This Is Who I Am

Anna slammed her bedroom door behind her, fumbling to lock it. They would throw her away. She would be out on the streets. But, oh, she had hoped. They would never know who she was. All her life, keeping herself a secret. So what if she had the body of a boy? So what if the name her parents had given her was Andrew? Anna knew who she was. But this afternoon she had planned to come out to her parents. And it had completely backfired. She couldn’t believe it had come to this. Couldn’t believe that she was being driven to do this. But she picked up the knife anyway. And she sliced it across her wrist. Then she slit the other wrist. It was done. There was no going back. As she drifted into darkness, only one thought was on her mind. I will do anything to be myself.



Christopher stared at his brother’s body. No, not brother. Sister. His sister. Gone, because of their parents’ conservative ways. He could not forgive them. His only sibling had been hiding for so long. She had mentioned once to Christopher that she hoped he could use feminine pronouns for her when they were in private. Though he was only ten at the time, Christopher obeyed. He would never hear her voice again. As he thought that, a gentle wind stirred his hair. And Christopher smiled.