Bedbugs

Let me tell you about bedbugs. Bedbugs are these small little insects that like to drink blood. And not just any blood - most bedbugs drink human blood. They are called 'bedbugs' because that's where you will usually find them, in beds where they can wait for people to lay down and then feed on them as they sleep.

When I was little, my mom used to tuck me in at bedtime and say, "Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite." I thought bedbugs were imaginary creatures, like dragons and unicorns. I didn't think they were actually real. I thought it was just a warning - go to sleep or the bedbugs will get you.

But I didn't. I used to stay up and make a tent with my comforter and read comics by flashlight. I never wanted to go to sleep - I wanted to stay up all night long.

Needless to say, my sleep habits suffered and I ended up falling asleep a lot in school. My teacher told my mom and my mom confiscated my flashlight. "Now go to sleep," she said. "I don't want to walk in here and see you awake."

But I couldn't sleep. Without the flashlight, the darkness was suddenly more menacing. I didn't have anything to fight it with. I couldn't sleep for fear the dark would consume me. So I got up and I walked to my parents' bedroom to retrieve my flashlight.

It was on the dresser and as I picked it up, I heard a sound. I didn't want to turn on the flashlight, because then my mom would know I had taken it, so I tried to see what was making the noise in the dark. It was a scratching noise, a scritch scritch. Finally, I couldn't stand the suspense anymore and turned on my flashlight and pointed it at my parents' bed.

There was nothing wrong. Both of my parents were asleep, the covers pulled up to their shoulders. I could still hear the scratching sound coming from somewhere, though, so I inched closer to the bed and that's when I noticed it. The covers appeared to be moving in some places.

Closer and closer I stepped until I was as close as I could get to the bed without getting on it. The covers seemed to ripple. I turned my flashlight from the unusual motions of the covers to illuminate my mom and dad.

My mom's mouth was open and as I watched, frozen with a mixture of curiosity and fear, I saw a tiny bug crawl from it.

I grasped and pulled the covers away from my parents, revealing the mass of bedbugs feeding on them. The skin I saw was puckered and white, drained of all blood. Both of my parents looked emaciated, like they hadn't eaten in weeks. They were quite clearly dead.

I turned and ran, the flashlight forgotten. My room provided no shelter, so I ended up running outside. They found me the next day walking beside the freeway in my pajamas. My parents cause of death was declared as 'hypovolemic shock.' That means they died from loss of blood. Nobody knew how they lost blood though and I certainly wasn't talking.

After all, I thought it was my fault. I thought it was a warning that I disobeyed:

Good night, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite.