The Cat, the Snake, and a Memory from COVID Times

 

     The Cat, the Snake, and a Memory from 

                         COVID Times

                 Subtitle: A balcony morning, a farm flashback, and a standoff I still think about

During COVID, our world shrank to a few rooms—and suddenly small things became big stories. One morning on my balcony, a mother cat locked eyes with a snake. What happened next still lives in the rustle of those bushes.

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1) The Tiny World We Lived In

Early morning, before my kids woke up, I walked from my room to the hall. Just a few steps… and my mind went back to COVID times.

“OK! Don’t ask what new story I’m bringing now,” I told myself—because most of my stories begin before I start.

Back then, our world was small: bedroom → hall → balcony → kitchen. That was it.

Were those days good or bad? Health-wise, very tough. No one wants that again. But they also gave us silence, slow time, and a chance to notice things we used to miss. Metro cities went quiet. People went home. Villages came alive. And technology became our lifeline—work, school, life went virtual.

That bigger discussion is for another day. Today’s story is smaller—and closer.

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2) A Balcony Morning

One weekend I was busy with my balcony garden. In the base garden opposite, a mother cat lived with her kittens. She’d been around for more than two years. My wife and daughter adored her. She even slept on our swing chair sometimes.

Our apartment is a mini-biodiversity park—birds, cats, dogs, snakes, and sometimes a surprise monkey. Neighbours care for greenery and animals; someone even made a little couch for the cats.

That morning, the mother cat sat very still. Eyes fixed. Body tight.

At first, I thought she was watching a bird. But she didn’t blink.

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3) Eyes That Wouldn’t Blink

I followed her gaze.

Sunlight hit the bushes and something faintly shimmered.

A snake.

It was looking back with the same focus.

For a moment, time slowed.

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4) Flashback: Pepsi vs. the Snake

That sight pulled me back to my childhood farm—and to our dogs: Pinky, Pepsi, and Singiri.

Once, Pepsi—short, brown, friendly but fierce—got into a fight with a rat snake. We heard her unusual bark and ran. The snake coiled tight around her. Pepsi did not give up. She bit the tail first, then the neck. It was a long fight. In the end, Pepsi won and came back wagging, proud.

That day I learned: even a non-venomous snake fights hard to live; a loyal dog will fight harder to protect.

Please visit my other blog on Pinky "Where Are You Going, Pinky?"

Note: “Pepsi” here is the name of our childhood dog, not the soft drink. 🐾

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5) Back to the Balcony

Now I was watching a fresh standoff: mother cat vs. rat snake.

The cat sprang. The snake coiled. They circled, hissed, leapt. For a second the snake looped near the cat’s neck. My heart stopped. The cat held her ground.

The photographer in me woke up. I ran inside, grabbed my camera, clicked the blur of fur and scales.

And then… silence.

Leaves settled. A quick rustle. The snake slipped deeper into the bushes. The cat stood guard, tail twitching, eyes still glowing.

I waited.

Nothing.

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6) The Silence After the Rustle

Did the snake escape? Or was it waiting under the leaves for the next move?

I don’t know. I never saw it again.

Even now, when evening light hits those same bushes, I catch myself looking—just in case the story wants a different ending.

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7) What That Morning Taught Me

• Small things can be big wonders. In lockdown, a cat staring at a bush became a story I’ll never forget.

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• Territory matters. Whether cat, dog, or human—we rise when our space, family, or peace is threatened.

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• Survival is persistence. The snake was weaker, but it did not surrender. Strength isn’t everything; refusing to give up is.

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• Roots and belonging. Like Pepsi protecting us, like the mother cat holding her ground—COVID quietly reminded us to return to what matters: family, home, and nature.

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Sometimes, suspense is the lesson. Not knowing keeps us alert. Keeps us alive.

Closing Note

A balcony morning. A farm memory. A fight that still lives—not just in the bushes, but in my mind.

As the standoff unfolded, I did what I always do—the photographer in me took over, and I captured it all on camera. 👀📸