Cursed - Adopted By Yogscast

Pepsi

"Rythian, where are we going?" I asked, excited, yet rather amused. We had been driving for nearly a full half hour, but there was no sign of stopping. I sank back into my seat, and crossed my arms like a stubborn kid.

"It's a surprise." Rythian said, noticing my act and deciding to play along.

"Nooo... Me no like surprises."

"Too bad."

"Damn it." Rythian chuckled as we drove on, the trees passing us by faster. Then a row of shops, then we slowed down. Rythian reversed the car and stopped. But before he got out, he turned to ask me something.

"Question, how much did you say you liked animals again?"

"Excuse my french, but a fuck lot."

"Great. You'd like it here." He said, opening the door to get out. And so did I, wondering what he was planning. He smiled mysteriously, or as mysteriously he could. Then he opened the door to me.

"Holy shit." I said immediately, as I found myself standing at the door of a pet store. This is heaven. This is definitely heaven. I love animals. I might have permanently lost the ability to can. I can't even- Holy shit...

"Yep. Go ahead, pick one. But if you want a cat or a dog we'd go to a shelter." He said, and I nodded. I started to roam around. I stared into fish tanks, having small staring contests with a goldfish. A turtle came up to me and bumped his nose against the tank, and continued to swim around contentedly. I could see a family surrounding a little girl, gushing as she cradles a guinea pig in her arms. I paused for a moment, looking on. I gazed at the little girl with bright blonde hair, and her family consisting of her parents and an older brother. I stood there, as if cemented to the ground. I watched on, thinking back, remembering. An incident that destroyed me for the rest of my life, that robbed me of my family and my innocence. And then, Rythian placed a hand on my shoulder. I found myself staring into his grey eyes, filled with a regretful expression.

"I'm sorry I can't replace your family." He said, and I shook my head. He had noticed me staring.

"Don't be silly." I said, smiling again. He then let go of my shoulder and shrugged with a slight grin.

"Keep looking, we have the whole day." He encouraged me, and I walked on. My black converse were a little too tight, but I ignored it like I did every other day. Then I noticed that Rythian had gotten distracted by some goldfish, so I carried on into the reptile area myself.

I found myself staring at colour-changing chameleons and geckos, other lizards of which I do not know the names of, but something caught my attention. The store attendant was feeding something, something without any limbs.

A snake. And I recognised the breed. A beautiful black-and-white Milk Snake. She noticed me looking at it, and smiled kindly.

"May I help you?"

"I like snakes." I said, and she laughed. The lady put her arm into the tank, and allowed the reptile to climb up her arm. Then she held it out to me.

"This little guy is about a year old, and very gentle. Would you like to hold him?"

"Yeah!" I said, holding out my arm. She carefully stuck out an arm, and let him slither onto my arm. It felt smooth and silky. And then, he rose up to meet my gaze. And did nothing else. The snake then wrapped himself around my arm gently, and rested its head on its body. And I was in love. The store attendant laughed.

"He likes you." She said with an amused smile. I barely responded, I was too busy stroking his tiny head. He was adorable, at least to me. My choice had been made. I looked up into her eyes.