The grass is always greener on the other side. No matter what you do, where you do it or who you do it with, there is always something better. A million dollars, a big house and a busty wife seems nice until you meet someone with two million, a bigger house and a wife who's breasts are huge and real. That's just how it goes.

Except in her case, the grass was dead on the other side of the fence. Literally. Leah Edenwood took pride in her yard and she had to admit it was one of the best looking lawns on her street. Her neighbor on the other hand, an elderly woman with long brown hair she always wore in a single braid down her back, didn't put much effort into her yard. It was damaged and stained by the sun and lack of watering. The growth had risen up and began to reach over the walkway heading to the porch.

The old woman Fawn, was there as usual content on a rugged chair, reading a book through lightly rimmed glasses. She peeked up and waved before returning to her book. Leah waved back and marched up to her porch, leaning her rake against the pale siding of her home before stepping inside. The grass is greener, she thought, but it could always be better.

She could not live alone with a dog being the closest thing to a roommate. She could not drown herself in snacks every night to get by. But something would change soon. She could feel it in her gut.

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The loud ring of the house phone whined throughout the den startling Leah from her nap. She jumped up, dropping her book onto the floor and raced to the kitchen. With her heart still spooked she answered out of breath, "Hello?"

"Oh there you are!"

The sarcastic voice of her best friend Alice bounced into her ear, "Were you napping?" Leah exhaled and held her chest, "I dozed off reading. Why are you calling the land line?"

"Because you weren't answering your cell. Duh."

"I didn't even hear it." She rarely slept through her ring tone, and of course when she did it was the fuel to her best friend's sarcastic fire. She twirled the cord in her fingers, peering at her kitchen clock.

"Well its a good thing it wasn't important."

"Thank God."

"I mean I could've been running from a killer!"

"Yes, I know."

"Or a bear!"

Leah swatted in the air, annoyance stroking at her, "Alice, did you need something?"

"Well the stove at my place is broken and I can't get a repair man out until Monday so I was wondering if I could come by for dinner. You're cooking right?"

She wasn't planning on it. It was more of a tea and takeout kind of night for her. Alice loved her cooking and she tried her best to be a good host whenever possible. Although her friend was never quite known for cooking for herself, Leah caved as usual, "Sure."

"Yes! I'll be there this evening. See ya!"

The line clicked and Leah rest the phone in its cradle once again peering at her clock. A round white face glanced back, red second hand rounding the black numbers. It was only a bit after noon, there was some time to kill. She tapped her fingers on the classic granite counter, trying to come up with something to do. It was her day off and she hadn't done much. She was actually enjoying the downtime.

Her jade eyes zoned in on her fallen book before she strolled over and picked it up. Running her fingers against the pages she closed the book gently. The paper felt like silk and yet... "Ouch!" It cut like a razor.

Leah threw the book on her chocolate brown couch and looked at her index finger. "Bastard!" The blood oozed out much faster than she expected. It dripped down into her foot in an icky manner, leaving a perfect crimson circle on her tan skin. She pushed down on the stinging wound and hurried to the kitchen to clean it.

Who knew water could burn like rubbing alcohol on an itty bitty papercut? It was like a dozen bees were rubbing their little stingers against her finger. Leah hissed and removed her hand from beneath the faucet. Turning the water flow off, she analyzed herself.

The ripped skin was apparent to her. She hated wounds on the body, especially ones that were there for no good reason. Her body slumped forwards as she made her way towards the small neatly decorated hallway leading to her bedroom. Passing frames with painted scenery of different seasons, she decided she would shower, then return that damn book. "I've read it before anyways."

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"Excuse me?"

Leah turned from the bulky white desktop computer to meet the eyes of an unfamiliar face. A man, seemingly older with gray streaks in his black ponytail stood sturdy as she rotated in her seat, "Yes?"

"Edenwood?"

Her eyes widened at his knowledge of her last name. It was odd, and she couldn't deny the fact that something in the air between them made her skin crawl already. In all the silence of the library the fragrance of books and downtime itched into her nostrils. Scanning him from head to toe, she adjusted whilst wiggling her nose, "How did you-"

The man held up a library card, "You dropped this in the paranormal section. Or at least that's where I found it."

Relieved, Leah stood and retrieved it from him. "Oh, oh my gosh, thank you so much." She squeezed the card in her palm, "This is almost as important to me as my credit card."

The man chuckled baring pearly teeth, "Well I'm glad I could reunite you both. Enjoy the rest of your day, Miss Edenwood. I'm back to finding a good ghost story." He tipped his chin and pivoted into a straight walk. His brown suit jacket, seeming to be made of what she could only describe at that moment as animal hide, flipped behind him in his casual strut. Thankful for his kind action, something inside of her brightened a light bulb and she called out to him before he could disappear.

"No Mercy, My Native."

The man stopped and turned to face her, skin the glowing shade of a familiar clay catching the library lighting. He rose a curious brow, "I beg your pardon?"

Leah swooped up her belongings deciding she'd spent enough time, and met up to his mark. "No mercy, my native. It's a ghost story my grandfather used to read to me all the time. It's not very scary but it has a lot of soul to it. It's been passed down many generations. "

"Are you Native?"

Leah smiled and nodded, "I am. You know, I do recall seeing it back in the paranormal section."

"I believe I'll have to check it out, thank you dear."

There was a slight moment in which they met eyes and something quietly nibbled away at the joy she always felt at the local library. Shuddering beneath her clothes, Leah passed him giving him a last look, "Enjoy." She sauntered off, pouring her arm full of books into her black messenger bag. As she passed the front desk she glanced down at her library card. It was a good thing the man decided to return it rather than leaving it or tossing it away. Not that she couldn't get another, but she hated to lose something she cared for.

Her fingers rubbed the shiny plastic, thinking of the sudden nameless emotion that had bestowed upon her. It wasn't quite fear, but had she put it in a category, perhaps it would be close to it. Exiting the cool building into the warm air, she came to a halt.  Her fingers felt powdery as she rubbed, only noticing because of the grit bothering her fingerprints. Leah peered down, ogling her card that suddenly had a purple substance on the surface. Out of instinct she rose her hand to her nose and inhaled. A sweet smell slithered up her nostrils before stinging the back of her airway. She moved it away quickly as a light headed feeling drenched over her.

What the heck? Beginning to walk again, she rubbed the substance on her jeans and slid the card into her bag. Was the man into potpourri and what not? The smell had smelled familiar but then again it seemed a little foreign.

Now with a slight headache, Leah kept moving. There were hours to go before Alice would be ready to eat. And despite feeling like she would rather sleep than cook, her shoulders eased up. Shake it off, you love making biscuits.

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The light beamed in from the windows, illuminating every inch of the den. Not only did she take pride in her yard, but Leah also enjoyed being in a well kept home. Surfaces glistened in the sunlight as if they were made of diamond. She squint her eyes and strolled from her entry way towards a wooden coffee table. Sitting her things down, she eye balled her wood burning fireplace made of stone. It would be cool that night according to a meteorologist on the local news station, maybe she could put on a few logs. Nodding, she spun and set course for the kitchen.

Still owning the odd feeling from the purple substance, Leah washed her hands watching the water in the sink turn violet before swirling down the small drain. The smell steamed up like it came from the Earth, but also close something else. It was hard to chalk it up to one source; there were just so many things that were growing from the ground and purple, she couldn't quite put her finger on it. To add to it all, her head had now begun to throb from the stench making it hard to focus. The water flow ended with a squeaky twist before she grabbed a white kitchen towel and dried her hands.

What was up with that man? She wondered. He didn't seem scary to her, more interesting. But then there was that energy that he emitted, the one that gave her chills. Her skin still felt bumpy just thinking about the encounter. It was such a short and simple one, but the effect of it said it wasn't as innocent as it seemed.

Her hands dry enough and her mind cloudy, Leah draped the towel back on the stove handle and sighed. She had to focus on cooking dinner for a hungry Alice. Biscuits were her favorite, the two of them could eat a whole batch alone. Never mind the carbohydrates, the taste was good enough to trump the facts.

Smiling, she began to retrieve ingredients from the refrigerator, humming as she did so. It was a song her father used to sing to her as a child. She couldn't remember all of the words, but the tune was forever stuck in her memory.

Gulping memories down hard, she leaned into the cold searching for the butter. As she finally found it hiding behind a bottle of red wine, the cold air seemed to be hugging her body tight. It slithered around her feet, but felt so much heavier than air alone. Her eyes peered down and grew large in shock.

It was not the air. Instead a snake was slithering around her feet, not coiling, just moving around her. Leah gasped and jumped up hitting her head on the fridge. She called out in pain and pushed herself far out, eying the little critter still making a figure eight on the tile.

She watched in awe for a moment before realizing something. The skinny snake didn't look like any one she'd ever seen before. It was a deep purple shade, highlights of a pastel violet painted on its scales. Every mark in its pattern held the same shades except two extremely reflective black eyes stuck to the sides of its head. She swore it was staring right at her.

"What the..."

Leah leaned forwards to get a better look, but as she did the snake changed its form into a circle. It turned and turned before slowly coming to a stop. The tiny little head lifted at her, pink tongue flicking in the kitchen daylight. She held her breath as it stared. It's small shiny eyes peered up before slowly lowering back to the floor. It didn't move or try to wiggle away, it just sat still as if it were waiting.

Going out on a limb, she reached for it and with the skin of her cheek between her teeth, she scooped it up into her palm. Holding its head between two fingers avoiding the chance of being bitten, she swallowed a giant ball of fear and made her way outside to her front yard. Her eyes analyzed the rather pretty creature once more before setting it down. It's color vibrant beneath the sun as it creeped away into away bush leaving nothing but green to be seen.

Never had she seen such a thing before.

Leah didn't know what to think about her run in with a pretty little serpent. Nothing had ever come into her home that didn't live there besides the occasional stray cat or once- a chipmunk. She went back into the house and closed the door. Something felt so off in the air making her head pound loudly.

Looking at her clock, eyesight growing weary, she decided there was still time left in the day for biscuits and a nap. Amazed at how drowsy she'd spent her day, her feet flipped into the kitchen as she began to shove everything back into the fridge. One by one, the food was stored. Head screaming at her as if were going to explode, brains and all; she sighed and looked down at her shoes stopping short.

Powder.

Purple powder. It was on her hands again. Leah blinked heavily rubbing her fingers together. How could it have gotten on her hands this time? Through somewhat blurred vision she noticed something vibrant beneath her and stepped back.

It was a symbol in the same powder on her tile floor. "The snake," she whispered. The room began to spin as if she were on a carousel. She backed out of her kitchen shocked and only stopped to flop on her couch. How did the snake even get in her house? And the powder... the man... her library card?

She pulled her bag from the coffee table, squeezing the library card from within. Sure enough the powder was still there, faint but still as purple as ever. Leah felt her lips part and a rush of air hit her. Slowly, beyond her control, she felt her couch cradle her body tightly like it never wanted to let go.

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So what did you guys think of the first chapter? Was the snake just a coincidence or is something in the midst of happening? Leave a comment and give Leah a star! -A