W Lawrence Johnston

The Girl in the French Beret W Lawrence Johnston

Hearing the words la migra when barely five, a young Spanish girl associates the words with a large beast that attacks her. Helping an older woman find her way, suddenly she hears people screaming "la migra," terrified he is about to attack as she finds herself in the middle of an immigration raid. Thrown into a holding cell with other men and women, terrified and alone with people threatening to send her to Mexico for what she did, she worries what her papa will do to her if he finds out. Even when her brother finally comes to her rescue, to protect himself, he only adds to her terror emphasizing it was something she did, something terrible enough to end up in jail. Too young to really understand what is going on or why she is here, she convinces herself being Spanish only makes it more obvious what she did wrong. Unsure of the crime she committed, her world changes forever.