Lizard and Pombagira
A story I felt compelled to write. The actual writing isn't as good as normal (in my opinion) but I was going for a certain style. To be honest, I don't know if anyone still reads this LJ, but it's as good a place to store it as any. :)
Only a few people remember the story these days, but it was Mother Spider that made the universe, and she did it by accident. No one knows what she span her web to catch, but she caught the stars like her childrens’ webs catch water drops on a misty day. Come to that, no one ever dared ask her what happened to Father Spider, if there was one, even Brother Monkey or one of those chattering birds, but those with the sense to use their eyes watch her children and guess. She knows a lot, Mother Spider, but she doesn’t say much. Just spends her time weaving, waiting and watching, plucking the threads that connect our lives occasionally.
But this is a much smaller story than the birthing of the universe. Just a couple of threads that tangled before Mother Spider could do anything about it. Probably the fault of one of those supernovas.
So anyroad, back in the day Lizard was dancing along, as was his way, when he encountered Pombagira and took quite a shine to her. Now, she wasn’t his normal type of girl, but she had her charms. She didn’t dance to attract attention, like Lizard did, she danced for dancing’s sake and dance loved her for it. She didn’t smile easily, like Lizard, but when she did she was so radiant that clouds would get out the way of the sun in shame. Most of all, she didn’t love easily, like Lizard, but when she did it was with such a deep passion that even Brother Monkey respected it, and he don’t respect a lot of things, as you know. She may not have loved easily, but Lizard was a charming fellow with good looks, a quick wit and a barrel of stories nearly as big as mine and a hell of a lot funnier, so he won her round and they started courting.
At first everything was just dandy, that pair were having a grand old time and everyone said what a couple they made. Lizard being the charmer he is still danced around with the rest of the girls like he always used to do, wearing his hat and jacket and flashing his smile and cash around just as much as he ever did, but Pombagira didn’t mind. She just smiled and said that the sea doesn’t change the coastline overnight.
It wasn’t long before they ended up getting married. People said it was a bit quick, but Pombagira was in love, so sense didn’t have much sway with her. As for Lizard, he never worried about anything in his life. She was feeding him pretty well now they were living together, so Lizard soon took it into his head to stop working since he was so comfortable. That way, his reasoning went, he could spend all day doing whatever he wanted, then when Pombagira was free in the evening he could devote it all to her as he’d have danced with the other girls already. He was a generous guy, Lizard.
So he quit his job to become a professional layabout, and still he danced every chance he could. And believe me that guy could dance. His legs moved so fast he could do tap on the water if he didn’t mind splashing his trousers, and his body was so sinuous you almost believed him when he said he taught Snake how to move. He was dancing and laughing the whole day long, and still he was spending money like being rich was about to go out of fashion. He didn’t have any money coming in either, so his pockets (never the deepest with Lizard’s monetary habits) started to dry out pretty sharpish. Pombagira saw all this, and while she wasn’t best pleased she was very flattered by all the loving attention he gave her, so she took it in her stride and said that the wind doesn’t change the mountain in a day.
All of this came to a head when Lizard ran out of his own money and started spending Pombagira’s hard-saved coins. That turned into a huge argument, she couldn’t see why she should work hard all day only for Lizard to take the money, and he couldn’t see why Pombagira was so desperate to stop him having fun. Now, as I’ve hinted already, Pombagira was a woman of great passion, while Lizard was a man who was used to getting his own way. An argument between people like that wasn’t going to go away quickly or easily, so they both went to bed angry.
Back in those days Lizard wore his sense of humour on a red cord around his neck. Pombagira took it into her head to teach the lazy charmer a lesson, so while he was asleep she cut the string and threw it into the ocean, where Sister Dolphin swallowed it.
The next morning Lizard was still angry from the night before, so stomped off without speaking to his wife or noticing what was missing. He tried to dance, but it was a sad, violent dance and no one found any joy in it, least of all himself. So he tried to talk to the girls, but found himself unable to say anything that wasn’t serious and dull, so they all got bored and went away. He didn’t notice his sense of humour was gone all day, until he walked past a still pool and saw his reflection, and then he twigged to what had happened pretty quickly. You better believe that when he got home there was an even bigger argument than the day before, but Pombagira was having none of it, she was still furious with him and refused to get his pendant back.
Finding himself at a loose end (his normal pleasures being beyond his reach), Lizard went back to work, which pleased Pombagira at first, but it was joyless work and produced fruits of the same colour. She soon became dissatisfied, because this was no longer the guy she had fallen for, so she went off to ask Sister Dolphin for Lizard’s sense of humour.
It turned out to be easier to get than she anticipated. Having her own sense of humour already, plus Lizard’s prodigiously sized one had made Dolphin impossible to deal with. She was just swimming around frantically and laughing loudly at everything until she was so exhausted she fell asleep, then repeated the process the next day. Her mate and fellow sea-dwellers ganged up, grabbed her and tied her up with kelp until she agreed to give it back. Dolphin wasn’t too pleased at first, as she’d been having a great time with two senses of humour, but no matter how hard she struggled the kelp knots held, so she choked, coughed and spluttered and finally spat it out on Pombagira’s hand. Still, a bit of it rubbed off on her insides, so Sister Dolphin’s children always have a great big smile on their faces to this day.
Pombagira gave Lizard his sense of humour back, it’s understandable that they didn’t stay together long after that, what with all the rubbish they’d pulled on each other. It’s debatable whether he learned his lesson, though some things changed: those of us who have a sense of humour carry them around on our insides now, as the first thing Lizard did on regaining his was to swallow it. He still parties too hard, and flirts with too many girls, but he takes offers of marriage as a compliment now, rather than an invitation, and if he and Pombagira pass in the street they’ll give each other a friendly nod.
Only a few people remember the story these days, but it was Mother Spider that made the universe, and she did it by accident. No one knows what she span her web to catch, but she caught the stars like her childrens’ webs catch water drops on a misty day. Come to that, no one ever dared ask her what happened to Father Spider, if there was one, even Brother Monkey or one of those chattering birds, but those with the sense to use their eyes watch her children and guess. She knows a lot, Mother Spider, but she doesn’t say much. Just spends her time weaving, waiting and watching, plucking the threads that connect our lives occasionally.
But this is a much smaller story than the birthing of the universe. Just a couple of threads that tangled before Mother Spider could do anything about it. Probably the fault of one of those supernovas.
So anyroad, back in the day Lizard was dancing along, as was his way, when he encountered Pombagira and took quite a shine to her. Now, she wasn’t his normal type of girl, but she had her charms. She didn’t dance to attract attention, like Lizard did, she danced for dancing’s sake and dance loved her for it. She didn’t smile easily, like Lizard, but when she did she was so radiant that clouds would get out the way of the sun in shame. Most of all, she didn’t love easily, like Lizard, but when she did it was with such a deep passion that even Brother Monkey respected it, and he don’t respect a lot of things, as you know. She may not have loved easily, but Lizard was a charming fellow with good looks, a quick wit and a barrel of stories nearly as big as mine and a hell of a lot funnier, so he won her round and they started courting.
At first everything was just dandy, that pair were having a grand old time and everyone said what a couple they made. Lizard being the charmer he is still danced around with the rest of the girls like he always used to do, wearing his hat and jacket and flashing his smile and cash around just as much as he ever did, but Pombagira didn’t mind. She just smiled and said that the sea doesn’t change the coastline overnight.
It wasn’t long before they ended up getting married. People said it was a bit quick, but Pombagira was in love, so sense didn’t have much sway with her. As for Lizard, he never worried about anything in his life. She was feeding him pretty well now they were living together, so Lizard soon took it into his head to stop working since he was so comfortable. That way, his reasoning went, he could spend all day doing whatever he wanted, then when Pombagira was free in the evening he could devote it all to her as he’d have danced with the other girls already. He was a generous guy, Lizard.
So he quit his job to become a professional layabout, and still he danced every chance he could. And believe me that guy could dance. His legs moved so fast he could do tap on the water if he didn’t mind splashing his trousers, and his body was so sinuous you almost believed him when he said he taught Snake how to move. He was dancing and laughing the whole day long, and still he was spending money like being rich was about to go out of fashion. He didn’t have any money coming in either, so his pockets (never the deepest with Lizard’s monetary habits) started to dry out pretty sharpish. Pombagira saw all this, and while she wasn’t best pleased she was very flattered by all the loving attention he gave her, so she took it in her stride and said that the wind doesn’t change the mountain in a day.
All of this came to a head when Lizard ran out of his own money and started spending Pombagira’s hard-saved coins. That turned into a huge argument, she couldn’t see why she should work hard all day only for Lizard to take the money, and he couldn’t see why Pombagira was so desperate to stop him having fun. Now, as I’ve hinted already, Pombagira was a woman of great passion, while Lizard was a man who was used to getting his own way. An argument between people like that wasn’t going to go away quickly or easily, so they both went to bed angry.
Back in those days Lizard wore his sense of humour on a red cord around his neck. Pombagira took it into her head to teach the lazy charmer a lesson, so while he was asleep she cut the string and threw it into the ocean, where Sister Dolphin swallowed it.
The next morning Lizard was still angry from the night before, so stomped off without speaking to his wife or noticing what was missing. He tried to dance, but it was a sad, violent dance and no one found any joy in it, least of all himself. So he tried to talk to the girls, but found himself unable to say anything that wasn’t serious and dull, so they all got bored and went away. He didn’t notice his sense of humour was gone all day, until he walked past a still pool and saw his reflection, and then he twigged to what had happened pretty quickly. You better believe that when he got home there was an even bigger argument than the day before, but Pombagira was having none of it, she was still furious with him and refused to get his pendant back.
Finding himself at a loose end (his normal pleasures being beyond his reach), Lizard went back to work, which pleased Pombagira at first, but it was joyless work and produced fruits of the same colour. She soon became dissatisfied, because this was no longer the guy she had fallen for, so she went off to ask Sister Dolphin for Lizard’s sense of humour.
It turned out to be easier to get than she anticipated. Having her own sense of humour already, plus Lizard’s prodigiously sized one had made Dolphin impossible to deal with. She was just swimming around frantically and laughing loudly at everything until she was so exhausted she fell asleep, then repeated the process the next day. Her mate and fellow sea-dwellers ganged up, grabbed her and tied her up with kelp until she agreed to give it back. Dolphin wasn’t too pleased at first, as she’d been having a great time with two senses of humour, but no matter how hard she struggled the kelp knots held, so she choked, coughed and spluttered and finally spat it out on Pombagira’s hand. Still, a bit of it rubbed off on her insides, so Sister Dolphin’s children always have a great big smile on their faces to this day.
Pombagira gave Lizard his sense of humour back, it’s understandable that they didn’t stay together long after that, what with all the rubbish they’d pulled on each other. It’s debatable whether he learned his lesson, though some things changed: those of us who have a sense of humour carry them around on our insides now, as the first thing Lizard did on regaining his was to swallow it. He still parties too hard, and flirts with too many girls, but he takes offers of marriage as a compliment now, rather than an invitation, and if he and Pombagira pass in the street they’ll give each other a friendly nod.