on his porch. He sat down in an old wooden rocking chair and closed his eyes. It was a hot, sunny day, and out of sheer fatigue, his eyelids closed on their own.

He didn’t even notice when he drifted off to sleep, gently rocking to the soft creak of the chair.

About half an hour passed. Everything around was calm and still. At that moment, from the thick bushes near the porch, a thin but highly dangerous snake slithered out. Its movements were smooth and almost invisible.