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Mia’s grandmother warned her she would die this way: forgetting her coat and catching cold. “We did not bring you to America so that you could be a slob.”
Mia will never realize her grandmother was wrong, after all. Her mistake? Being a little too attractive, a little too Asian, all while wearing a jacket on a sunny day.
No one will ever know what would have happened if she had grown up, gotten married, and had kids of her own.
That’s because someone was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and she happened to be there too.
….
This is my entry for the A-Z Challenge and Friday Fictioneers. Thanks Rochelle and Brenda for an inspiring prompt.
On a serious note, every day, women of color are affected by racist, sexist discrimination and violence. Not all Asian women are docile. Not all bias is immediately evident. No one is ever just an object for someone else’s enjoyment. That’s the truth. Pass it on.
Anne Higa 
In the UK we have an offence known as “driving while black”. It’s responsible for many police stops
Unfortunately here in the U.S. we have walking while black, shopping while black, going to the park while black. I believe I heard that at a civil rights demonstration more than once, protesting racist violence in this country. Because it’s true. I could rant on this for a while. I will stop now. =D
A tragic waste, and all too common.
Ooh, that’s such a tense story. So many issues highlighted in such a short piece. ‘No-one will ever know what would have happened if she had grown up…’ Chilling. Great story.
Hari Om
Nailed it Anne – applause. Way to write a novel in a few short sentences AND advocate for the defenceless. You have my admiration. YAM xx
Great story of morels well done.
I like the way you tell this story obliquely, and not just as linear narrative. Nicely written.
Sad and true, and well told. And yes to everything else you wrote here.
I had thought about going this direction because, but I just could not think of a way to handle this difficult subject in a sensitive manner. You did a great job with it. Very sad, too true to life today and well told.
Thanks, Trent.
What a sad story!
So so so terribly true. You describe this well, subtle and nor so subtle ongoing horror. The tension comes through well
as an immigrant myselt this story is very relatable.
Will it ever end? I fear not.
A story beyond fiction, firmly planted in an ugly truth. Good job of getting conveying it, Anne.
A serious issue packed into 100 words, with such a sad ending.
So sad and needless. Crazy world. Well done.
The world can be a very sad place. Nicely written story.
It’s a shame that society seems to breed and protect the bad people. The cycle continues.
Dear Anne,
This story makes me both sad and angry…to the point of being irate. Well written.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thanks Rochelle. Me too. As second generation Asian American, mixed race, I was feeling it when the news stories came out. It’s one of those weird things where people don’t even realize is rude, when they try to “guess my nationality” or comment on my hair texture, features, skin tone in that certain kind of way. It took me a while to realize why it made me so uncomfortable. Because I look kind of black, but not African, and people have a hard time realizing “Asia” is a very diverse group and (because literally someone had to explain to me) that we are very racist in the U.S. People make moral judgments on that basis all the time. So it bugs a certain kind of person not knowing how to categorize you. So they ask in a “polite” way that isn’t because you can tell from tone and body language. Anyway. Whew. Yes, me too.
What a fantastic and timely story Anne. Very poignant. Beautifully done!
Beautifully written. It leaves me feeling so, so sad.
What? What happens next? Tell me!
Ronel visiting for the A-Z Challenge with an A-Z of Faerie: Goblins