Kissed by a Roach

Speaking of cockroaches, I had the honor of being kissed goodnight by a roach some weeks ago.

Or maybe I should say kissed good morning since it was 5am in the morning.

As usual, I was slumbering away when I felt something nibbling at my ear. In my drowsiness, I was only vaguely aware of the tickling sensation on my ear.

But my instinct told me it was something unusual so I lept out of bed and switched on my table lamp to find myself staring face to face (if it even had a face) with a cockroach.

I can't tell who or which was more afraid, for it was just as stunned as I was.

I swept it aside with my hands and it flew under my table.

Breathing hard (me, not the cockroach, if it even breathed) I ran out of my room and grabbed the insecticide. I wanted to be quick cos I didn't want to leave it out of my sight lest I had to spend the rest of my morning wondering when it'll appear to haunt me again.

I rushed in, aimed the insecticide at it and sprayed shot bursts of the foul smelling chemical at the little bug. It jumped out of from under the table and my whole person jumped away from it! It was traumatic to see roaches jump like that! You never want to have it land on you! Or have any part of it touch you cos you never know which part of the underground world it had laid it's tiny feelers on.

but it laid there, soaked in the oily liquid. The insecticide didn't seem to work. Usually, the roaches would be convulsing by then if the insecticide got into them. This one, it just seemed to be drenched.

So gingerly, I made little tiny steps towards it. Edging ever so slowly so I could take a good aim at it. I didn't want to provoke it lest it makes a random jump again. This time it would be more disastrous what with its insecticide soaked body smearing all over me. Yuck!

I aimed, and then, slwoly, holding my breathe, I let out a short burst of the insecticide.

The roach sprinted and scuttled under the table again and towards two paper bags of clothes I had wanted to give tot he Salvation Army.

"crap!" I said to myself.

Now I had to go through the ordeal of tossing the bags so as to draw the roach out. It's times like these that you know that you can't see the little bugger, and the fear of it scuttling up your arm when you toss the bags creeps down your spine and make your hair stand.

I had to be brave, so I told myself I just had to do it cos the fear of going back to sleep with an insecticide drenched roach is worse than that of tossing the bags and having it run up my arms.

Armed with my forefinger and my thumb, in a clamp like manner, I ventured forth towards the bags.

One toss! Nothing...

The second toss! Nothing again...

I was slightly relieved but the danger's not over yet.

So I decided to peep under the table again just to make sure that I hadn't missed a spot of where it could possibly be.

I lowered my face parallel to the floor and THERE it was! Hiding beside the dumbbells that's been dust-blanketed over years of unuse!

This time, I wasted no time. I swung my can of insecticide and let out a salvo of pungent smelling chemicals on it.

The roach jumped and scuttled across the floor, out of from under my table and halfway before it made it under my TV cupboard, flipped over on its back laid there struggling for its dear life, hairy legs flailing in the air.

I could breath easily now. I knew I had sealed it fate. The little rascal waits to breath its last (if it even breathed at all, as I mentioned)

I replaced the can of insecticide, and thought about whether I should dispose of it there and then. But the thought of touching its still flailing body put me off and I thought I'd just leave it to die first before I dispose of its cold, stiff and lifeless case down the whirlpool rush of the toilet bowl.

I cleaned my hands, changed my bedsheet and pillow case (hey! it had cockroach paws all over it!) and hopped right back to sleep.

I switched off the lights, and took a peek from my blanket to see if I could still make out the little black shape of the roach still flailing for its life at the foot of my bed just to be sure it didn't just suddenly come alive again and wreak havoc on me.

yeah... it was still there, and I breathed a sigh of relief and went back to sleep...

Where All Things Come to Rest In Peace

I just walked into my room tonight and saw a cockroach flipped over on its back motionless.

I dono know why, but I think it's the umpteenth time I've seen this happen at almost the same spot of the corner of my room.

It is found that there is a cave under the ocean at a famous dive site called Sipadan where sea turtles go for their final resting place. Divers have long called the place as the Turtle Grave Site.

Elephants also seem to have such a practice among them. Zoologists have found sites in Africa littered with elephant bones and believed them to be places where old, dying elephants go to rest their bones.

Could it be, that the roaches have found such a sacred place at this humanly insignificant corner of my room? Or could it be mere coincidence?

Or maybe, my mum just happened to always spot them and spray them dead there...?