Aulden wishes to note that this is more in the form of a journal account than a short story. The flow of dialog is dictated by Aulden's search for specific information. However, I, being the web page manager, believe he's only saying that because he's too insecure to call it story.

Previously, Aulden talked with a rattlesnake at Patanjali's Restaurant. After he was unable to come to terms with it, the rattlesnake was placed in a basket along with desire, purpose and intention. Patanjali said to Aulden, "You must deal with them later." The time had arrived.

Aulden entered Patanjali's Restaurant. Janice, Poseidon, The Wind and Sonny followed him. After stepping through the entrance, Aulden was surprised to find that he was holding a young woman in his arms. The woman held a pair of crutches.

Aulden exclaimed, "Where did you come from?" She answered, "You just picked me up."

"What's your name?"

"Sandra."

"Are these your crutches?" he asked her, and she responded, "Yes, thank you."

"We're here to talk with a snake. Do you know about him?"

Sandra answered, "He's my father."

Surprised, Aulden asked, "You have a snake for a father?"

"He wasn't always a snake," she assured him.

"What's your function in my life?"

She explained, "I'm the snake charmer."

The group went to the same table where they dined on their previous visit here, and after they were seated Aulden asked, "Tell me about your snake charming, Sandra."

"The snake follows my movement, see?" she told him, and Aulden noticed for the first time that she was holding a flute.

"You use a flute?" he asked her. "I use a flute," she replied.

He asked, "What can I do for you, to help you?"

Sandra told him, "Don't get too involved. It's my work, and it's not safe."

"I want to ask you a personal question. How did you hurt your legs so you need crutches?"

"I was born this way."

Aulden asked, "Is there anything I can do to help about that?"

Sandra answered, "Carry me."

"All the time?"

She repeated, "Carry me."

He agreed to this, simply responding, "Okay."

She stipulated, "When you need me, okay?"

He again answered, "Okay."

After Sandra played some notes on her flute, she said, "I'm ready for the snake."

Aulden asked, "What do we do?"

She told him, "We do what he says, only we do it in our own way."

Aulden told her, "Herman said, grab it by the tail, and he gave me this wood-boring tool but I don't know why."

Sandra recognized the tool for what it was - not a wood-boring tool. "It's a snake stick," she told him.

Patanjali brought the basket that held the snake, and placed it on the table. He removed the wicker lid and the rattlesnake raised its head.

Aulden asked, "Snake, what is your name?"

It answered, "Boon-Giver, Life-Stealer, Life-Giver."

These names puzzled Aulden, and he asked, "What should I call you?"

The snake continued, "Boon-Giver, Red, Danger-on-a-Stick."

Aulden said, "I like the name Red," and noted, "Moses had a snake on a stick."

The snake made a claim, perhaps with more ego than truth, "I'm that snake."

"Red," Aulden queried, "What is your function in my life?"

Red answered, "I'm the boon-giver."

"But at what price?"

Red agreed, "Everything in life has a price."

Aulden asked, "What do you need from me?"

Red responded, "You wouldn't pay my price last time. Are you ready to pay it this time?"

"But what does it mean?" Aulden asked, "Last time you asked for a duck and a sheep. If it's a metaphor - what is it in a concrete sense?"

Red replied, "Sacrifice. Fealty."

Aulden recalled another who asked for the same, and said, "Everyone wants fealty." He changed the topic, "Red, your daughter said you weren't always a snake. Please tell me the story of how you changed into a snake."

Red recalled, "It was a hot summer day. There were no friends around. We sat by the creek - my daughter and I. I felt like a snake in the grass, so I became one."

Aulden asked, "Is there something I did that made you change? What did I do to change you?"

Red told him, "You lost your friends."

Aulden wasn't certain what Red meant by "friends." Aulden had lost friends before, but he thought that Red meant the archetypal companions that Aulden knew when he was a boy, very alone, on his parents' farm - imaginary friends of a child. "What did that do to you, when I lost my friends?" Aulden asked.

"There was no reason left for me to be with you, so I slithered off."

Aulden wondered about Sandra's version, and asked, "Sandra, tell me the story of how your father became a snake."

She explained, "I was born and he loved me, didn't you father? I grew up and as I grew you didn't pay attention."

Aulden asked, "What was your father's function in my life before he became a snake?"

Sandra told him, "To light the path. But you didn't stay on the path so he got bored and did other things."

After much thought, Aulden asked Sandra to play her flute, and he turned to the snake, and said, "I cannot pay fealty to you yet, but I can think about it. I have a bargain for you to consider."

Red replied, "Do you think I'm not on to you?"

Aulden continued, "Red, I know you like to light my path. I know you do. Light my path while I consider and while you consider."

Aulden motioned to his archetypal companions, and said, "My friends are back. I want you to light my path again while I take time to consider your offer of a boon in exchange for fealty. Will you light my path?"

Red, being a snake, asked, "How will I carry the lantern?"

Aulden said, "You'll have to transform back to a human shape, Red. Will you light the path?"

Red struggled to change, making odd jerky movements. Soon he stood in the form of an elderly man holding a lantern. All that remained of the snake was a dry, shed skin on the table.

Aulden asked, "Old man, what is your name." The man answered, "Red."

Aulden asked, "Red, what is your function in my life?" Red answered, "To light the path."

Aulden asked, "What do you have for me?" Red replied, "Light."

Aulden asked, "What do you need from me?" Red replied, "Follow the path."

Feeling suspicious, Aulden asked, "Patanjali, what do you say?" Patanjali answered in a positive tone, "Follow the path indeed."

"Sonny, what do you say?" Aulden asked. Sonny answered, "He has a lot of making up to do, but I agree. We'll follow the path."

Aulden and Red still hadn't reached an agreement. Red would lead Aulden through several encounters before they came to an understanding.