She was startled, but not terrified. The python had escaped his enclosure before, although she had never known him to enter her bedroom and settle beside her like this.
She carefully moved away and switched on the light.
“Come on, Dorato. Back to your room.”
He lifted his head.
Then came the crash downstairs.
Camilla froze.
A second sound followed.
A slow scrape, as though something heavy had been dragged across the kitchen floor.
Dorato moved toward the bedroom door.
Camilla grabbed her phone and followed at a distance, keeping several steps between herself and the python.
By the time she reached the top of the stairs, Dorato had disappeared around the corner.
She heard another noise from the kitchen.
Then silence.
Camilla didn’t go downstairs.
Instead, she locked herself in her bedroom and called the police, reporting what sounded like a possible intruder. She also contacted a neighbor, who agreed to wait outside with her until help arrived.
