Good Night, Tia

A year had passed since Miles Knight first met Tia.  He had caught her gobbling up all of his Christmas turkeys just before the holidays.  Miles was an 11-year-old little boy with brown hair and blue eyes, and Tia was a big, green snake with a scaly, yellow belly, bright yellow eyes, and a big appetite.

Since last Christmas, Miles and Tia had grown to be the best of friends.  Little Miles went everywhere with his big, snakey friend; they even slept in the same room every night since they'd met.

One especially cold night, during the week before Christmas, Tia woke up shivering in her bed of pillows and blankets.  Being cold blooded, it didn't take much to chill the poor snake.

She squinted around the room in the dark as she shivered.  She could see her breath.  Little Miles looked warm and cozy in his PJs, tucked under the covers in his own bed.  "Miles?" she said softly through chattering teeth.  Not wanting to disturb her sleeping friend, she hesitated before asking again.  "Miles?" she said, this time a little louder, nudging him gently with her tail.

Miles yawned sleepily and rolled over.  "Yeah, Tia?" he asked.

"It's so cold," the snake replied, still shivering.

"Aw, c'mere," Miles said, lifting up his blankets for her to join him.

"You...want me to come up there?" she asked.  She'd never slept in his bed with him before.

"Yeah, c'mon," he said almost half-consciously.

Hesitantly she slithered up onto his bed.  Then, without warning, the little boy wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, tucking the two of them in together.  "Good night, Tia," he said, resting his head on her, snuggling close.

Tia blushed.  "Good night, Miles," she said.  Miles fell back asleep almost instantly.  Underneath the covers she couldn't help but pull herself closer to her warm, sleeping friend, wrapping her tail around his PJs and wiggling in the warm, snug pocket he had made for them.  It wasn't long before her eyes began to droop as well and she fell asleep, warm and happy.

The next morning the two awoke to the sun sparkling through the slits in the blinds.  Miles sat up, yawning and stretching, Tia still coiled around his legs.  "Did you sleep good, Tia?" he asked her.

She looked up at him, her head on his pillow, and blushed again.  Before Miles could react, she wrapped herself around his chest and gave him the best snake hug she could muster up.  "Thanks, Miles," she said sincerely.  He smiled.  As she let go of him, he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close again, giving her a squeeze of his own.

"Any time, Tia," he said.

Ever since, the two best friends have slept snugly and soundly together every night, warm and cozy with big smiles on their faces.  Neither could imagine a better friend than the other.