“Jiyuru, I know you haven’t seen your sister in a long time, but she’s a very sweet girl. You two will click immediately!” My mother took a left.

“Oh…um…I’ve already met her.”

She looked at me, shocked. “You have?”

“Yes. She doesn’t know we’re related though.”

“Really, now…You didn’t think to tell her?”

Fiddling with my fingers, I answered, “I-I didn’t think she’d want to know.”

“That changes tonight, love.”

We pulled into the driveway and went up the steps, my mother unlocking the door.

“Hey, Mom. Wait, what? Jiyuru? What are you doing here?” Kailee jumped up from the couch after seeing me.

“Kai, we have a few things to discuss, but firstly, Jiyuru is your brother.”

“Jiyuru is my…He’s my brother?” She stared at me. “Well, we do sorta look alike.”

I didn’t think so, but just as I was about to tell her, my mother spoke. “I’m going to make dinner now. Kai, show Jiyuru to the extra room, please.”

“Sure, Mom.”

Kailee took me to my new room. It was smaller than my old one, but to be fair, I lived in a very large, very expensive apartment. I turned to thank my sister, but Kailee peeked out the door, then closed it softly.

“Listen, Jiyuru, there’s something you should know.”

“What…is it?”

She sighed. “Mom told me she divorced Dad. She also told me that I was an only child. I don’t know where she was going with that, but…thought I should tell you.”

“So when she introduced me to you as your brother, you didn’t know you had a brother?”

“Yeah. Don’t worry, though. I think I’d like being your sister.” She giggled.

I smiled. “I’m glad.”

A little later, Mom called us. “Dinnertime!”

And so we went, the three of us building a new relationship.

Over the next two days, my mother bought back my books, clothes, and whatever else I needed. We’d watch movies together, take walks, and my mother treated my wounds. At school, I didn’t get to talk to Marcus, but he’d smile and wave at me, and so I’d wave back.

However, my mother told me…surprising news that Friday evening.

“Jiyuru, did your father ever tell you anything about your…body?”

“Huh? Um, no. Why? Is-Is something wrong with it?”

“Well, you’re intersex, Uru.”

“I’m intersex? And no one ever told me?”

“No, I…I never had a chance to tell you before you were at an age you could understand. Your father probably thought you didn’t need to know–which I have a problem with, obviously. As I’ve been bandaging you, I noticed that you’ve been growing a chest. It probably hurts a bit, doesn’t it?”

I nodded, wondering how she knew.

“That’s because it’s growing. But don’t worry, since you’re comfortable being a boy, I scheduled surgery for you.”

“Oh…okay.”

“Look, Kai’s home! Surgery’s scheduled for next month, my lovely boy.”

This information swirled through my head.

Intersex? Me? I never would have known. But…surgery? I guess…if she thinks I should…

My phone dinged. Weird.

I looked at it. Marcus had texted me.

“Hey, I figured out the place. Meet me at the amusement park tomorrow at 5. Oh, and bring a swimsuit!”

A swimsuit? Maybe if Mom had delayed the conversation with me by a day. Even without my scars, there was no way I could go shirtless now…

After dinner, I took Kailee aside and told her what our mother had told me.

“She told you that you were intersex and she has surgery scheduled. Do you want surgery?” Concern dripped off her words.

“I–I don’t know. I don’t even know what I am. How am I supposed to know if I want surgery? Just yesterday I thought I was a boy, and today, it’s been proven untrue. I guess I have to trust what Mom sees in me.”

“Jiyuru, think hard about yourself and what you want. It’s your body, not hers. And dare I say find someone else to confide in. Sometimes a whole new outlook is needed. You have one month.”

“Okay, Kailee,” I said.

“Remember, you’re not doing it for me, for Mom, or for anyone else. Make your decision with yourself in mind.”

~.~

The next afternoon, with all this uncertainty still turning somersaults in my head, I met Marcus at the amusement park.

“Hey, Jiyuru!” he called, waving me over.

I waved as I walked over to him. “Hi, Marcus.”

“So, did you bring your swimsuit?”

Crap, I forgot an excuse. “Um…no.”

“Ah, don’t wanna swim? That’s fine. We’ve got plenty of other things to do!” He opened a brochure. “Oh, there’s a petting zoo! You wanna go?”

“I’ve…never been,” I responded.

“Never?” he asked incredulously. “Okay, now we have to go. The baby ducks are super fluffy and adorable and I’m already feeling like a child again!”

I was pretty sure I agreed, but I didn’t remember what I said, eventually finding myself blindly following him. It was jarring to see Marcus like this -- but not in a bad way. He was slightly more expressive, not stoic and austere as he was in school. 

“Here it is!” he exclaimed upon arrival.

We stood before a little white fence, with some animals and people inside.

Marcus was right. The ducks were really cute.

One of the people opened the gate for us, and asked us to sit on the hay while we held the animals. We both picked ducks and just sat there petting them silently. 

We ended up staying there for quite a while, then we got dinner and sat by the lake.

“We didn’t do much today,” Marcus said with a laugh. “Did you have fun?”

“Yeah, I did. The ducks were fluffy.” I smiled.

“I think that’s the first time you’ve smiled. At least, not out of nervousness.”

“Really?” I asked, surprised. It never occurred to me that I didn't smile.

“It’s understandable,” he said. “I’m sorry I can’t do anything…about what they say to you.”

I turned to him. Part of me thought he never noticed.

“I’m not…mad or anything. But I’m curious. Why can’t you?”

“Aw, it’s sweet that you don’t notice.”

I raised an eyebrow. Notice what?

“It’s because I’m dark.”

“What? Why would people care about that?”

He smiled again, more sadly this time. “I won’t tell you the extent of it, but to keep it short, most everyone here dislikes people with darker skin. It’s why I picked this place. This amusement park is non-discriminatory. And if I said a word about anything done to you at school, odds are, I’d just make it worse. Teachers would start endorsing it, probably.”

Still not comprehending, I asked, “...Why don’t you move?”

“It’s not just this town, Jiyuru. It’s all of Caleste. And we can’t go back home to Lulix, for reasons my parents have yet to explain to me. This town is the safest place we’ve been so far.”

“That’s terrible,” I breathed.

“Yeah, I guess so. I wish I could say I’m used to it by now. That I’m so tough nothing can shake me. But I still care about what people think about me. I always liked you though.”

“Me? Why?”

“If you asked me before today, I probably wouldn’t have an answer for you. But after petting ducks with you today, and just talking to you, I think you’re nice and sweet. And you’re a good listener.” He laughed. “You’re blushing.”

“I’ve never been told that before. Well, these past couple of days I’ve heard a lot of things that I haven’t been told before.”

“Like what?” he asked. “If you’re willing to share.”

“The biggest one, I guess, is that I’m…intersex.”

His eyes widened. “And you only learned that a few days ago?”

“Yesterday, actually.”

He smiled. “So that’s why you didn’t want to bring a swimsuit.”

I nodded shyly.

“Well, before I ask you a billion questions, how do you want to be referred to?”

“What do you mean?”

“Pronouns,” he clarified. “I don’t know if you’ve thought too much about it, but I know a few intersex persons, and most prefer to be called they. Do you want to stick with he, or…?”

I thought for a moment. “They,” I answered. I hadn’t felt like a he much lately…or since yesterday.

“Well, onto the questions, Jiyuru. How did you not know you were intersex? How come you weren’t told?”

I shrugged. “Good question. Maybe my mom thought I was too young to know before…nevermind. Who knows what happened? All I know is that I didn’t know.”

He drew circles on the table. “So, are you getting surgery?”

“My mom wants me to.”

“Do you want you to?”

“I don’t know, Marcus. My sister tells me I should get an outside opinion, but I don’t really have friends.”

“What about that friend you meet every day?”

I laughed. “That’s my sister.”

“Oh, well…If you want my opinion…”

“I do,” I told him.

“If you don’t know, then don’t get it. Sometimes ‘I don’t know’ is the surest way of saying no, especially when it comes to your body. Maybe once you wrap your head around everything, you’ll want surgery. But there’s always a fifty percent chance that you decide to stay the way you are.”

“Thanks for the advice, Marcus. I know I just dumped that on you.”

“Of course, Jiyuru. Um, I hope it’s the beginning of a long and enjoyable friendship?”

We both laughed. “Me too,” I said with a smile.

“Call me Mara, by the way. It’s my given name.”

“Your given name? Then why do you go by Marcus?”

“I got made fun of for it being too girly. So I started going by Marcus. But I don’t think you’re gonna make fun of me.”

“No, I won’t.” I checked my phone. “I’ve gotta be home soon…I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“I can walk you home, if you want.”

“But it’s late and dark! I can't keep you out more than you want to be.”

“C’mon, Jiyuru. Let me walk you home.”

“Okay then…” I relented.

As we walked home, I noticed some strange habits of Marcus…Mara. He didn’t let me walk on the part of the sidewalk closer to the road, and whenever someone would walk close to us, he’d walk closer to me, almost shielding me.

He smelled nice, like citrus.

“This is your house?” he asked.

“Yeah, thanks for walking me home.”

“Anytime, Jiyuru. See you at school.”

“See you,” I said, waving him off.

~.~

<Jiyuru’s Journal>

It was a beautiful day! I don’t think I’ve ever thought that before…but it’s true! I learned a lot about Marcus today. I guess not everyone is as appreciative of his looks as I am. I always thought everyone liked him, or at least respected him? But people aren’t very nice here, I know that. Maybe one day I’ll visit the other continent…and maybe I’ll ask Marcus to come? I mean, he gave me good advice about…my body…and now I’m super embarrassed that I even asked him about that! Oh geez. I’d better get inside before I melt into a puddle on the porch.