CHAPTER 1
I live with a guy named Luca!
Adults are funny. They told me not to cry when I fell and knees got bruised when I am still a kid. So I tried to muffle my sob and pretend to be strong. Now that the world's hatred is taking its toll to me they told me to just let it all out and just cry as much as I want.
Unfortunately, I can't shed tears anymore. It would be good if I can do it when I was still a kid. I might want a hug from mom just to feel loved. However, now, in my twentieth year of existence; crying is not an option. They told me to be vulnerable once in a while but those two decades of training myself not to feel anything at all can't be ignored that easily.
'Luca! Cry as much as you want baby!' I press my forehead against the glass container where my little nocturnal friend who is surprisingly wide awake at this hour and is busy drinking some water while lightly moving his tail which is about one-third of his whole body length.
'You don't have to worry about anything else. Just enjoy your spiders and insects. Eat as much as you want. Idle as you want. I will be here protecting you love!' I continue talking to him, but deep inside, those last few words are what I long to hear to be said to me.
However, how could it be? I only have me. Oh, and Luca but unfortunately he is unable to tell me that. Well, at least I can have a companion but a bit scaly and cold-blooded (literally and physically).
Luca is my ever-loyal gecko. Yeah, he had been the guy he had been living with for five years. He is a box-patterned gecko a special friend gave me in the middle of my darkest times.
At first, when I met him the phrase 'lizard in a giraffe's clothing' came to my mind. He has this pale strip with three patches of brown along its back. His species can be found mostly in Australia but fortunate for me, he stayed with me and we became the home of each other.
You know what? I really wanted to call him Seb short for Sebastian at first but when I initially wanted to call him that he dropped off his tail! Oh! What a bad omen! I have read online that gecko's scientific name started with Luca something so there—my dearest Luca had been named like that.
"You like that name? Right, buddy?" I nudged his head lightly and I strode off to the kitchen to get my dose for today, a 100ml glass of fresh milk. Oops! Let me rephrase that; it's just a ridiculous 100ml 'just a gulp' of fresh milk! I barely had tasted it but at least I can somehow get to drink it.
As I open the fridge, there isn't much but a series of stacks of ready-to-eat food packs in disposable containers accompanied by eating utensils made of plastic ready to be thrown out after use. Ever since I decided to live alone around 4 years ago, I have been with these precious food packs ready to be put in a microwave, and viola, my tummy is happy again.
"Hey, Luca. Do you think I should grab some paint and supplies today? It had been a month since I went out though. The grocery should not be that busy at this hour right?" I just talk to him casually now and then as if I have a choice.
I look outside the window seeing that Mr. Sun is so inviting today and there is no sign of change in the weather anytime soon. Still, I grabbed my phone and checked the weather report today. No dark clouds, no heavy rain, and the humidity level is acceptable. Done! I'm good to go!
So, I grabbed my precious life-saving backpack and wallet and then set off to the door and shouted to my nocturnal friend
"Bye, Luca! Be a good boy!"