True Self

A girl sits naked in the corner of a darkened room
feeling alone, scared, confused and angry
all these emotions swirling around her fragile body making her limbs unable to move
she looks up, her eyes red and cheeks soaked in her tears
she tries to stop them coming but she can’t
a beam of light shines down onto a golden mirror
she forces herself to stand and walk up to the one thing that she doesn’t want to see
her reflection
what she sees makes her frown and want to smash the smooth glass
to scream NO!
She doesn't want to see, but she can’t look away
her eyes fixed on her long thick hair, her neck, her shoulders
she looks to the side quickly as her eyes fill with even more tears
her shoulders drop as she forces herself to look back into the mirror
at her breasts
her stomach
her hips
her thighs
and her legs
tears now falling freely
another beam of light
a table
a pair of scissors
a shaking hand picks them up
her eyes sparkle just a tiny bit at what she’s about to do
an exhale, a nod to herself then she starts snipping away at her hair
a smile slowly appearing the shorter and shorter her hair goes
with hardly any hair left at all she stops and looks at what used to be the floor
now covered in a blanket of her hair
she looks back into the mirror
at her smiling face
then her eyes fall onto her breasts and the smile fades
she crosses her arms across her chest as her body is hit with a fierce sob
she falls onto her knees
crying uncontrollably
beside her on the floor another beam of light shines
frowning she forces herself to look
a small smile appears as she picks the items up
slowly, she steps into the garment and slides it up her body
once in place she adjusts slightly then slides on the next garment
she walks up to the mirror
she looks at her reflection
his short hair
his now bounded chest
the boxers
he stands straight, his head held high
no tears fall from his eyes
a genuine smile appears
his eyes sparkle
the whole room lights up
the mirror melts away
his family in front of him
a mix of emotions play on their faces
he steps forward cautiously
clears his throat and forces the words out
“this is who I am, who I’ve always been..”
mind and body now filled with instant calm and determination and acceptance of ones true self he takes another stop forward
“a man, a son, a brother, a husband”