Invisible Blanket

Despite it being announced at birth, she knew that her pronouns weren’t right.

She honestly didn’t even know what pronouns were until the 7th grade, but by then she knew that being called ‘her’ made her cringe.

She wasn’t sure  if she was normal, if this was normal.

He was her friend. He’d be there, wrapped around her like a blanket.

She felt confident when he was around; when he held her hand on the playground, or encouraged her to make new friends.

She felt lost when he wasn’t there.  She had to take him off eventually and hide him because she wouldn’t dare show him to her family.

The more and more she brought him out, the more and more he became a physical part of her appearance.

Shorter hair, baggier clothes, different wants and needs.

Her family began to notice. But she no longer cared.

She was sick of hiding this part of her. Hiding that she wasn’t really a ‘her’ in the first place.

And that’s where the invisible blanket wore thin, and she became him.