Stories Inspired by HFR

Happy Friday! Welcome to the second half of stories by 7th grade students at Basis Middle School in Scottsdale. Remember, these are 500 word stories inspired by images from Issue #47 of HFR. Today's story - sweet, with a very sad twist and great character relationships - is inspired by Debbie Fleming Caffery's "Sleeping Lizards" and is written by Abijith K.



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I stepped out of the rain into the old uninhabited mansion, its furniture covered with a blanket of soot, its walls echoing with cries of help. Nearby, I saw a chair rocking back and forth, creaking like a poor child in distress. I averted my attention to the window; two lizards were pelted with raindrops and tried to come inside for shelter. I opened the window and the two lizards leapt on my arm. Water covered the lizards like a jacket and I could hear them gasping for breath. I wrapped them in my handkerchief and carried them home in a way that not even a single drop would even skim the scales on their body.

Once I reached the shelter of my house, I placed the shivering lizards in an open shoe box and emptied some crickets I caught into the box. I glanced away for a second, and by the time I looked back, the lizards had already devoured the crickets. I placed my handkerchief inside and the lizards snuggled under it. After making sure that the pair was comfortable, I slid the box into the cage so Ergo our cat would not eat them.

The next day, I checked on the two lizards. They were still snoozing, but once I placed their breakfast inside the cage, they woke up and gobbled it in one bite. I decided to leave them in the house when I went to school, but I kept them far from the cat.

When I came back from school, I quickly fed the lizards lunch and opened the cage, so they could crawl on my arm. However, they were still exhausted after trying to escape from the rain. I left them alone and completed my homework. When I fed them dinner, they started to walk in their cage; nonetheless, they could not crawl onto my arm.

A couple of days passed. Once, I decided to visit the creek with the lizards. They began to swim swiftly in the flowing water, and could even swim against the current; not many people could do that. After playing in the water for some time, the lizards swam to the bank where I tucked them in my pocket.

One day, after I fed the lizards their dinner, I left, forgetting to close the cage. The lizards crawled out, restless and excited. They wandered around for a while on the floor, but they came too close to Ergo the cat. Ergo, hungry as usual, pounced on the lizards. I entered the room to see the wicked cat dangling the lizards above his mouth. I quickly seized the lizards from the cat’s claws, but it was too late, the lizards had been killed because of my forgetfulness. For days I wept; I sat in solitude, not with my friends, mourning the loss of my companions. And to this date, I remember my two innocent pals, who I rescued from the cold, who died at the hands of my own cat.