you couldn’t tell us who you were or where you lived. it was too risky. you had to be careful, really careful. so did i. so did we, all of us queer kids growing up in the shadow of the AIDS crisis. like you, we were children at war with an enemy that invaded our loved ones from within. like you, we kept secrets to protect ourselves, never knowing what might happen if the truth should fall into the hands of enemies who might be anyone—anywhere—anytime. a child who keeps secrets to survive becomes a soldier in their soul. we acquired new shapes to disguise our true forms, shifted flesh and
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