Tropical Moments

Editor’s note: content depicts nature's stark side.

by Liz deBeer

Eyes half closed, an iguana, the color of a peapod, poses in a sun patch. Oozing self-satisfaction like a Tik-Tok influencer, the reptile nods, dewlap bobbing. Phone in hand, I’m clicking when a gray blur interrupts. What the—? My gasp is met by a cat’s triumphant yellow eyes, the iguana dangling in its jaws. My instinct is to holler-scold, but I swallow my rage to reflect on Darwin. Cat has to eat too. The cat shakes the corpse, scaly tail swinging like a clock’s pendulum. Sighing, I click my phone again, capturing the iguana’s fate in the sun’s glare.

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​Liz deBeer is a teacher and writer with Project Write Now, a writing cooperative. Her flash has appeared in BULL, Fictive Dream, Switch and others. She is a volunteer reader at Flash Fiction Magazine. 
​Follow Liz at www.ldebeerwriter.com and https://lizardstale.substack.com.

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