Venom by Saneh Sangsuk

Author:Saneh Sangsuk
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Peirene Press
Published: 2023-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

Recalling those stories, the boy grew even more scared, which further diminished his strength. His legs and his left arm felt fatigued; his left hand and all five of its fingers the same. His trunk was even more shrunken now, even more bowed, from the weight of the snake. What would happen if he let go of the giant snake’s neck and allowed fate to take charge? In that moment, what he felt was bitter resentment. He wouldn’t be intimidated by this snake, no, if only he had a functioning right arm. He’d gladly wrestle it, and he’d crush it to a pulp. Not that he’d expect an easy victory, but he thought in the end he’d be able to defeat it. He tried moving his right arm and tried wiggling the fingers on his right hand – in his desperation, he was hoping for a miracle. Nothing. That whole arm and the hand, strapped to his torso by the snake, remained as stiff and useless as ever.

The village wasn’t far now. He staggered on along the ox-cart path – the route was one he knew like the back of his hand. What time was it now? Seven? Seven thirty? Surely before eight. Were it any other day, by this hour he’d already have put his oxen away in their shed, already brought them water, already fetched them straw, and he, probably he would have eaten by now and showered by now, and maybe he’d be kicking back listening to the radio, waiting for it to turn eight thirty, when the Kaew Fah radio theatre troupe would come on – they were doing Phanom Tian’s Chulatreekoon, and they’d left off as the plot was getting exciting – and maybe he’d while away the rest of the evening at one or another of his friends’ places, playing a couple of games of draughts. But tonight everything was different.

His house sat at the edge of the village, giving right onto the fields. He walked into his yard, stopping under the Manila tamarind tree. His house was an old, Thai-style home – a simple, single structure. Up inside, it was quiet and dark. The house looked deserted. What now? he wondered. Why had he come home? Why had he come back to the village? He supposed he just didn’t know where else to go. He did want to check on his eight oxen, and there must be someone in the village able to help him, not that he’d given any thought to how. He walked over towards the cattle shed, not intending to get too close, not meaning to show himself. Instead, he kept out of sight next to the haystack and sneaked a sidelong look at his animals – he was able to count all eight. One or another of his friends must have steered them back to the shed, and that person appeared to have already given them drink and fodder. In the shed, each ox was in its usual spot, each tethered as it should be, and the gate was properly closed.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.