I Was Anastasia

by Ariel Lawhon

The thing Anna has always hated most about being a small woman is the disadvantage she has in situations like this. People assume they can touch you, pat you, shake your hand without permission. They assume that if your size is little more than that of a child, you must be one. That you can be talked down to or coerced. It is hard for a small person to be intimidating or to be taken seriously. This lack of stature has forced Anna to develop other skills through the years: to sharpen her wit, to treat her tongue like a blade and her mind like a whetstone.

Anna wishes she could see their faces and read their body language. Words are important, but they only tell part of the story. It’s impossible to know their full meaning without seeing how they glance at one another, pull at their sleeves, or hold the glass in their hands. A thousand truths are written across the body during any given conversation, and they often say more than the words spoken aloud.