I know that, for anyone else, what I’ve been going through would...

I know that, for anyone else, what I’ve been going through would sound like a transformation. But transformation is the wrong word. If anything, what I’m experiencing is the exact opposite of a transformation. With each mask that comes off, I get closer to some unchangeable part of me. Something solid, essential, and unyielding to any pressure. Something I’ve always vaguely felt within, but never had either means or courage to find and face.

- Ray N. Kuili, The Last Mask 

Illustration by Shubhojoy Mitra