Call of the Beguiled

By Barry Rachin

Cheryl Oliphant doesn't do well in social situations. The fourteen year old girl's best friend, Nicolena, is a four-foot, South American tree boa and her parents are getting divorced. On the plus side, Cheryl just met Teddy Rasmussen who offered her a sympathetic ear plus an inch-thick slice of apricot, sour cream loaf.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barry Rachin
• Release date: Oct 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781458076939

Barry Rachin

About the AuthorBorn in Boston, Massachusetts, Barry Rachin spent several years stationed in Yokuska, Japan as a Navy medic caring for casualties during the Vietnam War. He has studied at the University of Jerusalem, lived on a kibbutz for a year and holds a degree in clinical counseling from Simmons College. A self-taught woodworker, he presently lives in Attleboro, Massachusetts with his wife and two daughters.

Book preview

Call of the Beguiled

Barry Rachin

Published by Barry Rachin, 2019.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

CALL OF THE BEGUILED

First edition. October 16, 2019.

Copyright © 2019 Barry Rachin.

ISBN: 978-1458076939

Written by Barry Rachin.

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Call of the Beguiled | by | Barry Rachin

Call of the Beguiled

by

Barry Rachin

THE FIRST TIME I LAID eyes on Cheryl Oliphant the young girl was sitting in the feeding station of the Brandenberg Park Zoo with a South American Tree Boa nestled in her lap. While the snake’s bulky body lay relatively dormant, the four-foot, emerald green python was wriggling its tail in a repetitive, undulating motion. Are you familiar with green tree pythons? Cheryl asked in a matter of fact tone. I shook his head and teetered backwards toward the door. The snake she was fondling measured three inches thick at the middle. A tree python lowers its tail and wiggles the end to attract prey.

That’s always nice to know. I took another step backwards and glanced over my shoulder in the direction of the main entrance. I’ve seen a lot of nuttiness in my fourteen years on planet earth, but a girl my own age making nice-nice with a boa constrictor is just a tad bit too weird for my predilections.

The dark-haired girl stroked the python’s scaly head as though she was petting a lovable puppy. Younger reptiles exhibit this behavior more often than adults. Captives will also use tail luring when hungry. But you don’t have to worry. She already ate breakfast half an hour ago.

I didn’t particularly care to learn what the girl had fed the lemony green snake. My best guess would be frozen mice. The zoo director probably bought them wholesale from an exotic pet food distributor. But then what? Did they leave the icy rodents out overnight to thaw or defrost them in the microwave? And how many minutes did you have to zap a frozen mouse so the boa didn’t get heartburn? The eccentric