Adventures of Iyani: The Incredible Beginning

By Aunty Marcella Martha Joseph Watts and Stephanie Wilbanks

This book introduces the main character of the Adventures of Iyani series.. The Incredible Beginning takes the reader into the curious life a young iguana who is determined to ask all the uneasy questions about sickness, immigration and other topics that adults find uncomfortable to talk about. Another Caribbean connected  piece.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Buddinwriters Academy LLC
• Release date: May 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781733351157

Book preview

Chapter 1: The Burrow Not Borrowed

One set of seven, two sets of seven, three sets of seven, four…. I think I missed one. Then she recounted, One set of seven, two sets …. Ansuya had spent the last thirty minutes counting and recounting her eggs. She had found a way to divide the eggs into groups of seven without touching them. She was confident that her grouping was accurate and that she had counted seven sets of seven plus one egg. This was one week ago.

Frydenhoj Estate, one of the new developments situated on one of the high ridges at the eastern end of St. Thomas, had been developing quickly. Ansuya and her family were having a hard time maintaining a safe dwelling. The iguanas of the East have had to deal with drought during the summer, predatory animals, and now humans moving in too quickly. One of the new settlers, Mr. Blanco, had built a makeshift retention wall using huge boulders that he had collected during the excavation of his property. The stones were neatly piled and served as the perfect boundary between the road and his elevated property.

Today, Ansuya planned to return to her burrow to count her eggs again. Ansuya, leave the eggs alone, her husband, Cayo, warned. You have done your share. You worked hard digging that burrow. It is safe.

Cayo was right. Ansuya had taken the time and care to dig a safe dwelling for her clutch of eggs. She had selected that location because of the safety and protection that it offered. The only possible entrance was a few feet past the young mampoo tree that gently touched the roof of Mr. Blanco’s modular. It was near the eastern back of the Chihuahua’s kennel. The thicket of acacia or catch-and-keep brush that was growing about one foot in front the entrance was the perfect repellent to keep the dog from approaching the gateway to her eggs. Ansuya wanted safety, not danger.

A long, narrow dirt track led to the haven that she had prepared for her precious offspring. Huge stones served as the walls, floor, and roof. Not even snakes could burrow through the crevices. She was convinced that it was an intruder-proof space. Some of her more aggressive friends had gotten their burrows by overpowering weaker female iguanas. Some of them had stolen burrows from other animals, and others had simply searched for used burrows. Ansuya had made a firm decision about her burrow, announcing that she would dig her own burrow and not risk using any borrowed burrow.

Nothing is wrong with that, remarked Cayo. Everyone does it.

Do you remember what happened to Ximena last year? Ansuya asked. "She occupied a used burrow and didn’t know that it