A Farewell to Roaches (ESL Intermediate Version)

For the original non-ESL version, look here.

Martha walked across the wooden floor, ignoring the broken glass and old metal. Her brother, Angelo, was sitting in the corner scratching his belly. She tried to ignore him too, but it was difficult when he kept burping and smiling at himself. How is he my brother? she thought for the hundredth time.

“Marty!” Her father called again. Why is it so hard to use the name mother gave me? With a frown, she went outside into the dark light. Angelo laughed in the corner and continued scratching himself. Disgusting, she thought.

Her father was sitting below an old car and he was scratching his belly too. She ran through the ash, though she tried very hard not to scurry. Scurrying was what her people did before they’d evolved, back when they were considered a plague. But things were different now. Thirty generations ago, the Event happened, killing everything in the world. Except her people. History was difficult to remember, because her people had been pretty stupid back then. Only recently they were writing down what happened.

Her father called for his wife, Jenny. “Bring me some glow water!”

Martha watched Jenny scurry to bring him the glow water. Martha judged her, even though she knew it was wrong. But her mother hadn’t treated her father so nicely. Her mother had believed men should take care of themselves more. A great woman, her mother had been. But she was still gone.

“So Marty, you talk to Lenny yet?” her father asked when he saw her arriving.

“Papa I told you, I’m not going to say yes. And please, please call me Martha.”

“He’s a good hard working kid, Marty. Like me. You think you’re too good for us with your book smarts and all?”

Martha’s eye started twitching too. Stop acting like a scared insect, she said to herself. She turned to her father and said, “I don’t think I’m better than anyone.” But, that wasn’t true. “I just don’t think we should eat books…” she said quietly.

“We roaches gotta eat, sugar. Now, that sounds delicious,” he yelled. “Hey Jenny, we got any sugar?” he called loudly.

“I told you we done run out!” Jenny called back from the house.

“What a useless-” her father started to say before saying to Martha, “Why won’t you say yes to Lenny? He’s not a bad looking kid and you know how he is with the ladies. He isn’t gonna wait forever.”

“What if I want more in my life than some belly scratching, book eating…loser!” she said, losing her patience.

“You know, you’re ma told me the same thing at the beginning and look what happened to her.”

“Don’t talk about mama that way,” Martha said, looking away.

“Hey, Marty-”

“Martha,” she repeated.

“Sugar, don’t be sad. Roz was a great girl. You smart like her. But smarts aren’t gonna give you a house. You’re a big girl. Think, you could have lots of babies! Say yes to Lenny before he changes his mind.”

Martha felt uncomfortable. She was bigger than previous generations. And her nieces and nephews playing by the house were probably going to be bigger than she was too. It was a scientific fact that her people were getting bigger and bigger with each generation. They said her people were as small as a piece of gum in the past. Now, Martha was almost too big to sleep in the old shoes in their house. Any babies she had would need a bigger size shoe by the time they were teenagers. And that sounded expensive.

“I’m not going to say yes to Lenny,” she repeated.

“Then who, doll? You’re already a year old. Men aren’t gonna want you much longer. Angelo is only ten months old and he already has fifteen kids! And more coming!”

“I’m nothing like Angelo and Paula, papa. And our people are living longer and longer lives.”

Martha heard something and saw Paula walking by with her newest eggs on her back. There were twenty, and she didn’t look excited about it. That was a lot of babies, even if only half survived being babies.

“See? Paula looks happy. That could be you, sugar.” Her father rubbed his antennae together happily. He had at least a hundred grandchildren already- she didn’t know why he cared about her so much.

“You and I see very different things,” Martha said quietly.

“Huh?” her father asked. “What did you say?”

“Nothing, papa,” Martha said. She looked up at the sky, at the ash between them and the sun. In the past, the sun had been almost completely blocked, but now, the sun was shining brighter and brighter. It made her smile. Her father rubbed his front legs together happily, thinking he’d finally convinced her. Her smile disappeared.

She knew what she had to do. For the first time in her life, Martha was going to do something that wasn’t logical. She was going to do what she wanted to do.

“I’m leaving, papa.”

“What?” he yelled, forgetting his glow water completely.

“I’m following mama,” she said, growing more confident.

“You’re going to kill yourself?” her father asked.

“No. Mama went to city, but she didn’t die. I know it.”

“Your ma is dead, Marty. And what will Lenny-”

“MY NAME IS MARTHA,” she exploded. “MY MAMA IS ALIVE. AND I’M NEVER GOING TO MARRY LENNY.” She was so angry. “And if I have babies, it won’t be with Lenny,” she hissed.

She glared at her father, her antennae still for once. Then she noticed that everyone else had stopped moving. Jenny had frozen on her way from the kitchen, her mouth open stupidly. Her nieces and nephews had frozen in their play. Around the corner she saw her sister Deena had paused in the act of mating. Both Deena and her boyfriend Vinny were looking at her with empty eyes.

“That isn’t a nice way to talk to your pa, hon,” her father said, trying to sound in control.

“Maybe that’s how I talk,” Martha said, her normal calm voice lost completely. “Maybe that’s how I talk, but you don’t know anything. I’m leaving. Jenny? Can you help me pack some food?”

“Don’t do it, Jenny,” her father said.

Jenny looked at her father with emotionless eyes. She turned around and started collecting food.

“Jenny! Stop right away!” he yelled.

Martha watched as Jenny scurried out with a pack of food and a jug. She tied them on Martha’s back.

“Remember, ya can survive a lot longer without food than water,” she said quietly.

“Jenny, I will-” her father started yelling.

“You will what? You lazy turd. You would die without me. So just sit yerself down and stop complainin’.”

Jenny looked at Martha. “I ain’t smart like you kid, but I know you can survive. Go find yer mom.”

Martha almost started crying. She looked at her family. She looked at her father, at Angelo who was watching from the door with Paula peeking out behind him. She looked at her nieces and nephews and even at Deena and Vinny.

“I’m going to find mama,” she said. “If anyone wants to get out of here, just follow the highway. We’ll be there, at the end, in the city.” She looked at her nephew Jason. He was the only one who didn’t have his mouth open in surprise. His eyes were clear and smart. “Anyone is welcome to follow.”

She looked back at her father, who didn’t look at her. She gave Jenny a sad smile instead and started walking towards the highway.

As soon as her feet touched the pavement, a sigh of relief escaped her body. She almost felt like she could breath. She adjusted her pack and started walking.

She didn’t look back, not even once.

If you liked this story, please give it a heart below! Please send me a story challenge if you would like to participate! Thanks!