More Tales of the Yamori

(pssst. for those who haven't been following from the beginning of this crazy adventure or just plum forgot-- bonus points for whomever can explain that fruity expression, by the way, and extra bonus points for U.B. if he can do it without the OED-- 'yamori' roughly translates as 'gecko' ... but the ones I'm talking about are usually brown, unlike the famous green Geiko gecko, and in these parts are better translated as 'wall lizard' or 'home lizard.' As one of my neighbors explained, they are thought to be 'protectors of the home' and good to have inside. I think this is just a rationalization... although they do eat little bugs, they're really hard to keep out.)

Last night, my apartment complex threw me a long-postponed welcome BBQ, and amist what must have been a few cases of assorted cocktail/Chu-hi/mixed drinks, the ladies and I had quite a few intriguing discussions. My favorite topic, by far, was their yamori stories.

Earlier in the day, a yamori had snuck into my apartment as I was taking the laundry out, and it scampered under the bed, out of reach. Recalling my earlier call-to-the-yamori, begging them to come back and eat my bugs, I decided to let it hang out but wondered what kind of mischief it might cause. The apartment ladies left me with no question of the trouble it might cause.

One woman said she was absolutely terrifed of them and with good reason. One day, when she was opening the sliding door into her shower/bathroom, a yamori who had been precariously perched on the door fell and slipped into the towel she'd wrapped around herself. She, of course, whipped the towel away from herself, screaming, and batted the thing away.

The same woman was later cleaning out some hard-to-reach cracks and other seldom-investigated parts of her apartment when she discovered a cache of marble-sized yamori eggs guarded by one of their fierce-looking parents. She tried to dispose of the eggs but was too terrified of the adult to get very close. Briefly contemplating if she could call animal services, she settled on calling her husband, telling his office somewhat hysterically that there was a big emergency and he needed to come home immediately.

Here is a picture of my yamori trying to blend into the ceiling:

... really, it doesn't look that dangerous, does it? ^^