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As Birdie screamed, her eyes fixed on the window, Sassy leaped to her feet and began barking and snarling from the foot of the bed.  The other animals in the room exploded in a whirlwind of panic–guinia pigs squealed, the pomeranians in the drawer howled, the kittens hissed and clawed the box to release anxious energy and the parrot squawked, “Trouble ahead!  Trouble ahead!”

Birdie screamed a second time, her hands fluttering uselessly above her blankets.  Sassy crawled closer towards the window, her ears slicked back and teeth bared.

“Don’t!” Birdie croaked, waving her back.  “Get back!  Get back!”  She stared at the window, then rubbed her eyes and looked again, just to make sure she wasn’t imagining it.  The second time she opened her eyes, a mixture of relief and dread draped over her like a cold blanket.

An enormous anaconda was wrapped around the branch outside her window.  And he was staring straight at her.

Now Birdie, who loved all animals, would freely admit to anyone that she despised snakes.  As far as she was concerned, snakes and alligators didn’t count as animals.  They were far too creepy and slithery.  Birdie would rescue birds, raccoons, possums, lizards, cats, dogs, hedgehogs, horses, goats and even squirrels–but she never rescued a snake.

And now not only was there a snake big enough to swallow her house in one gulp outside her window, he was staring at her.

With an envelope tied around his neck.

Sassy continued to bark, hopping up and down on the bed as she darted towards the window and scurried back, like a boxer shouting insults but refusing to get in the ring.  The snake flicked his long black tongue at the window, his long flat head bobbing as he peered inside.  A shiver of disgust and fear raced down Birdie’s spine.

She wanted that envelope.  She just didn’t want to get near the snake.  Sliding out from the refuge of her soft quilt, she paced back and forth in front of the window.  The snake followed her movements, his head moving back and forth, back and forth.

“Who ties an envelope to a snake?” Birdie grumbled, stomping her feet on the wooden floorboards.  “Honestly! And who would release an anaconda to run a muck…”  She trailed off, her eyes wide.  Whirling around, she ran her fingers through her hair as her mind raced.  “Sassy!  Was he at the shop?”

Sassy bounced up and down with a snarl and a howl.  Birdie bobbed her head hollowly, tapping her chin as she thought.  Struck by an idea, she raced to the window and glanced down.

Just as she had feared, the black cat with green eyes was peering out from behind the tree.  Catching Birdie’s gaze, he slunk behind the tree, melting into the shadows.

Birdie stepped back, grabbing onto the flimsy curtain as if to brace herself.  “It’s a message,” she murmured.  “It’s a message from Mr. Pemberely.  I bet he saw me talking to Detective Michaels’ and Frankie’s dad…”   Taking a deep breath, she looked at Sassy.  “Ready?”

Sassy growled, lunging toward the window and nearly tumbling off the bed.

Wrinkling her nose, Birdie threw open her window and snatched the envelope from the string around the snake’s neck.  Before the snake could even flick its tongue, she shoved it off the windowsill with the palm of her hand and leaped back with a shriek.  The snake fell onto the tree branches below, coiling around as it’s tail swung from side to side below.  Birdie slammed the window shut and scraped her hands against her nightgown, as if to wash off the germs of the snake.  She shuddered.

“It’s ok, everyone,” she mummured.  She soothed the kitchens in their shredded box, pet the wailing Pomeranians, stroked the shuddering guinea pig and coaxed out the hidden hamsters with some sunflower seeds.

“It’s ok, it’s ok!” the parrot shouted, both relieved and annoyed no one had heeded his warnings of trouble.

Sassy jumped forward, eagerly sniffing the envelope. Birdie held it up to the light, glancing the paper folded inside.  Suddenly, a loud electronic squawk made her and Sassy both jump.  As her alarm screeched and shuddered on the nightstand, Birdie laughed.

“I guess we’re both jumpy this morning, aren’t we?”   She scratched Sassy behind the ears and slid the envelope into her backpack.  “I’ll read this at breakfast, when I meet Frankie.”

As she hurried into the shower, Sassy curled up where Birdie had slept, her eyes on the window.

Outside, a pair of green eyes watched the same window, a long black tail twitching from side to side.  No one paid attention to the befuddled anaconda dangling from the tree, who was quite confused as to what he was supposed to do now.

***

Frankie watched wide eyed as Birdie attacked her plate of pancakes like she had eaten in days.  Sawing through the fluffy flapjacks, Birdie speared three bites onto her fork and rolled them in the syrup, jamming them in her mouth as her other hand scooped up scrambled eggs in a spoon.

“Slow down!” Frankie cried, recoiling as Birdie rolled her eggs in syrup and shoved them in her mouth.  “What is up with you?  You’re acting like you haven’t eaten in days!”

“Technically, that’s true,” Birdie mumbled through a mouthful.  “I had a long night.”  She waved for a waitress.  “Can I have another short stack?  And some bacon?”

Frankie shook her head, her own French Toast and eggs barely touched.  “Ok, what is going on with you?  This is ridiculous!  You’re acting so weird.”

Birdie gulped down a enormous bite of pancakes.  Pulling out the envelope from her backpack, she flung it at Frankie and returned to demolishing her breakfast.  “It all starts with this.”

Frankie stared at the envelope.  “And what is this?”

“A hand delivered note from Mr. Pemberely.”  Birdie paused, twirling her pancakes in a pool of syrup.  “On a snake.  A big one.”

“What?” Frankie shrieked.  “Explain!”

Between syrup soaked bites of pancakes and scrambled eggs, Birdie told her everything, recounting the whole tale.  Pausing to smile at the waitress setting down another short stack of pancakes and bacon in front of her, Birdie shrugged.  “So that’s what I’ve been doing.”

Frankie stared at her, mouth gaping.  “That’s incredible.”

“Or terrifying.”  Birdie stabbed the second round of pancakes with a fork.

“Well, aren’t you going to open it?”

Stay tuned, Invisible Friends!  Tomorrow we have a pie tale and food adventure, Friday a new Dallas Jean and Saturday, a new Land of the Flowered Bed!   Stay tuned!