It was Neal who suggested I take off the shoes completely, and it felt so good. Like I was breathing for the first time in my life. Everyone helped me—Papa too. Rowena had been through it all before, and it was so neat to meet someone like me, even if the shoes were different. She’d been born into boy shoes, but girl shoes fit her best. I tried on boy shoes for a few days, walking around and wiggling my toes. And they were more comfortable, but they still didn’t fit. I wasn’t a she, and I wasn’t a he, I was just…Callie. Eventually, I put on “they,” and I haven’t taken those shoes off since.
Something about this, speaks to the deepest parts of my soul.
