Wild iguana as a pet...

I had a pet Iguana once whose name was Darie. I met him on New Years day at the foot of my bed. I nearly had a heart attack that day. When I had woken up, as usual, I stretched and yawned..you know the drill, but as my foot descended to the cold hard floor, I did feel something cold but it wasn't flat or hard. It was
bony and it moved! I screamed like a banshee. I picked it up in fright and threw it out the window. Nevertheless, it used its claws to hold on to the window sill. I screamed even louder. Then, I realised that there was nothing to be afraid of. Its bright green colour fascinated me. At that moment I fell in love with the wonderful iguana. I grabbed it from the sill and put it on my bed and started petting it remorsefully. But then it bit me. I screamed ,"how dare you!" And so, he got his name, Darie. After that day we became best friends. I didn't grab him so he didn't bite. He would stay in my bedroom the whole day and demand food by showing his teeth.

Maybe it was a death threat but I didn't care. I fed him and took him on walks every day. After a week my dear Darie got familiar with his new home. He also starting licking me and as a result made my shoulder and head his comfort zone. I do admit that his nails were sharp as they always left scratches on my skin every time he climbed up on me. But, that was our sign of love. I had a wonderful experience while taking care of Darie. Every time I prepared his meals, it always amounted to more than he could eat. I always made sure that his meals were colorful. It always looked so delicious that I even wanted to taste it. One day I watched and waited for Darie to finish eating. He ate the pumpkin

cubes first as they were his favorite, then he dug into the onions, water-crestles, tomatoes, sweet-peppers, shredded carrots and grapes. My mouth watered more and more with each bite he took. He gave the final lick and crawled into his bed. I then grabbed some of those raw fruits and vegetables from his bowl and shoved it into my mouth. To my surprise, it tasted better than anything I had tasted before. It was heavenly. It was the perfect diet for weight-loss. I looked at Darie the iguana and smiled, thanking him for such a revelation. He apparently responded by changing most of his scales to a bluish hue. One tragic morning, I was late for work. I was in such a rush, I forgot to feed Darie. My poor baby didn't have
breakfast or lunch.

When I returned home, I made his favorite dish, Pumpkin Tomato Supreme! It was my way of apologizing. I rang my little dinner bell and called,"Darie its dinner time." He didn't come. I searched the entire house but could not find him. I began to panic. I searched the yard and trees but he wasn't there either. I went inside, sat on my couch and began to slowly eat the pumpkin tomato supreme as tears ran across my cheeks. Darie was gone and it was all my fault. I wanted to blame my boss for changing the opening hours but I couldn't. I couldn't say Darie was happy in his natural environment as my neighbours eat iguanas. I felt as if I had betrayed him.I couldn't sleep at nights as all i could think about was my Darie. Days went by, the world seeming a bit empty. I never saw Darie again.