{"id":1597,"date":"2026-04-20T11:45:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/?p=1597"},"modified":"2026-04-20T11:45:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T18:45:31","slug":"the-neighbor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/?p=1597","title":{"rendered":"The Neighbor"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cNo one today is purely one thing.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u2014 Edward W. Said<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Train<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I can see the bones under the skin of her hands. She is plump\u00a0but her hands are bony, like a\u00a0skeleton\u2019s. Pale as wax, she has haunted eyes.\u00a0Dark green.\u00a0She is looking at\u00a0me\u00a0but her\u00a0gaze goes right through me as if I\u00a0am\u00a0not there. We are sitting\u00a0in\u00a0opposite\u00a0seats\u00a0of\u00a0a BART train,\u00a0second\u00a0or third car from the back.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At six in the afternoon, on a Bay Area Rapid Transit train,\u00a0you are at the epicenter of all that is Bay Area. Morning commute is reserved for corporate drones like me, but at this hour you have all genders and skin colors and sexual orientations. But the woman sitting opposite me is a corporate slave like me, grey skirt that\u00a0doesn\u2019t\u00a0match her grey jacket. Black pointed shoes.\u00a0Three-inch\u00a0heels,\u00a0probably to\u00a0compensate for her height.\u00a0The shoes are new and hip and look\u00a0out of place. I have seen her before. She always gets out at the same stop I do. She lives in the same community I do, a group of\u00a0a hundred\u00a0townhomes with russet roofs. I have seen her walk out to her\u00a0cul\u00a0de sac,\u00a0P\u2014\u00a0Court.\u00a0It is the one parallel to mine.\u00a0She has a mole on her forehead and little dark spots around it like a solar system. Mid-forties, I guess.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The sun is on the other side of the train and in my face now. I\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0read\u00a0my\u00a0book\u00a0so I get up\u00a0and go to her side.\u00a0She\u00a0has\u00a0to\u00a0move her handbag to let me sit.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThank You.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She does not say\u00a0anything\u00a0but her lips curl down in a vague expression of\u00a0annoyance.\u00a0She looks like someone with space issues.\u00a0I wonder if\u00a0she thinks\u00a0I moved seats\u00a0to be close to her.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHow are you?\u201d I\u00a0say,\u00a0knowing it will annoy her.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She opens her mouth to say something.\u00a0Uneven teeth, a little stained.\u00a0She closes her mouth.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Forget her, I think. I\u00a0draw\u00a0book\u00a0from my briefcase\u00a0and begin\u00a0reading.\u00a0We go on a\u00a0bridge,\u00a0pass a canal with wide barges.\u00a0Almost home.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After a few seconds\u00a0I\u00a0can\u00a0hear her turn her head.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAre those words?\u201d\u00a0She points to the Perso-Arabic script.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYes. You read them right to left.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I could tell her that is the quatrains of Omar Khayyam, bilingual\u00a0Farsi\u00a0and English version. I could tell her that\u00a0they\u2019re\u00a0 love\u00a0poems, I could also tell her I was brought up in California and cannot read the Farsi.\u00a0Or I could tell her that Omar Khayyam was the first to provide a solution for all third-degree polynomials by using the intersection of two conic sections.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Instead, I say, \u201cIt\u2019s a manual.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She repeats the words slowly. \u201cA manual.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in code,\u201d I say.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCode?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I devour her prejudice. It is refreshing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt talks about Allah, how he is inscrutable.\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAllah?\u201d\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Her face does something funny.\u00a0She is pallid now.\u00a0There is a glint of a pajama top\u00a0where\u00a0her V-shaped sweater dips at her\u00a0bosom.\u00a0I imagine her getting dressed in a hurry.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are two stops away\u00a0from\u00a0our\u00a0station.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In an almost timid voice, she says, \u201cAre you\u00a0an Arab?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI was born in the Middle East.\u00a0Does that count?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cOh,\u201d she says, \u201cwhat country?\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe\u00a0Kushan Empire,\u201d I say.\u00a0Technically,\u00a0I think\u00a0it\u00a0is\u00a0not entirely incorrect.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She nods, not having a clue what\u00a0I\u2019ve\u00a0said.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut, you know, no one today is purely one thing,\u201d I say, quoting\u00a0someone.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u00a0nods, then\u00a0gets up slowly, picks her\u00a0purse\u00a0and goes\u00a0to the\u00a0doors. I\u00a0notice\u00a0the handle of her purse.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0broken and she has taped it\u00a0with\u00a0Scotch tape.\u00a0After we cross\u00a0the Berkeley Hills\u00a0Tunnel,\u00a0she\u00a0takes out\u00a0her cell. A timid look at my\u00a0direction\u00a0and she presses\u00a0a few\u00a0digits.\u00a0She speaks for a few seconds, too quiet for me, and gets out at the next station.\u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0one\u00a0station\u00a0too soon.\u00a0Her station, the same as mine, has not arrived yet. The moment she gets off, I know.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the\u00a0exit\u00a0of\u00a0the Pleasant Creek station\u00a0there\u00a0is an ICE agent\u00a0and\u00a0two\u00a0uniformed\u00a0cops,\u00a0BART\u00a0cops,\u00a0one male, one female\u00a0spread out in front of the fare gates.\u00a0I am intercepted as I\u00a0tap\u00a0my\u00a0Clipper\u00a0card\u00a0and\u00a0pass through.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Step this\u00a0way\u00a0sir.\u00a0Yes, here.\u00a0Thank you.\u00a0<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am\u00a0nudged\u00a0to a corner, holding my briefcase.\u00a0The trio\u00a0forms\u00a0a semi-circle around me.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

….<\/p>\n

Last short story I have written, looking for a home…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Neighbor. ICE. Contra Costa Stories.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1598,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[96],"class_list":["post-1597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-ice"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1597"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1600,"href":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1597\/revisions\/1600"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alessandrob.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}