Fiction Friday - The Attack

 

Rajiv paused to let his words sink in. His older friend just didn't understand how the world was these days.

"How can we be considered guilty? We don't even know those men!"

"I know Samir," Rajiv nodded in solemn agreement. "We don't know them. We are not guilty. People who know us know this. But we look enough like those men, and we are from -"

"We are not even from the same country!"

Rajiv sighed. "No. We're not. Just a neighboring country to theirs. Do you think any of the people around us know that? The people who live in our building? Who see us at the store?"

He could see the sorrow in his neighbor's eyes. Rajiv had removed Samir from an escalating argument at the local convenience store and brought him back to his apartment down the hall from Rajiv's. Some ignorant stranger had accused him of the attack, and Samir became defensive. The worst possible response.

Rajiv grew up here and understood the sentiment. He also understood the confusion people had, annoying as it was. "Samir, what if Nadia and I run errands for you for a little while?"

"I'm not helpless!"

"I know you aren't, but if you fight with everyone who says something insulting to you right now, you may not be -" He hesitated to use the word "safe" because that would cause a new debate. "It's just for now. People will figure it out, and those who know you will learn the difference."

"It's insulting."

"It is. People can be mean when they themselves are hurting. Think of when your wife died. You got very angry with me for nothing! But we're okay now." Since the death of his wife Samir had gradually morphed into a good imitation of the stereotypical grumpy old man. "Now it is their time to be hurting." He didn't acknowledge that he and Samir also hurt from the attack. That was secondary. "Let me get your groceries today. Please?"

Rajiv was able to help Samir in this one way, but he wasn't his keeper. There would be hard days ahead, for everyone.

It's FICTION FRIDAY!

Every Friday I write a new flash fiction piece. If you have a writing prompt you'd like to see turned into a story, just leave it in a comment.