Fire Snake

Lunar New Year fell on Jan 29. Anyone born before that date belongs to the previous year (Loong).

Snakes do not explain themselves. Quietest in the meeting and busiest afterwards, they can cut to the point in one sentence if you ask, and they usually wait for you to ask. Small shifts in a room register fast, sometimes before the person involved notices their own change of manner. They read as cool and slightly apart. The truth is that the distance protects their attention: inside is livelier than it looks, and once they open the door for you the conversation runs past midnight. They are not being mysterious for effect; being read too easily feels like being handled.

Heat rises off the ground at this hour, and the coiled thing in the grass waits, living on stored warmth rather than pursuit. A covered lamp with a strong flame gets hot to the touch while the room stays dim. Such people carry a lot and turn it over quickly, yet keep a level face. The heat piles up and escapes over something small, one sentence that startles the room. What they need is not advice but a window to let it out slowly.