To choose a name is a gift few of us are granted, though I wish more were allowed that freedom. A name is not merely a cluster of sounds, it is the identity we offer to others before we even show our face. Names are rich with our history and heritage. They help shape our place in the world. Until that point, my name, Core, had marked me as nothing more than a maiden, Innocent, and I, a child. The old me was gone, and the new one would ensure I never became that nameless maiden again. “From this point on,” I said. “I will be known as Persephone.”
