Scene of Childhood

Crickets, buzzing half-symphonies, beat on our eardrums. Life held still. The heat: pressing, poignant, defeating.1

A lizard, scintillating under the waves of the sun, slithered across the grassy, humid field.2

“Did you see that? Did you see that lizard?”3

My companion looked lost; sunburn radiated from her cheeks. The mellow, golden spark of her eyes had faded to a darker brown. 4

I nodded, too heavy with drowsiness to sputter words. 5

“I once saw a lizard like that. She had these glossy green and red scales. She was just resting, on the grass. She didn’t mind anyone. One of those pretty, skinny lizards. You know?”6

I furrowed my brow. 7

“Yeah.”8

“Well we were sitting, me and Laina. Just sitting, like you and me. We thought the lizard was real pretty, just observing it like that, from far off. Did you ever do that?”9

I shrugged. The buzzing became louder, stronger.10

But my friend was a fierce bird, never phased by the indifference of her interlocutors. 11

“Sure, I’ve seen them. They glow in the sun and run fast. So what?”12

“Yeah, but we were observing it. Really looking. So anyway, from the lake come two of those farmer boys. They were real tall, tough-like. One of them had on this look; this look like ‘I can’t tell left from right’. His eyes were dark, real dark. And then, they got close to the lizard. And one of them punched the other on the arm and laughed through his nose.”13

“Yeah? So the lizard must have run off then.”14

“Nope. The lizard just stood there, basking the sun. It didn’t move. Not at all.” 15

Suddenly she stopped. Her eyes moved to the skyline, where breezes moved the clouds around in the azure infinity of the celestial vault. 16

“She didn’t move.”17

“Yeah. So then?”18

“Then? Then that was all for the lizard. The stupid one, with the dark eyes, he squashed it. He pushed his boot on the glowing thing. And all of the blood spurted on the grass. Just all of it. And that was the only thing glowing then.” 19

We sat in silence. I looked towards the vast, never-ending green. 20

I could see the blood, burning on the grass. 21