d

The fascists government has taken over the country. They stripped the public of their basic rights. The country has become more like a prison. The general public is tired of the authoritarian rule and their tyranny. That’s what I hear almost every day. But what do I know, I’m only 9. I hear a lot of hard words, like ‘centralize autocratic’, ‘dictatorial’, ‘German Nazi’ and what not. I don’t know what these words mean, can’t even pronounce them right.
I don’t even wanna know. Mr. Goldberg, the kind uncle who lets me live in their house, says that. “It’s not good to know everything, there is a beauty in ignorance. The little time you have in life, be ignorant.” Since I have to, I agree with him.
Though after this long advice, he always seems to get sad and angry at the same time. Guess he isn’t too happy being ignorant himself. I almost never see him smile. Maybe I missed it during all these years. I have been living with his family for a few years now. Mr. Goldberg says, one day papa handed me over to him and that’s the last time I saw him.
I wonder where he is. I wanted to go out and look for him, but Mrs. Goldberg doesn’t let me go out, like ever. She is always scolding and hurting me saying, “You’re a dirty bitch, don’t go out and make people see what I see.” I don’t get it. I shower every day! Somedays twice! How can I be dirty!
Mr. Goldberg is always kind to me. He explained, to some people ‘dirty’ is a synonym for my skin color and my skin color is who I am in the world we live in. I was very upset knowing this. But he told me he doesn’t think that way. I also learned; something called the ‘government’ also thinks Black is dirty. So, I can’t go out.

Though Mr. and Mrs. Goldberg also hardly go out. Once their only daughter got sick and they took her to the hospital. I never saw her again. Mrs. Goldberg says, Harper will never come back because she’s angry, angry with me! She left because she had to share her little food with me…… I promise I never eat more than one slice of bread a day. Even somedays I gave her mine. Still she left! I just don’t understand.
Still I am happy. Mr. Goldberg says that we are very lucky, because we have a roof over our head. Apparently, a family living with a black girl usually have no roof of their own. But somehow, we do and that’s something to be happy about.
So, I guess I’m okay. Though I starve like almost every day, so does this whole family. Still I’m happy. I asked Mr. Goldberg, why don’t everybody have a roof? Why doesn’t Harper come back? Why Mrs. Goldberg always looks at me like that?
Where is Papa? Why can’t I go out? Why black is dirty?!…. Every time he looks at me with watery eyes, and says, “It’s not good to know everything, there is a beauty in ignorance. The little time you have in life, be ignorant”