Disclaimer: See Intro
Warning: None
Summary: "Because the heart beats under a covering of hair, of fur, feathers, or wings, is it, for that reason, to be of no account?"- Jean Paul
A/N: Drabble with 300 words starting after the quote.
Chapter 1: Ziva
"Prejudice is like a hair across your cheek. You can't see it, you can't feel it with your fingers, but you keep brushing at it because the feel of it is irritating."
- Marian Anderson, African-American opera singer
I am different. I know this. I have lived my life differently. Very few people have grown up the way I have. I was raised in the life of Mossad. My father saw to it that I learned to defend my country and myself. People have died doing this. I still do not know why I have been so lucky.
Becoming a part of America is the dream of so many foreigners. Most people want to be out of whatever hell they are in. The thought of a new life in a new place is so….intriguing. There is so much hope in coming to America. None of us ever thought about the fact that some Americans do not want us here. Sometimes it feels like we have left the skillet only to find ourselves inside the frying pan. I think that is the expression.
I am Jewish and have that "dreaded" Middle Eastern look. The one that so many people are afraid of. I have seen people whisper when I walk by. If I stop to look for a friend I am meeting, they think I am scouting out a place to set off a bomb. I have heard grown men talk about how they would "take me down" if something were to "pop off". They have no idea who I am nor do they know that I could kill them before they could even think of doing harm to me.
Now, I am an American citizen. I have taken the classes, I have passed the test. I have taken my oath. I take my life experiences that Mossad and my father taught me and I still protect my country. I am a part of this country's beautiful fabric. Israel is where I was born, America is now my home.