Content Warning: Coming Out

They sat quietly with a knot in their stomach, just watching the clock tick. The time seemed to move painfully slow and it hurt just waiting. The bell rang and they gathered their things and made their way through the crowd of people. Sprinting home, they slammed open the door and rushed to the kitchen. There sat their mother in a white, button-up blouse and a black pencil skirt. The look on her face was hard to read but it didn’t look happy. In her hands sat a note they left for their mother earlier, she looked at the note and stared back at them. “What does this mean?” their mother questioned. They went to respond but it felt as if a frog jumped into their throat. They felt tears seeping out of their eyes and they ran quickly into their room and locked the door. So many thoughts popped into their head and it felt like they were drowning in their own mind. They just wanted to feel like themself, they just wanted to be loved. At this moment they didn’t feel loved, they felt like the whole world has caving in. Before they realized it, the night had crept in and they decided to not speak of this again. The next morning they woke up with a horrible headache that felt awful. They got dressed and made their way down into the kitchen. They made direct eye contact with their mother, “Good morning, how did you sleep?” she asked. They stayed silent and headed out the door.

A month went by and their mother never brought up the note. They just thought their mother had a lowkey hate for them but hid it. They were coming out of school and it was a chilly season. Their favorite jacket had been torn and it wasn’t suitable for the October weather. They open the door and jumped into the kitchen. There sat a wrapped box addressed to them. They were confused but they slowly unwrapped the gift. They took a look inside and there sat a purple knitted sweater with a note that said “I always knew you as Alexander…this has all been difficult to understand but all I absolutely know is that you’re my daughter.” They look at the note and her hands shake violently. Their mother finally understood that they were the woman they always were. Tears of joy slipped out of their eyes for hours.