An encounter with a lizard

 

By Shevlin Sebastian

On a recent morning, when I made tea, I saw this light-brown lizard. It had fallen into the steel wash basin in the kitchen of my home. The basin has a depth of six inches. This happens once or twice a year.

The lizard looked up at me with its round, tiny black eyes.

The look seemed to say, “Now what are you going to do?”

This is the look prisoners give when they enter interrogation rooms and look at the man standing in front of them. They know, at any moment, they might be subjected to sudden and intense violence.

The problem is, I fear lizards. My wife was absent as she had gone to her mother’s place. The children were sleeping.

I made the tea and drank it while reading the newspaper at the dining table.

When I returned to wash the cup, strainer and utensil, the lizard looked extremely nervous. It tried desperately to climb up the smooth wall, but its legs kept slipping. Its heartbeat seemed to have increased dramatically because I could see the stomach expand and contract. Drops of water, from my washing, fell on it.

I had to find a solution.

This is what I did. I placed a plastic plate backwards on the basin, leaning it against the edge. I hoped the lizard would rush up it and go towards safety.

So I went away.

An hour later, when I peeped into the washbasin, the lizard was still there. That’s when I realised the plate was too smooth. Its legs must have slipped again.

‘Now what?’ I thought.

I could use a ladle and lift it, but I was afraid it would jump on me.

I decided to make my morning breakfast of an omelette. I pulled out the vegetable board from the drawer and began slicing up onions and tomatoes.

After I made the omelette and washed the vegetable board, I realised it had a rough surface. I checked the back too. It too was rough.

So I thought I would place the board.

I did so and went to have my breakfast.

Half an hour later, when I returned, I sighed happily.

The lizard had made good his escape.

I thought, ‘What will he tell the other lizards about me?’

I am sure he would say something like this. “Initially, I thought he was a cruel, vindictive, and heartless person. Just stared at me. Did nothing. I thought he was planning to kill me. But in the end, thanks to God, he allowed me to escape. So, maybe, he is a nice chap.”

I felt happy I did my one good deed for the day.

After this encounter, I read up on lizards.

Here are some facts:

Lizards are one of the biggest, most diverse and widespread groups of reptiles found on Earth. They can be found on all continents, except Antarctica.

There are 4,675 lizard species. They include iguanas, chameleons, geckos, Gila monsters, monitors, and skinks.

Their ancestors appeared on Earth over 200 million years ago.

The chief impact of lizards on humans is positive, as they are the major predators of the pest species.

A typical diet includes ants, spiders, termites, cicadas, small mammals and even other lizards.

Many types of lizards do not need to be close to water in order to survive, since they absorb all the water they need from their food.

Some lizards can go their entire lifetime without drinking any water at all.

‘Good to know this,’ I thought, as I logged out of Goggle.