Cockroach

In “Cockroach,” two brothers navigate the small world of their apartment in the absence of their mother. Late one night, the younger boy spots a cockroach scuttling across the kitchen floor. Terrified but determined to act bravely, the boy takes it upon himself to deal with the intruder. But his childlike wonder prevents him from killing the insect. What unfolds in Malaysian writer Yee Heng Yeh’s story, first published in the chapbook Imprints: Chevening Writers Series 2021 from Working Desk Publishing, is a tender meditation on the overlapping emotions of fear, love, and loss.

Narrated in vernacular Malaysian English and flaunting its particular syntax, “Cockroach” offers a glimpse into the life of two young boys struggling to fit into society’s scripted role of masculinity and finding unexpected relief when they fail.

— Raaza Jamshed for Guernica Global Spotlights

Actually I don’t know that there is a cockroach in the kitchen at first. I’m in the kitchen because I’m thirsty, so I come to get the water. It’s very dark, but I’m a big boy already, so I’m not scared. Kor Kor say that I must be a big boy because now Mummy isn’t staying with us and he cannot always take care of me.

I don’t need to on the kitchen light because I already know where to get the cup and pour the water. I wash my cup and put it back when suddenly I hear got one noise, like something is moving on the floor. I’m not scared, but I just want to see what is the thing. So I on the light.

The cockroach is there in one corner.

It is near the cabinet and not moving; only the antenna is moving, like it is looking for something. Maybe I feel a little bit scared when I see the cockroach because it’s very big. I never see such a big cockroach before. I’m scared that if I move, it will faster run away or fly up suddenly. The cockroach is very fast, you know. They can suddenly move their legs, and when you want to catch it,