✅ Younger Twin [NaNoWriMo2023]

41 - Our New Path

This bonus chapter is dedicated to Clinton. I hope you've been enjoying it; and that you're not put off by the unusual twist this story has taken.

"Tristan," Pennington said, looking between us as we finished telling our story. "Taylor. The two of you... you don't have any uncertainty at all, do you? You've both grown up exposed to an... unconventional view of gender roles. You've both developed interest in things which the Ecclesiopian church forbids for girls, and you both felt that you didn't fit in. And yet... one is sure that she's a girl with more traditionally-masculine hobbies, while the other is certain he is a boy on a level deeper than mere outward appearances."

"Yes," we both said; although Taylor knew she couldn't feel quite the same degree of certainty she put into those words. She had to qualify it: "Well, maybe not one hundred percent. But I'm happy enough for now, and I don't think my identity is a matter up for any debate. This is about Tristan."

"Yes," Maxwell said. "And it seems to me that he has a good understanding of both why this decision matters, and what it might mean for his life going forward. And I will suggest attending a few sessions with a therapist specifically trained in gender and identity issues; although I suspect that the benefits to you will be mostly bureaucratic. Getting a passport or driving licence with the correct gender marker, for example, I believe still needs a report from a gender therapist."

"I hadn't even thought about that," Tristan said. "I've never had a passport or whatever before; but I guess that's a whole new wave of problems."

"I don't know what I can say about any of this," Dad chipped in. "I was expecting we'd be talking more about how old Tristan is going to be. Whether he should carry on going to the preschool after yesterday, and..."

"Yesterday?" Pennington asked, and we both realised as soon as he opened his mouth that we hadn't explained that yet. So it took us a couple of minutes to detail the bullies' attempts to pick on Tristan, and Nik's response. He nodded slowly as we told him, but didn't say anything judgemental. It was a thing that had happened, and perhaps he understood that he didn't need to give an opinion.

"So, Tristan," Maxwell asked. "Are you still willing to be a child, now that you seem to have the approval of your family to embrace the more masculine side of your identity regardless of age?"

That was the one question that nobody else could answer. It was one that Taylor had been thinking about, in a slightly different context, but she still had no idea what her brother's answer would be.

"I don't know," Tristan said, after a little pause. "I've seen Nik misbehaving when I first came here, and I do think that he's improved over the last couple of months. Whether that's because of having a brother his own age, or just because a larger family means he's not always the centre of attention, well, I can't say anything about that. But I will say that if I'm helping, I'm not going to desert him. He's my brother, whatever else happens, and I want to help where I can. And I don't think another sudden change would be helpful for him."

"So, keeping the childish aspect?"

"We're happy with that," Mum said. "But I want to be sure you understand, we're not going to insist on anything now. This is all your own decision to make, if you want to. You don't have to do this anymore, and I'm sure there are ways that we can help Nik to grow up."

"Thank you. And... I think I would like to find a kind of compromise, if that's possible. Because it can be tough at times being so helpless. But I think that going back to how I was before would be an abrupt change for everyone, and I don't see a good reason to do that. And yeah, I am getting some satisfaction of playing with toys again, and being encouraged to... well, play like a little boy. With a toy fire truck and army men, and playing ball games in the park, not just an endless procession of dolls representing perfect middle-class housewives. Is there a way I could... this probably sounds so weird, but..."