“Mama, there’s a cockroach!”

The action was real. I hurried toward the foot of the bed to go to where Chantry and Hale were pointing and saw the shadow of the cockroach hiding beneath the slipper. I shouted at my kids “Don’t scare the cockroach so that it won’t go away. I’ll just get the spray.”

Chantry jumped and moved farther from it toward the edge of the bed where Ate Hale was kneeling.

I stormed to the living room to get the insect killer spray then flashed back into our room.

It was nighttime. We were all sleepy but the thought alone of this bug lurking and crawling inside our room while we sleep was enough to keep me awake all night. I will never allow this creature to ruin my night. So, I turned on the main light to see clearly the body of my target who must still be hiding beneath the slipper.

I commanded my kids again “Stay away from the cockroach so that it won’t move.” I sounded like a cop ready to arrest a cockroach.

As I approached the foot of the bed wielding steadily the spray with full determination to fire out my deadly weapon, I realized it was a dead cockroach.

Puzzled, I muttered “It’s a dead cockroach, Hale.”

“I know Mama, I just said there’s a cockroach. Did I say the cockroach was alive?”