found himself alone, so small. The poor child was afraid of everything. He had grown up seeing so much that he was terrified of everything. He feared the guards who roamed the streets and beat him if he looked at them the wrong way. He feared not being able to eat, or that on the day he did manage to find food, someone would steal it from him. He was afraid of how exposed he was to all dangers as a child living alone.

He walked through the city market, scouring the ground for any scraps, leftovers, or anything that accidentally fell to the ground. But if he wasn't careful, the stall owners would kick him out if they noticed what he was trying to do. So the pup born underground crawled around searching for food, still learning to hunt, and couldn't have high hopes.

An apple! What luck! And it's good, it must have fallen from some stall and no one noticed. How nice. Now there's at least a little more food for that sad day. What joy, it was his happiness.

"Hey, kid." The poor pup lowered his guard, not yet understanding how the world works and that predators and prey must always be alert to each other. When he looked to the side, who did he find but the fruit stall vendor glaring at him with disdain and hatred? He looked at him as if he wished he would disappear, as if his hunger and poverty, as well as his existence, were a huge inconvenience. "Who allowed you to take that? Are you going to buy it? If you don't have money, get out of here."

"I don't have money, but it's on the ground, it's dirty. No one will want it. Please be a good person and at least give me that." Oh Kesna, you're still a pup, you don't know how to control your venom yet. If you expel it too strongly, you'll lose your prey and won't be able to eat.

The man, enraged, took the apple from the boy's hands and struck him, belittling him and saying that the dirty fruit was worth more than ten boys like him, reminding the boy how fragile his existence was.

Then Kesna was left lying in the alley, thinking about how he could protect himself. He was a small snake pup, with no arms or legs to fight against a mole that attacked him. All he had was his mouth but didn't understand the power of his venom. The child realized that if he continued living that life, in that place, in that way, he would die. So, to survive, the little serpent had to start hunting.

Let's start with the simplest: patience.

Instead of immediately expelling the venom, little snake, why not analyze? Coil up and, patiently, look for an opening, a weakness to strike.

Oh little boy, sit at a distance from the stalls and observe the customers, the vendors. Look for an opportunity, an argument, something where your venom might work well.

You start to notice and memorize the number of customers passing each stall, their positions, ethnicities, clothes, heights, and especially... genders. And you note how the apple vendor receives more women than men, women who, when you investigate and analyze, you see are mostly married. And as the little snake observes, he discovers the apple vendor's secret, a secret that I believe doesn't need words to describe, does it?