The Serpent's Veil

To make a living, my mother set up a snake garden and started a snake-performing business. Women from the neighborhood would visit every few days, staying for hours at a time. When they left, their faces were unusually flushed. They all praised my mother’s snake garden, calling it incredible and a blessing for women. My curiosity got the better of me, so I sneaked into the snake garden. To my astonishment, I saw the brightly colored tail of a snake sliding between a customer’s legs.