I am a Ninja!

“Let’s make a toast!”

“What are we celebrating?”

“I am a ninja!”

“A what?”

“I am a ninja.”

“What do you mean by I am a ninja?”

“I discovered that I am a ninja.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I am.”

“OK. OK. Alright. You are a… ninja. But… tell me, why?”

“What is a ninja? What does a ninja do? Tell me.”

“Well…”

“Come on. Think. Ninja. N-i-n-j-a.”

“Hum. A ninja, to me, is a person that is specialized in unorthodox arts… right, like a covert agent? A Martial Arts person thing?”

“What else?”

“Well, let me see… a ninja is a man that functions in open combats in special and certain situations. He overcomes everything and everybody. He is strong. He is smart. It is the opposite of a samurai, right, because a samurai has strict rules about honor and conduct.  A ninja is a loner. Am I going in the right direction? A ninja discovers gaps and inveigles his way into the midst of the enemy!”

“You are so… close.”

“Hum. Ninja. It’s kind of obscure to determine, right now. You caught me off guard. I don’t really understand what you want from me.”

“Go on, you're OK. Ninja.”

“Hum. Ninja. I once read that a ninja is a real survivor. It is alleged that ninjas have shape-shifting and invisibility abilities and that they even have the ability to split into multiple bodies.”

“Interesting. Good. So, for you, a ninja is a kind of a supernatural or superhuman person? A man that understands fanciful information, a man that manages to succeed no matter hell or high water?”

“Yes!”

“You’re doing great, man. I think you understand me now. I think you got the idea.”

“Are you thinking of becoming a ninja? Is that what you mean? Are you going to learn Martial Arts? If so, I will learn it with you, too. We’re pals.”

“Of course we’re pals but… maybe you are a ninja, too!”

“Yeah right. Me? A ninja? A real ninja?”

“Yes.”

“Come on.”

“Think of it, man. Listen to me. Last week I read an interesting book written by a guy called Taibbi. He said that we are the so called Ninja Nation now.”

“Why? Are we being invaded by the Japanese or something? Are they changing our country?”

“No. Yes. No. Well, maybe. But it’s not this.”

“Well, what is it then?”

“Listen. We work hard. We struggle. We adapt. We survive. We survive in this troubled, confused world, even without jobs, without an income; without being able to do the things we dream of, don’t we?”

“Oh yeah.”

“We manage to sit here, in the end of the day, no paycheck, no matter what, and have a beer together. We are surrounded by problems, unpaid bills, foreclosure and inequality, and we still survive it all. Do you know why? Because we aren’t humans anymore, we’re ninjas!”

“I am a ninja!”

“Yes. Ninja: no income, no job, no access. Got it?”

“Oh yeah.”

"Cheers.”

“Cheers.”



Words: 500