Delphina's phobia continued, and she couldn't gaze away from the snake's menacing look. 

The snake's unblinking gaze seemed to pierce through her very soul. Her mind raced with thoughts of her mother's gentle touch and comforting smile, which was now a distant memory and an illusion. She felt a stinging sensation in her eyes as tears began to form, but she couldn't look away from the snake's hypnotic stare.

The snake's forked tongue darted in and out, sensing Delphina's fear, and she could ...