A gecko appears on a wall.
Someone spots it. Then comes the race.
Children run across the garden, each hoping to be the first to catch it. Sometimes they succeed. Sometimes they don't. I'm never quite sure who is luckier.
When one of them finally catches it, they come running to show it.
For a few minutes, nothing else exists.
Not the pool.
Not the games.
Not the afternoon.
Only the gecko.
Like a beautiful stone, a feather, or a strange shell found on the beach, it is a treasure. Only this one is alive.
Soon enough, it is released and disappears back into the garden.
The children run off.
The afternoon continues.
Until the next treasure appears.
— Silvia, founder of Villa S