“AHHHHH!” I flung my hand around my spine; chills ran up and down my back.                                                                           Once again, “AHHHHHHHH!”, but this time it was louder and fiercer. Karina:
the dark forest green scaled rapture. A lizard. She had black holes like bottomless pits on the sides of her head, which matched her just as murky and threatening eyes. My eyes rolled, but not from attitude, from fright, as If I was about to faint.
As I stepped down, I looked over my right shoulder while curiosity devoured me. What was making that sound? Slish-Slosh-Slish-Slosh. Once my eyes located all of the slishing and sloshing, they widened.
There on the overgrown—due for a trim— early morning grass, a container sat outside, appearing to be a sour cream jar. Inside was the trapped culprit. It’s condition of damaged and deep moss green caught my attention. Half a tail hung at the end of its body. Slsihing-Sloshing.
My hand approached the two-inch lizard; to my surprise it was faster than me! No matter how hard I attempted, I could not trap it! Driving me to a frustration. Slishing-Sloshing.
To my rescue, my cousin’s daughter, Masha, came bolting. The nine year old sprinted for her life; her arms flew like windmills by her sides. She never looked more elated than she did now. Her eyes twinkled with adrenaline.
She yelled, “What is it Anya?! What is it?!” Immediately, I turned my attention back to the two-inch creature. As soon as she figured it all out, boom. This is what aggravated me, after attempting with such effort, within Masha’s first try, her hands clasped together leaving no room for light to wiggle its way in. The lizard gave up its freedom by climbing into the bin. Masha named it, well “her” now, Karina.
Without hesitation she dashed into the kitchen, vigorously searching in the cabinets. Until finally her search was over. Her right hand clutched onto a scaly and dry lizard. However, in her left, Masha held a glass jar. The vessel was four times the mass of a water bottle. Masha gently slid her lizard trapper for a hand into the transparent life destroyer (well for the lizard anyway).
Automatically I shrieked, “ What are you doing! She’s going to die in there!” Masha’s face started to wrinkle, her eyebrows raised and her nose twitched. She really has done it this time, I thought. Décor was her next task.
From leaves to rocks to tissue, she had everything. Karina was living the life. Masha had found these soft leaves; when you ran your fingers down the core your skin tickled and goose bumps ran all the way up your arm. The angelic leaves were patted down inside Karina’s new house, in order for her to feel more at home. To make sure it wasn’t too different from her natural habitat: nature.
Allowing me to grasp her newly found pet, my vision windows gazed into the black beads of despair that the lizard contained. Her fingers stuck to my hands like Velcro, as if she was begging me to release her, to not give her back to Masha. Speeding up and down my arm Karina was frantic.
Masha screamed with worry taking over, “Be careful! Make sure she doesn’t get away! You weren’t holding her right! What were you thinking!” Stomping her way towards me, Masha took Karina and signaled for me to cup my hands. As I mocked her every move, according to her I was now “ready”. Masha instructed me to stand still, to not go anywhere while she used the bathroom. Right there and then I came to the conclusion of permitting myself to let this poor and abused creature go.
I set Karina down near a tree, skipping the meaningful goodbyes and leaving it at, “Good Luck” in a low whisper. When Masha returned I acted as if I knew nothing and had done nothing. I didn’t stick to this strategy based on the following decisions that lead to verbal actions.
“Is she in her home?” Masha calmly questioned.
My reply was quick and simple, “No.”
Masha started to get a little impatient, “Then where is she?”
I didn’t know what to do at this point. If I told her, she would go bawling her eyes out to her parents and I would be held at fault. If I didn’t inform her of the whereabouts of her whole world, guilt would take over and eventually I would have to explain to her my doing.  In the end, I realized I had to do something. So right away I told her. Masha’s eyes became droopy and her face no longer shined. It was like abruptly removing balls from a tennis player.
I thought that would be the last time I saw Karina, but it turned out that I was wrong. While I poured tea for our family, I was reunited with Karina. All of the sudden, something is on my back, I quickly jerked my hand towards the irritated spot, as if swatting a fly.
“AHHHHHHHHH” The sound began to burst from my chest.
“Masha! Masha! Get in here quickly!” My voice trembled with every syllable; I was so uncomfortable. Right when Masha arrived, my hand appeared one inches in front of her face, as if I was handing out flyers, desperate for a taker. Masha cheered and galloped.
“Karina! Karina!” she joyously exclaimed.
Endings never turn out happy for everyone.
Slish-Slosh.