Is your daughter home? 2

Well, that never happened (the threat I mean) – as I said he is a true gentle giant and I tried to keep him away from my adventures. But after he knew my boyfriend (now my husband) he warned him (I was there and tried to shut him up but it didn’t work…) – “Be prepared, I’m telling you, she has no fear as any normal human being!”

My mum decided not to send my father to look for me and stayed with John outside to wait for me.

What they didn’t know was that there were actually 3 snakes in total, water snakes, again completely harmless, which I caught I a river 10-15 mines away from home. I had, of course, partners in crime – the boys on the floor above us, two brothers. They were also fascinated like me, but I was doing all the “dirty work”. As I said – no normal human being will check what’s under a stone, before actually lifting it… Well, it wasn’t problem for me back then and I couldn’t understand what are they afraid of.

So my partners in crime were responsible for “stashing” my catch as I was called home and had to improvise quickly. I’ve put the snakes in a big glass jar (I had quite the collection of jars hidden in the some of the bushes in front of our apartment building) and gave them to them instructed them to hide them well.

And what they did is pure stupidity…

They’ve “hidden” the jar IN the building in a corner by the basement covering the top of the jar with just a newspaper… And, of course, there were no snakes there the next morning. How on earth they though a newspaper would hold them in I don’t know… but that’s not important.

All this is happening a few days after the snakes were turned lose in the building.

I didn’t know that a different neighbour saw one of them on the staircase and killed it, found it a bit strange, but didn’t think much of it. The other one obviously found shelter in Johns’ workshop and the third one – I hope she managed to get to safety…

Another thing they didn’t know, well, two things… - I had a collection of spiders in the jars hidden in the lilac bush just behind Johns’ Trabant and another collection of caterpillars in a different bush a few meters apart from the spiders’ stash.

So when I got back home I immediately knew I was caught, I just didn’t know about which crime…

My mum, John and the neighbour next door – the one that killed the poor snake (I know… it’s my fault…) were waiting for me by the main entrance of the building.

It took me just a second to read who’s who – John was the scared one, my mum was the angry one and the other neighbour were neutral I’d say – he just wanted to find out what really have happened.

From experience I knew – there was no hiding from that and I had to face the consequences of whatever they have found out.

“We need to talk”, my mum said, barely congaing her anger. “And please answer honestly as I really don’t have much patience left in me.”

I nodded still wondering what was I busted for again. She waited a minute or so – this was one of her tricks, which I later on learned to evade. She was basically waiting for me to start talking as she knew I will.

“Ok,” I said, “I suppose you found my spiders…”

This was something my mum didn’t expect. “Your WHAT? Your spiders? Where?”

I’ve just pointed to the lilac bush. “But I’m pretty sure they can’t escape, I…”

I heard John taking a deep breath, obviously not expecting that there were spiders involved in the equation.

“Ok, ok,” my mum said, “I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to be completely honest with me.”

I nodded, ready for the questioning and wondering what else it might be.

“Did you put a snake in Johns’ basement?” my mum asked me, again, looking me straight in the eyes.

Now that surprised me and obviously my mum could see that. So this is where one of them hid, I thought.

“No! Of course not!” But I’d never “rat” on my partners in crime so I said nothing else.

“Ok, then explain to me how come there is a snake in his basement?

“I don’t know, honestly!”, well, I knew how hypothetically, but I’d never say.”

“Then how…”

Then I did something really stupid. I interrupted my mum “How many? Was it just one or more?”

John collapsed heavily on the bench, my mum didn’t know what to say and the neighbour next door was laughing…

Then John lost it.

“What do you mean HOW MANY?? YOU ARE SAYING THERE IS MORE THAN ON OF THEM IN MY BASEMET??” Then he stopped talking for a minute, trying to find the best approach to solve the situation but my mum already had a strategy.

“What kind of snakes?”

“Water snakes,” I replied.

My mum nodded. Ok, at least nothing poisonous.

“How many you caught”, she asked me.

 “Three”, I said.

“Oh Dear Lord…”, John moaned quietly.

“Ok, then that’s two left,” said the neighbour next door” as I killed one the other day on the staircase.”

I made an attempt to express my anger but my mums’ eyes told me to say nothing.

“This is what you’ll do now – you’ll go in Johns’ basement, get the snake and set it free, am I clear?

“Yes, but…”

“NO BUT! Am I CLEAR??”

“Yes…” I nodded. Obviously, asking if I could keep it was out of the question.

Then I got to the basement, took me a few minutes to get the snake, which I proudly showed to John, trying to explain that its completely harmless and he just ran away…

My mum watched me setting it free in the bushes and then asked me to go back in the basement and try to find the last one so John can actually get in the building.

I’ve spent around half an hour down there and I was 100% sure there were no more snakes and I was relieved that the last one managed to escape and it’s free. Although I confirmed there are no snakes in the basement John asked me to check his workshop twice before he gathered the courage to get inside the building and lock himself in his apartment.

It took him another week to manage to go back to his workshop. But after this he was always carrying a small torch and checking every shelf before starting to work…

At least no one knew about my caterpillars!