The Serpent Servant

Julianna Gorduyn

(6/2021) I am sure by the title of this story you are asking yourself what you have gotten yourself into. Well, I can tell you, there is no occult relations in this story. When you hear the word "serpent or snake", what runs through your brain? I am sure it is one of two things. Either you are terrified of these creatures or you are not afraid of them. For me, I have a certain adoration for these beings. Now, I also respect that they can kill me, but I do not fear them. This is a story about a snake that changed my view of any animal I have encountered since.

Ever since I was a child my father was always handing me different animals. He installed the quality of respect inside of me. Whether he handed me insects, reptiles, or amphibians, I learned to love and respect these creatures. Fear is not something a human is born with. It is something that is taught. For example, the most cliché explanation would be a child sticking a knife in a socket. Once a child is told not to do this but does it anyway the gets shocked, and this instills a fear inside of this child. This is a healthy fear of not being shocked. Now, for snake this is different. We do not even give our children a chance to respect these animals and to not be afraid. We automatically assume this animal will shock us, or bite us in this case. Just like a cat or a dog a snake can bite you. The only difference is that snakes have something different then bacteria in a mammal's mouth.

There are two different types of toxins that can hurt a potential victim. You just have to know the difference. There is a difference between venom and poison. Venom is something that is secreted by either stinging or biting. Poison is something that is ingested or absorbed by the victim. Now there are two types of snakes in this world, the venomous and the constrictors. Although, one day I would love to own a highly venomous snake, I have only had constrictors. Constrictors tend to be more docile and easier to care for. They also grow in massive sizes and can live for up to 20+ years.

One snake in particular was a snake that I owned named Sebastian. He was a seven-foot-long, 10-year-old, Dumeril’s Boa. Now if your skin is crawling at this point, I urge you to continue reading. This snake will change your perspective on coldblooded reptiles. Sometimes these creatures are not as cold blooded as you would think them to be. From the instant I met Sebastian it was a connection. I went to the pet store every day for almost eight months. Sebastian was afraid, malnourished, and shy. He also did not like it when you would stroke his face, but I was determined to change all of this. He was in the cage with his soul mate named "Aurora". They were caged together. She was a Hog Island Boa.

A few years prior I was dating a guy that had rescued her and he let me name her. When he could not keep her anymore, he took her back to that horrible pet store. They were both there and developed serious health issues. Aurora developed a serious respiratory infection and Sebastian stayed in brumation, starving himself. Both were suffering from too much humidity in their environment and not enough warm land.

One summer evening I arrived for my daily dose of reptilian love and they were gone. Someone had purchased them for me, but I had no idea. I was distraught. They needed proper medical attention. I found out that day my friend rescued for them and we snuck them into my parents' house. My mother is terrified of snakes, but when she found out, bless her heart; she told me I could keep them as long as I did not bring them outside of my room. Aurora preferred to be left alone because she had a long road to recovery. I fed them both very large rats and only Aurora ate. This worried me, Sebastian was declining in his weight and becoming brittle.

I was told as a child that reptiles preferred to be left alone. This case was very different. Aurora enjoyed basking alone in her cage, but Sebastian needed me. I would leave his cage unhinged when I arrived home and he would slither from his cage to my bed. At this point he loved his head being rubbed and the underside of his neck being stroked.

Sebastian and I had developed a bond of trust. He wrapped himself up close to me when I would sleep at night or during a nap. Yes, he is still an instinctual reptile, so I was careful with him around my other animals. He began to eat large bunnies and rats and turned into a masculine, handsome, twenty-pound snake. He went everywhere with me. He developed a liking for humans and touch. During my senior year of high school, I took him to school with me along with my service dog, Norman. Everyone loved Sebastian, even the people who had a deep fear of him.

I taught everyone I could about respect for snakes and Sebastian. Sebastian was a different breed of art. He was fearless and kind. He was neglected and abandoned, and I gave him a life. I believe to this day he can feel the love people have. It is proven they can sense fear, but Sebastian never saw fear as a threat. He saw fear as an opportunity to teach. He taught me the same values. Sebastian used to put his face up to mine when he was upset and breathe deeply with my breaths. He needed therapy and warmth, so he took mine. A gentle giant is what people would say. Sometimes I would wake up and he would be wrapped around my body with his head sitting on my chest, fast asleep. Around me would be my dog and three cats happily asleep on the bed next to us. I felt like I was in a movie, the lion laying with the lamb. He is something so powerful but so gentle.

I have never had a connection with a human as deep as I had with this snake. He begged to be touched and stroked. At one point I was grocery shopping with him around my neck, and someone came up behind me. Before he could even speak Sebastian had already unhinged his grip from me and maneuvered around this man's body. He moved his neck up towards the man's neck and lifted his head asking to be stroked under his chin. My heart just melted, he needed human connection. To this day Sebastian has never stricken or bitten the hand that has fed him. He did not have any faults and he was completely loyal to me, no matter what I did. He hated baths, but he still endured them for me.

I took my senior pictures with Sebastian, and the photographer who took them was scared of snakes, but fell deeply in love with him. About a year later I had to move abruptly, and I could not keep either Aurora or Sebastian. It broke my heart in ways you cannot imagine, but I had to do what was best for them. I re-homed Aurora to a close friend and she ended up passing away that winter. Sebastian lives happily with one of my closest friends who also took my senior pictures. Sebastian was hurt for a while, but he has learned to share the same connection with my friend Paco. He climbs in bed with Paco and absorbs his heat and energy just like he did with me. Just like a human he becomes deprived of human connection and longs for it. I imagine he has spent his entire life searching for this certain connection. Little did he know he would find it in a few special humans.

In conclusion, the reason I have titled this "The Serpent Servant", is because I will serve his honor and his legacy for as long as I live. He has taught me things I would have never learned, and things many humans do not get to experience. I still get disputes that he cannot love like a cat or dog, but I know different by the way he made me feel. Sometimes I would lie in bed at night and sob because things were just too much. Sebastian, I believe, could feel these emotions. He would press himself up against me and hold onto me as tightly as he could, without hurting me, and comfort me. Sometimes he needed me to just pick him up and rock him like a baby. When I would do this, he would fall limp and enjoy just being rocked, and held closely to my heart.

It is incredible what an intimate experience I have had with this reptile. I am servant of this serpent's true nature, and I will continue to teach other what he has taught me. I know I will never experience anything else like this. This was truly a lesson that he was teaching me about true love. He changed the thought process of me and many others that had been fooled by basic knowledge and science. Sebastian taught me that science cannot explain certain things like this, nor can science could not explain or define him.