A short short story about similarities and differences of cultures.
Rosa runs as fast as she possibly can through the back streets, her long dark hair dancing around her shoulders, her brown eyes filled with fear. She stops abruptly in front of a little house surrounded by flowers. She bangs on the front door, but doesn’t wait for an answer. She pushes the unlocked door open and rushes inside.
“David, Anna, hurry … they’re coming … the immigration police … they’re coming this way …”
David rises from the breakfast table and walks rapidly across the room to Rosa. He places his arms around her and says soothingly, “Quiet, child. We’ve seen them in this area many times before. They’ve never bothered us. They know we’re not criminals. We are good for the local economy. How can they want us to leave?”
David’s wife Anna walks in from the bedroom. She glances at David, but focuses on her dear friend Rosa who runs to her side.
Rosa wails, “We have to hide. They’ll take you away … you could go to prison … just for being here.”
David shakes his head. “We’ve done nothing wrong. They’ve never picked up anyone except criminals … drug dealers …smugglers … thieves … you know …bad people.”
Anna wraps an arm around Rosa and says, “Things have changed.”
Rosa nods emphatically. “You don’t have papers … that is enough …”
David sighs. “But they need us here.”
Anna says, “It doesn’t matter. The people in power are angry. They don’t want us here anymore. And, David, Rosa is right. We are here illegally. We allowed our cards to expire and never did anything about it … for years. Technically we are committing a crime by just being here … they will treat us as criminals. We could go to prison.”
Rosa grabs David’s hand. “Please … let’s just get out of here.”
Anna says, “I’m scared, David.”
David nods. “All right. Let’s pack a few things and go for a few days.”
Anna runs frantically to the bedroom and begins grabbing clothing and toiletries. Rosa folds her choices and places them in a large suitcase.
David walks to his work bench and places his paints and brushes in a canvas bag. He looks around at the vivid paintings on the wall and mumbles to himself, “I guess it would look guilty to take those with us … but I can’t leave them behind … What if they came in and took them?”
He stacks his three favorites beside the canvas bag, and moves into the kitchen to pack some food for the trip. He freezes when he hears a loud knock at the door.
Inside the bedroom, Anna covers her mouth to stop the cry of fear that wants to emerge. She collapses on the bed and squeezes her eyes shut.
Rosa whispers, “Stay here. I’ll go answer the door.”
Anna stands and straightens her shoulders. She says, “No, I won’t let them cow me down like a child. This is my home.”
When David opens the door, Anna and Rosa stand behind him, their faces blank, their hearts resolute. They stare out at the tall man in the uniform of an immigration official.
“Good afternoon, officer. How can I help you?”
“Buenos tardes, Senor. Necesitamos ver sus documentes … sus visas.”
David turns to the women behind him. “Rosa, Anna, help me with my Spanish. I’ve been improving, but I’m feeling a little … off right now.”
The dark haired man at the door says sternly, “I speak English. I am here to see your paperwork … your visas. Show it to me and I will be gone.”
Rosa pushes forward and says angrily, “These are good people. I work for them every day. I know them. You should leave now … leave them alone.”
The agente del gobierno frowns. “You, senorita, should leave or I may be forced to charge you with obstructing me from doing my job. Quieres ir a la carcel con estos gringos?”
Rosa snaps, “No, I don’t want to go to jail. But these people help us all here in the village. They have lived here for twenty years. They pay my salary … and they give their time to the ninos at the village school.”
“These things do not matter. They are lawbreakers and must return to Estados Unidos … after they serve their sentence for lawbreaking.”
David feels things spinning out of control. “Look, I’m sorry … we will go and get our passport situation resolved … but this is our home. We’ve lived here … for years. We love the people …”
Rosa says hotly, “And they love you!”
“And I think we add a lot to the economy …”
Tears run down Rosa’s face. “You do … so much.”
The agent shifts uncomfortably. He really has no problem with the many Americans who make Mexico their home. Thousands of retirees from north of the border come every year to take advantage of the less expensive lifestyle and excellent health care available in his country. He is proud that these people seek shelter in the land he loves. But his boss had made it clear. The politicians were up in arms about the recent hoopla over the border wall their neighboring country has made a priority. And, like most of his countrymen, he has been angered by the treatment Mexicans are receiving in the land that used to be the place where dreams come true .
“I have no choice. You must come with me.”
Rosa falls to her knees and grabs his legs. “These people are kind and good. Please let them stay.”
The agent glances outside and sees that no other agent is anywhere around. He says, “All right. This young girl has touched my heart. I don’t want to hurt you, but you must go. Get your paperwork straightened out and come back. We’ll drink a toast when you return.”
David grabs the agent’s hand. “Thank you.”
Rosa smiles.
What causes America's mainstream media to fear and try to destroy a group of artists and their work? What happens when such a creative movement grows in strength and threatens media's bottom line? Why would extremists find it necessary to take acti
Determined to confront the hazy memories of his troubled youth, Oliver Matthews, a retired detective and confirmed bachelor, returns to the picturesque town of Henley-on-Thames for the first time in years.
Rosa runs as fast as she possibly can through the back streets, her long dark hair dancing around her shoulders, her brown eyes filled with fear. She stops abruptly in front of a little house surrounded by flowers. She bangs on the front door, but doesn’t wait for an answer. She pushes the unlocked door open and rushes inside.
