The early – April warmth gently caressed the chameleon's back as he watched the children running through the 4 – foot – tall spurts of water that shot from the tiny fountainheads in the ground. The children all varied in age and size, and they all wore brilliantly – colored swimsuits and shorts as they screamed with laughter and tried to avoid getting hit with blasts of sparkling water.
If they were only aware that their play was being observed by a large, eight – legged chameleon, they certainly wouldn't have conducted themselves in such a carefree manner.
As it was, the kids playing had no idea that they were being watched – or who they were being watched by, for that matter. How could they, when the stealthy, lizard – like creature watching them had the ability to turn himself invisible at will? And not just turn himself invisible, but change into any color or pattern imaginable?
The lizard had to smile in spite of himself as he watched the children run about in the sprinklers without a care in the world. Whenever a kid ran past him, spraying water as they ran, he felt a small, tickling flutter in the depths of his stomach. He wished he could jump in there and join the fun by blending in with the rainbow of colors created by the constant, wet blur of swimsuits, but he dared not. It was best that he stay invisible, at least for right now. Even though he hadn't the least intention of frightening or harming a child in any way, shape or form, he knew that if he revealed himself, none of that would matter to them. To everyone who had ever laid eyes on him, even his own kind, he was nothing but the worst kind of monster imaginable.
To distract himself from the awful, traumatic memories that were now threatening to engulf him, he went back to watching the children play. He sighed. He once was able to play with a child once. The two of them had such fun together…while it had lasted. He could have told everyone that children were not toxic, which was the popular belief in the world he had come from….the world that had spurned him for being reptilian and possessing talents that no one had.
Just then, a little girl caught his eye. Unlike all the other children who were wearing swimsuits and trunks, she was wearing an aqua shirt and a pair of orange shorts with tiny butterflies on them. The large, invisible reptile smiled when he saw her shirt…..it was the same color that was swathed across his lower back and tail. If this little girl liked to wear shirts of that particular color, then she would like how his back and tail were the same color….wouldn't she?
Furthermore, the girl had short, dark brown hair that appeared black when it became wet. She had a pleasantly round face, and wore glasses that were now sprinkled with droplets of water from the fountains spurting from the ground. Another thing that set her apart from all the other playing children was the way she ran into the water, but seemed unsure of what else she was supposed to do. It was almost as though she waited for a set of instructions before acting of her own accord.
Just then, there came splashes of water, and two teenage African – American girls came rushing up to the group of kids that the little girl was among. At first, the little dark – haired girl yelped and shielded herself from the splashes of water, but looked up with interest when she noticed that the teens had very inquisitive and friendly – looking redear turtles in tow.
"Hey! Hey, you guys! Who wants a turtle? We can't keep 'em, so we're giving them away! They're free!" one of the girls announced loudly, so her offer would be heard amidst the splashing and ruckus.
The little dark – haired girl's face lit up, and she approached one of the teenage girls with her hand outstretched to pet one of the turtles. She had never had a pet before, and she had always thought turtles were pretty cute.
"I want one!" she announced, working her way into the crowd of other kids that were gathering around. The chameleon chuckled to himself as he watched. She sure seems to like animals, he thought.
"No, Peggy!" came a firm voice out of nowhere. The little girl jumped rather guiltily and whirled around. Even the invisible chameleon, seven – foot – long, sharp – fanged, eight – legged fellow that he was, startled a bit, too.
"Don't you touch those! They can make you very sick!" commanded the voice, and at this point, the chameleon saw that the sharp, firm voice belonged to a tall woman, presumably the girl's mother. The girl's mother rushed onto the scene and pulled the little girl away from the teens with their turtles.
"Aww, Mom! I just wanted to pet them! They won't bite!" Peggy pleaded.
"Absolutely NOT!" Peggy's mother retorted. "Reptiles are covered in germs, and can give you salmonella poisoning! You are NEVER to touch them!"
Peggy cowered as if her mother were directing her anger at her specifically, and not the situation at hand. Seeing this, the observing chameleon bristled; snarling softly and arching the fronds on his head. Reptile – kind had been saddled with the common stereotype of being slimy and disease – ridden for – how long had it been? – centuries now. Now the salmonella bit; that was a new one on him. He wasn't about to ask what it was; something told him he was better off not knowing.
However, that thought didn't get his back up so much as watching Peggy be reprimanded for her natural curiosity had. It was absolutely no wonder she moved so hesitantly when harsh words and discouragement were her only rewards for taking such initiative. She needed a friend who could help her build confidence, and walk forward on her own. If no one stepped in to do that for her now, she might be stifled and discouraged for the rest of her life.
Peggy had seemed to lose interest in the fountains, and wandered over to the sanded area that had bulldozer – like controllers that could scoop the sand and gravel into piles. She sat down in the sand and let the mixture of sand and gravel run through her fingers. She seemed to be lost in her own world. Almost without thinking, the still – invisible chameleon slunk into the sand pile and, unbeknownst to Peggy, seated himself in front of her. Now what was he supposed to do? He had never struck up an innocent conversation with anyone in his life. In the past, he had only initiated conversations in order to obtain information, not to simply be informal.
Trying to stay as quiet as possible, he watched Peggy listlessly sifting the sand through her hands. He wished he could reveal himself to her already, but his common sense advised against it. Although he had never stayed completely invisible for this long before, and it was wearing him out. A slight wind blew a small cloud of dust into his face, making him feel like sneezing. He reached his forehands up to his muzzle and covered his nose.
As he watched Peggy play in the sand, he noticed that she was now making an attempt at forming what looked like a sand castle. Given how dry the sand was, she wasn't making much headway.
Before he knew what he was doing, the chameleon blurted, "You know, if you got the sand wet somehow, that would make it easier to sculpt into stuff, y'know?"
Peggy gave a small gasp and looked up in front of her. But there was nobody there – or so it appeared. Even so, she didn't seem to be afraid of this voice that seemed to come out of nowhere.
"Are you my imaginary friend?" she asked the air in front of her. "I always wanted one 'cause I don't have many real friends."
The chameleon, now straining with all his might to remain invisible, considered. "Uh…yeah, sure, sweetie."
"You are? Great!" Peggy cried. "We're gonna have so much fun! We can play in the yard, watch movies, go to the park, and you can even go to my dad's house with me every other week, if you want!"
"Um, yeah…" the chameleon replied, wondering what in the world he'd gotten himself into now. "Sounds like a blast, hon."
"My name's Peggy, and I'm nine!" the girl continued. "What's yours?" she asked her new "imaginary friend."
The chameleon knew it was now or never. He relaxed his entire body; muscles, eyes, tail, legs, and let out a huge sigh. He finally displayed his bright scales of indigo, pink, and aqua. He stretched his legs, cleared his throat, blinked his eyes, and flashed a gleaming smile at his new friend.
"My name's Randall," he replied. "Randall Boggs. But you can just call me Randall."