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  "description": "by Maya Benattar  |  Missed connections.",
  "path": "/not-from-here/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-04-08T12:31:54.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.short-reads.org",
  "tags": [
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    "“Still”",
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  "textContent": "It was Saturday at the indoor farmers market, and I was half awake as I stood in line for pickles. “Where are you from?” the vendor asked. My stomach clenched. It was soon after the Muslim ban in early 2017. I named a wealthy suburb (a true-enough answer), and then shame filled my belly. In this sea of white faces, his was brown like mine. He was probably just seeking connection, for where I was from before. I’ll never know. I took my quart of sour pickles and joined the crowd in search of the best loaf of artisan bread.\n\n* * *\n\n**Maya Benattar** is a music psychotherapist and writer. Her client work and writing focus on family stories, intergenerational trauma, and an inherited sense of “otherness.” More at mayabenattar.com and on Instagram @mayabenattar.\n\nThis essay first appeared in Five Minutes (2024).\n\n* * *\n\n****Help keep**** _****Short Reads****_****going.****\nBecome a supporting subscriber or make a one-time donation.\n\nShare this essay on: Facebook | LinkedIn | Bluesky\n\n__Short Reads__ is 🥒 edited by Hattie Fletcher; 🫐 fact-checked and proofread by Chad Vogler; and 🍅 designed by Anna Hall. This issue was 🍞 delivered to our 2,746 subscribers by Stephen Knezovich.\n\n### **From the archive**\n\n\nApr 9, 2025\n“Still”\nby Casey Mulligan Walsh | Knowing yet not knowing.\n\nApr 10, 2024\n“The Annual Bonfire, 1998”\nby Lynette D’Amico | Secrets in the smoke.\n\nApr 12, 2023\n“God Don’t Like Ugly”\nby Brian Broome | The bus bully gets schooled.\n\nExplore the entire Short Reads archive.\n\n* * *",
  "title": "Not from Here",
  "updatedAt": "2026-04-08T12:31:54.381Z"
}