The Roach Motel

The roaches still consider my apartment building their permanent residence.

They usually appear when the lights go out, like they're boogymen or something. How do I know this if the lights are off, you ask. Well, I stumble upon them when I have a need for a late-night snack or can't put off a run to the bathroom. They keep to the bathroom and the kitchen...I think. I hope.

I've stopped asking for an exterminator. No matter how often they show up and "work," the roaches stay. I don't even get a short reprieve from the roaches.

At times, I've wondered if it's me. If the roaches stay here because they like me. Perhaps I have dropped too many crumbs without picking them up. Perhaps cleaning the counter after every meal is not enough.

But tonight, I saw a roach on the wall near the laundry room. And I knew -- it's not me. It's this building! It may have a plush lobby with hardwood floors, leather couches, sculptures. But exteriors can tell lies.

This really is a roach motel.