Eulogy of a Gecko: 9:46 PM, June 13, 2007

     Thomas the Gecko was not your normal American gecko. He was of the popular African species…also known as the large kind. At the dawn of this fateful day, Thomas found himself in much wahalla, trouble in Hausa terms. He was blissfully unaware the tragedy that awaited him. He had been left alone…locked up…screened in, one might say.
     The gap between the door and its screen proved to be an unkind home to Thomas. Left alone, we can only imagine the horrors he faced. First, the heatstroke. After he came to, he thanked God for the screen so that he would be safe from mosquitos and malaria, however, unbeknownst to Thomas, there was quite a hole in that screen. Safety would not be found for Mr. Thomas. Second, sunburn…or sunroast. And that is how Thomas the Gecko was discovered, black and roasted. He endured such distress that he was unrecognizable.
     After the first attempt to remove the unknown guest was unsuccessful. Movement was then observed, closely followed by a scream, a slammed door, and unsupressable silent giggles. Mr. Thomas was only in view for a few seconds when the door was reopened as we soon realized that there was a further infestation of larva and maggots. The door was reopened, and we then recognized our squished friend. I had noticed him when I locked the screen earlier today in a hurry, not realized that as I sealed the door, I was sealing his fate.
     Soon we heard footsteps. I called out, “Hello?” Apparently, the guard had been alerted by the screams of the following realizations, “Ew, it was soft,” “It moved!!” and “Sick out.” He asked what was the trouble and was very confused when we had no threatening intruder, however, he was able to come to our rescue to our great joy. Oh wait, this story is about Mr. Thomas, not us.
     I’m going to go get cake.
     The End.