Travels; A Cockroach's Story

Well, maybe I was. Though I could not see why they were angry, I also noticed quite a few females in the crowd. Quite a few beautiful females, already some of them came forward to snatch up the males that had fallen for the Queen. Maybe it was better that I keep her occupied and let the other females get a chance to be Queen of a Tribe.

When we reached the nest, she laid out some food for me. I ate with more appetite than I thought I had. In between bites, I asked, "Your are in the City of New York. I believe the Humans call this burrough, the Bronx."

"What are these Humans?" I asked.

"Why, the giants who feed us and keep us warm in the cold months. Some are demented though, and trap the food with poison." She laughed. It was a musical laugh to my ears, "They even put out these little black things called 'Roach Hotels.' Of course more than a few fall prey to this, but we here can read! Like a hotel that isn't safe for their children would be safe for us!"

She stopped talking when she saw me staring at her. I remembered those little black things from home. I remembered children who didn't know better going in and then dying. I never went in because I led a sheltered life, and when I was big enough to go out on my own, I was too big to fit, much to my chagrin. That is why they died.

"You didn't know?" She asked, aghast. "Can't you read?"

I stared at her blankly. "What is that?"

She sighed. "I will just have to teach you. Reading comes in very handy. Sometimes the Great Management will post notes to the humans out in the hallway. The notes state that they will spray for Roaches, and they tell the day and time of the spraying. Very handy indeed. We just leave for a while then come back when it is deemed safe. Usually we go live with another Tribe for a while. We keep a watch posted in the hallway at all times. You will take your turn there too, once you are taught the magic of Reading." I stopped eating, she sighed again. "Oh but I do go on, don't I? Now, about those eggs on my back...."

It felt good to have a home again, though I missed my old one, and guilt rode me like a flea, it still felt good. "I'll keep you safe Mercedes,"I croaked with feeling. "I won't let anything happen to you. I will not let you die." I felt mother watching me then and I said a silent prayer for her soul, and in that prayer I said thank you mother, for letting me go.