"Wake up! Another day is here to rootle in the garbage," she said as she pulled Gary from the bed and dropped him in one of the holes on the floor. The floor was bare, broken and pale. "Not the floor again!" he returned and slithered into her pants. She laughed until she dropped on the floor, rolling from one end to the other.
"I'm sorry, Gary, I won't drop you on the floor next time," she pleaded, and Gary crawled out. "Gotcha!" it flicked its brown claws, which obviously needed a manicure, in her face, standing at ease. "Enough playing now, we have to go." She picked up Gary's small look-alike cropped top from the bed and put it on him, exposing his fat stomach, then placed him in the left pocket of the scrub top she had on.
Gary wrinkled his nose, "don't you think it's high time you washed this scrub?" "I'll do that when we're back. You have to manage for now," she patted the pocket and slid into her worn-out leather shoes that looked like they were picked from the garbage.
In a heartbeat, she was done, and they were outside the cabin. She pulled the crooked door shut and turned the rusty key that was stuck in it. She turned it twice and walked away, unbothered that the key was still stuck in the keyhole and anyone could break into her cabin.
She surveyed the forest for what seemed like a minute before setting foot on the path that led to town. The fogs blurred out the path, but Quila was used to it. Even if she were blindfolded, she'd still find her way around.
She hopped from foot to foot, sprinting, humming, whistling, and singing as she went. Gary covered his ears each time she sang. She sucked at it. The birds were also abruptly woken from their feathery sleep as Quila ran past singing loudly.
It took fifty miles to reach town and approximately 1.5 hours to get to town. The forest path was not really a straight one; there were curves and tough hills to climb. Quila, who was familiar with a shorter route, chose that instead to get to her destination in thirty minutes. Gary enjoyed every morning with her, the way she sped past trees, her humming, and how the birds flew out of their nests when she sang.
When Gary was tired of nestling in Quila's pocket, he raised his head, gripping the pocket's edge with his claws. With each stride Quila took, his tiny eyes closed as he inhaled the breathtaking smell of the forest. He enjoyed the wind that caressed his hairless head, then he exclaimed, "Go Quil, but please don't sing!" Quila grinned and sang even louder.
After miles of running and hopping and slow walking, they finally got to the market. The traders were arriving one by one, and the sun was slowly coming up. Quila and Gary always made sure they were early. Quila's job was to talk the buyer into accepting a hand while she got tipped in the end, and Gary's job was to pick pockets.
They were both skilled in their roles, but some days, they made little or no money as people were now very careful with how they hold money in the market, or most times, other children of Quila's age who also fought for ends meet took up jobs before Quila or Gary could. There was so much competition in the Kylo market.
****
There was a woman selling food in the market when Quila and Gary arrived. Gary's stomach rumbled. He needed to eat before the day's work began. Quila loved her pet lizard, and the fact that she could communicate with him made her love him even more. He was a rare breed gifted to her by her grandmother, and giving him food even with her last penny never bothered her. He has been her only companion ever since her grandma died, leaving her alone in the back of beyond.
She reached into the pocket of her pant scrub and pulled out a one-dollar note. It had dirt on it. She dusted it and went over to the woman selling food. "I need two plates of rice," she said, waving the note at the food seller while Gary crawled out of the pocket. He had seen where the woman kept her money. He picked two notes and crawled back into Quila's pocket. She smiled as she collected the food from the lady and turned away.
Little did they know that someone had seen Gary take the woman's money and how he returned to Quila's pocket. The lady who had seen them trailed them to where they were to eat. She made sure she wasn't seen when Quila was surveying the environment to let Gary out of her pocket.
In between two rusty cars, she squeezed herself in and dropped the plates of food on the ground. Gary crawled out and started munching his food. "Eat up, faithful servant," she complimented and Gary laughed. The woman was terrified to see that a lizard not only understood English but also reacted to it. "I need to know more about this girl and her lizard." She murmured.
The lady abandoned what had brought her to the market to trail Quila. At the close of the day, Quila was ready to leave; she looked around making sure that no one saw the path she was about to take. When there was no one in sight, she dashed into the forest unbeknownst to her that someone was following her.
Quila swayed along the forest path, running her fingers on leaves and flowers; Gary jumped up and down the path, trying to catch butterflies and ants. This fascinated the lady so much despite her weariness; she still wanted to know more about the girl and her lizard which understood English.
After walking miles, Quila and Gary got to their cabin situated in the back of beyond, covered in abundant and healthy vegetation. Gary was excited as he couldn't wait to count the money they had made for the day. He was sure of new clothing because he did a good job picking pockets while Quila made a great amount from helping buyers with their goods.
"Hey Quil look, one of the mangoes is ripe," Gary licked his lips as he pointed at the ripe mango on the tree. Quila looked over her shoulder to see the mango when she noticed someone panting and walking towards them. Her adrenaline rush activated. She grabbed a stick larger than her palms, ready to hit the lady. Gary also grabbed a stick with his claws; this fascinated the tired lady even more, and she sat on the ground laughing to the amusement of Quila and Gary.
"Were you trailing me?" "We'll return your money if that's what you want," Gary added, and Quila scowled at him. "I just admire your talking lizard," the distressed lady added. "The name is Gary," he glared at her, and she chuckled. "Forgive me, I admire you, Gary."
Quila quickly grabbed Gary. "He's mine and mine alone," she yelled and made to walk inside the cabin. "I just want to be friends with you two," this stopped Quila in her tracks. She's never heard that someone wanted to be friends with her. Tears gleamed in her eyes as she turned to rate the lady's looks.
"Will you give us money?" She said when she noticed the beautiful necklace the lady had on. "And food, clean water, clothes, a better place to stay if you want," the lady added sweetly. Quila turned her back and had a short conversation with Gary then turned again to the lady. "Cool!"
"Can I hold him?" "No you can't till you tell us your name" Gary cut in. "Forgive me, I'm Lena" she pleaded. Quila let Gary crawl to the lady, he tickled her with his claws and they had a good time getting to know each other as the sun disappeared in the horizon.