The Lion's Pride Volume 10 (Spring 2018) | Page 13

The Crime that Shattered a Law
Maria Tafolla
I am a pre-nursing student here at Lake Washington Tech. Although I
am working toward a nursing degree, my true love has always been art
of all forms; creative writing, painting, theater, music, etc. I am a DACA
recipient and blessed to have been granted the opportunity to work
toward a degree, thanks to this program. The essay I have written is a
creative writing piece that explores the mind of Rosa Parks and the
events that made her famous. I, as Rosa Parks, recount the events of
December 1 st , 1955, and the aftermath.
I stood in the booking department of the police station recalling what
I had just done. I stood next to the officer who was checking me in,
trying to gather my thoughts. Every step of the way until I arrived at the
station I looked around me and saw people, mainly whites. There were
men, women as well as children. Their eyebrows curved into high arches
atop wrinkled foreheads and their mouths were wide open screaming
names at me and waving their arms as if protesting. But it didn’t bother
me… I had become immune to their injustice. There were also blacks.
They saw me but I hardly noticed them. Their subtle presence was
overpowered by the ruling of the whites. However, when I did notice
them, I would search their eyes for moral support to no avail. They kept
quiet and I didn’t blame them. Had they counteracted the hysteria,
perhaps they’d be in the same position as me. The recollection of recent
events suddenly stopped as the officer led me into the next room to take
my picture and obtain my fingerprints. The sharp edges of the handcuffs
were digging into my wrists. It hurt. Having to live in a world that