Once there was a lonely young man. Born of the sickly sort, he lived
his life smaller and thinner than others. Often lacking the energy others
had as well, his complexion was paler and as time went on, age took its
toll on him sooner than most, his hair showing silvery strands of grey
despite his youth.

Because of the way his body and health was, the young man swore himself
off to all things most enjoy. Crossing off marriage, avoiding bonds and
vowing to avoid offspring above all else, he spent his days casting himself
aside from the world, dedicated to insuring none had to suffer from being
too close to someone who never knew what tomorrow would bring in regards
to his health.

However, this young man wasn't the cruel sort. Despite his own sufferings
and his own self doubt, he was one who would always smile at others, offer
a wave to those willing to receive and reciprocate. Kind to fellow people
and creatures, even something as small as an ant or as eerie as a spider
were beings to him he would go out of his way to aid.

Eventually, a particularly chilling winter blew in one year, bringing with
it snow that piled upon snow and wind that could freeze bone upon bone. On
one of his walks through this frigid weather, the young man happened upon
a black figure sprawled out atop the sheets of white before him. Approaching
it, the object turned out to be a black snake.

Hesitant at first, he warily grew closer, inspecting its figure and finding
it to be of the venomous sort. Noticing a trail behind it, the creature had
clearly found itself nearly frozen in place as it tried to find a surface
untouched by ice to warm upon, only to wind up stuck on its journey for a
source of warmth.

Continuing to look at it, the young man finally touched the snake, getting
no reaction as he touched it further, eventually feeling along its scales
before finding the bravery to touch its face. Just able to sense the warmth,
the snake finally budged, albeit barely enough for the eye to catch as his
fingers reached its snout. Greeting his touch with the slightest flicker of
its tongue, the snake grew conscious enough to follow the heat.

Pulling his hand away, the young man watched the snake return to its lifeless
state, continuing to look at it before returning his hand to its body. Spending
some time seeing how it reacted to his scent and realizing the snake was too
cold to retaliate, he found bravery enough to offer his hand, lifting the cuff
of his coat sleeve as an entrance for the snake. Sensing the heat wafting out,
the lengthy creature managed to begin gradually slithering within.

Little by little its body vanished up his arm until the tip of its tail finally
disappeared as well. Feeling its figure coiling around the length of his arm,
the young man let the snake adjust itself and cling to his arm like that of a
hot water bottle, warning it not to bite lest they both lose their lives in the
frigid winter surrounding them. Returning home, the young man set up a home for
the snake in an old massive tank he'd found.

Filling it with all that a snake would need, he welcomed it into his home as a
companion until the winter season had passed. During its time in his abode, the
snake kept an attentive focus on the young man, listening to him whenever he spoke,
be it directly to it or merely to himself and paid attention to his daily life,
gradually learning about his circumstances from his past to his present, of his
social life and lack thereof, and all the reasons and why's things were as they
were for the young man that saved it.

As the season passed, the snake would see the young man come and go, always with
a tired and somber look on his face, though from a nearby window the creature would
always see his bright facade among others like him. Listening to the young man's
stories of his life when he was home and spent time with it, the snake discovered
he was an inbred of sorts, the cause of his poor physique, cast aside from his
family and left broken after attempts to find love in the past, only to find his
ideal mate and be left because of his circumstances.

With many wanting healthy men that could provide healthy offspring, it left the
young man ostracized and pushed him to avoid any further harm by sealing himself
and his heart away, knowing it too could become too weak to handle further pain as
time went on. Many times the snake would see the young man in pain of sorts, his
stance hunched as he would take pills from a bottle to ease the chronic affliction
which left him clutching his stomach as though beaten.

To see such a soft and tender being suffer such pain and solitude often left the
snake in its own slump of sorts, though the times it witnessed the young man's
kindness would always help ease the sorrows within. Though he had very little,
his cubbards scarce and the rooms of his abode filled with the bare minimum of
furniture, the snake would often see him offer food and drink to others who lived
close by and appeared to suffer more-so than he.

Though in a way, the snake could pick up on a sense of the young man being taken
advantage of as well, often offering food and even the paper known as money when he
was already well past his limit. Despite this however, the young man never hesitated
to aid others, even if it meant a night without a meal as others ate what little he
had instead.

Finally, the time had come for the snake to be returned to the wild. With the weather
perfect and nature, meaning likewise food, having returned aplenty, the young man took
the snake back to the location he'd found it the prior winter. Setting the box he'd set
the creature in down, he opened it and explained how nobody should be trapped with a
person as low as he was, not wanting something to happen to him leaving the snake with
nobody to care for it.

Pointing out how it should find another snake and enjoy its life, he set the creature
free and made his way back home, walking along as the snake watched its caretaker leave.
Despite their separation, time went on until one day, as the young man returned to his
small and lonesome abode, one of the homeless who often sought handouts was seen awaiting
his return. Giving a story to earn the young mans pity, the person found himself declined,
as the young man had no food left to give and no money with which to buy more.

Apologizing for the disappointment, the person begrudgingly left, with the young man feeling
disappointed in himself for not being able to help. Later that night, as he readied himself
for bed, the young man looked at the now empty tank which once housed his companion, turning
the bulb on for a moment and showing the smallest smile before turning it back off and heading
to bed. Little did he know however that it was just the thing someone was waiting for that had
spied on him from the nearby window where the tank sat.

As the young man lay asleep, the entity that had spied on him readied for an invasion, taking a
crowbar and attempting to pry open the window to the room. However, as he tried working his way
in, an ominous feeling ran up the criminals spine, turning out to be the same homeless person
the young man had to turn down earlier. Looking around, the man found nothing before continuing
the attempt to break in, only for the same sensation, albeit more powerful, to run up his spine
forcing him to stop and look around again.

Seeing nothing, he felt a cold chill running through him as he turned back toward the window.
This time however, standing before the criminal was a figure seemingly demonic in nature, a
shadow like that of a person with its hair floating and waving about like that of medusa could
be seen. With its eyes glowing and pupils sharper than any knife, the figure stared the would-be
invader down before an object like that of the sharpest claw reached out, snatching the criminal
by the face to silence him as he was slammed to the ground.

As the last thing he would see, the criminal caught a glimpse of the deadliest fangs one would
expect to find only in demonic arts of old before finding his life abruptly, albeit mercilessly
ended for his attempt at invading the abode of one who had already given so much. Due to the
ruckus of muffled screams and the sound of something threashing against his home, the young man
found himself woken from his slumber, feeling his own spine shudder as the remaining sounds of
something being crunched could be heard through the wall.

Approaching, as the young man was about to turn on the light to see what was outside, there was
instead a sudden knock coming from his front door. Pausing and looking toward his living room,
the young man made his way along, warily turning on the lights before making it to his front
door. Asking who it was, the young man found himself responded to by a feminine voice, one that
merely assured it was a friend and pleaded for him to open the door. Hesitating to do so, the young
man left his chains latched as he turned the main lock and slowly cracked it open.

Seeing only the dimly lit silhouette of a figure, after straining his eyes the young man was
able to make out that it was indeed a woman. Closing the door as to undo the chains, he slowly
opened it, failing to notice the eys that glowed in the darkness as the light from his home
touched them, causing the glow to vanish while the daggered pupils of the woman softened into a 
more welcoming and rounded appearance in response tot he light.