Burnt to Ashes - Kenichi Todoroki

Milo's Origin

When I first moved into my new house at the age of five, I moved right next door to this kid. Black, orange, and white hair. Large orange eyes that drooped at the ends. My moms had me go and meet him, just to make a new friend.

"My name is Freddy Bancroft." The kid introduced. "What is yours?"

I had my hands behind my back, barely looking up at him. Freddy Bancroft.

"Mallory.. Mallory Huxley." I mumbled.

From then on, we were practically inseparable.

I mostly went over to Fox's house. Together we played video games, rode dirt bikes, and did other crazy shit. Being around him, I realized I didn't like girly things as much, and would rather go to his house to play with his cars and Mario figures.

I felt like I was a.. boy.

"I'm a boy!" I told my parents one day when I was six. They sat there for a second, then busted out laughing.

"Oh, Mallory." My mother said. "I think you've been hanging around Fox too much. You're a girl, honey."

My mom nodded, but kept quiet.

It infuriated me that they wouldn't believe me.

I went over to Fox's house and told him the same thing. "I'm a boy, Fox."

Fox blinked. "But you're a girl!"

I shook my head. "I feel like a boy."

"Okay, well if you're a boy then you need a boy name! What about Marco?" Fox suggested.

I shook my head.

"Uh.... Max! That's a nice name, right?"

I shook my head again.

"Milo! Milo is a nice name, like Milo from Milo Murphy's Law!"

I thought for a second. "Milo.." I whispered to myself. I did like the name Milo.

So everyday, Fox would call me outside by the name Milo. "Come out, Milo! My mom got Cars 2!"

My parents always looked at me funny, but neither of them said anything.

But as I grew older, I started feeling less and less like a boy. But I didn't feel like a girl either. It was like I was.. nothing. But I thought I had to be something, and maybe it was a transition to realizing I was a girl.

But it never happened. I never wanted to be a girl, I stopped feeling like a boy.

So I told Fox again.

"Fox, I don't.. I don't feel like a boy anymore." I told him. "But I don't feel like a girl either. I don't know what I am."

"Let's find you an answer then!" So at the age of ten, Fox opened up his mother's computer to search the undying question up.

Why don't I feel like a boy or a girl?

The first thing that popped up was the word non-binary. Now I heard that phrase from my mom; she claimed herself to be non-binary, but I never knew what it meant.

Non Binary:
Refers to someone who does not exclusively identify as male or female.

"Hey, you must be non-binary!" Fox pointed to the definition. "Does this seem suiting enough?"

Tears started quickly filling my eyes, out of joy, of course. It was like I finally found something that suited me. Something that finally made sense to me.

Me, Mallor- no. Milo Huxley, non-binary.

"Are you still keeping your boy name?" Fox asked.

"It's not a boy name, Fox." I told him. "It's my name."