Speak No Evil

by Uzodinma Iweala

I have also changed. I’m older and more sensitive now. I know more of the world. Maybe that makes me a better person, or maybe I just know more.

I have already crossed so many lines, but this violation feels absolute. In every faith, there is a part of the temple too sacred for all but the most faithful. I back out of the room and close the door.

Sometimes it’s easier to be the victim,

There’s all sorts of bacteria, there’s broken glass and rusted metal, he said. I said, you only live once. That’s some white people shit, he said.

He says, you’ve been here before, haven’t you? He takes the jacket from me and holds it up. He says, we’ve been here before, haven’t we? He stares at me for a long while and says nothing. Then he says, well, go on now, speak.