Regina's Homepage "Dancing Colours" - Reading-Meadow: Prose - Emerald in the Trap?

Emerald in the trap?

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Once I lived together with my husband in a village in Turkey, where also his parents lived. It was a very idyllic place at the sea, approximately 50 meters above the sea. level. My husband had managed to grab a little house on a marvellously snuggy plot of land with a gaze to the high seas. It belonged to a farmer, who was known with his father.

It was as always early in the morning - the first sunbeams peered already around the corner of the house corner - when we awakened. I got up, my husband used to stay a bit in bed. First, I always opened all the windows and doors. The clear fresh morning air flooded the rooms and the mind.

After this I usually was in the habit, to cuddle together another while. And we did the same this time. But when I wanted to get up again, I didn't believe my eyes. A beautiful emerald lizard - with a size of about 11 inches - sat there in the middle of the room.

Its colors shone in full tinges of the blue and green palette. They seemed to change constantly. At the first moment, I knew not at all at what I should be surprised more: that this splendid animal suddenly stood in the room, or the mystical play of its coloring, from which I could hardly get enough.

The lizard looked around in the room with big eyes. Also my husband seemed as bewitched from the beauty of the animal. Meanwhile, I began to concern seriously about what we could do in order to avoid scaring the animal and, to get it out of the house again as cautiously as possible.

I knew that I could not manage without a certain tumult, if I should catch it. Maybe the lizard would startle so much that it would lose itsr splendid tail. Lizards have this appliance furnished by the nature that if one gets to grasp it roughly at the tail, that tail simply falls down.

I wanted to prevent this. And furthermore I was afraid, that it would not turn to the door but take refuge in any corner, and that at the end it would not come out of the house at all. The single thing, of which I thought in this uncommon situation, was to be pray. I explained all my doubts internally. Then, loudly I said to the lizard: "Come to me. It would be the best, if you'd come on my arm - and then I could bring you out of the house unharmed. If I hunted you with a cloth or a bucket, you'd fear and definitely would not have any good memory of the human being. However, that would be unfortunate! And you would not find the exit. Because we cannot remain at home the whole day or leave all the doors and windows open all the time, if we go away!"

It seemed almost childishly to me to speak like this with the animal. But something in me told me, that it was the only way. "O.K. - dear God", I continued speaking: "I will now only stretch out my arm and wait, what you think about it!" I bowed down so slowly and stretched out my arm in extra slow-motion speed: "Come!" I said quietly, "Come on my hand, that I can carry you outdoor!"

There, the lizard sat - and gazed motionless. It remained sitting there like this a while. I did not move a bit. Then, it layed its little head a bit crooked and suddenly looked at me. Its eyes looked quickly around in the room and then again remained to hang at my eyes. Somehow suddenly I had the strange feeling as we would understand each other. Once again, I asked it to come on my hand.

At this moment it moved its legs slowly and actually approached to me. I dared hardly to breathe, and thought, that I definitely imagined something, to believe that it could possibly be...

But it came!

With an expression of casualness it crawled on my hand, - almost, as if it would smile, crawled farther up to my forearm. There, it remained sitting quietly. I hardly dared to look at it, not to mention of speaking to it. I was afraid, that it get scared after all. Anyway I looked straight to its eyes and said to it: "Well - now, I will get up and carry you out! Just remain sitting there quietly!" Then I slowly stood up. The lizard seemed to enjoy it. No fright was in its eyes, no unrest.

A splendid feeling of joy, of gratitude and trust flooded through me. Almost quite naturally I carried the lizard outside - just moving naturally - while telling it, what a wonderful nature it was and what a thrilling familiar feeling it was, to feel it sitting at my arm...

As I had reached a suitable place behind the house, I put my arm on the ground and asked it to climb down. But it remained sitting, looked at me from awake and clever eyes. At least I had to push at its backside with my finger, it got started slowly climbing the ground. Right there it remained sitting beside me, and didn't run away. And it didn't run away either, when I stood up again to walk into the house

Every other moment I kept an eye on it and enjoyed the joy of this event blessed by trust. After a while, I observed how it vanished slowly in the high grass.

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