gross indeed

i was stoning on the couch, sulking
horrors of all horrors, the baker did not make blueberry cheese muffin that day
and brunch was becoming a nightmare
when mum emerged from her room, face twisted into an expression of pain

there was a dead lizard under the mattress and ants were feasting on it
she had been changing her bedsheets

i looked at the insecticide in her hand

"you tried to kill it with that?"

"no, i had to kill the ants"

yes, i understood i am to dispose it
as mum is terribly afraid of lizards. who isn't?
a chance to be the good daughter

so mum sat on the couch, stoning from fear
as i inspected the carcass
not a pretty sight, some dried up shrivelled stuff
mum 's bed is really too big, bed fellows, too strange

" can you imagine you have been sleeping with a dead lizard?"

" luckily, i was facing the tv last night"

remembering cheryl's reptilian ordeal with chopsticks
(she was very traumatized; threw everything out the window)
i found a pair of disposable chopsticks
i stopped before mum and pretended to be eating
she advised me to use the kitchen paper and cover it up first

bad idea, i had to uncover the lizard to target my chopsticks
in my 2 failed attempts, i was able to observe the lizard in different angles
it was sap-greenish with a trace of yellow orche
i must admit mum's fear had affected me
i assured myself that i was insulated
there was no actual physical contact
got the lizard between my chopsticks
dumped everything into the plastic bag

bingo

i thought about cheryl's mum who thinks that the lizards residing behind her cupboard are her pets
and she talks about them, according to aston, like they are her grandchildren who have learnt their first steps. never mind that she could have been so sure that they are the same lizards which come back each night. she talks to them and swears they respond through their eyes. what if they jump on her face? never mind that too. by the way, she has named them lili and liza