And so it continued like this for two or three years: this unusual adolescent led a double life. In school and with family, the teen was Cyrus Cloud-- awkward, quiet, and, of course, male. With Ophelia and in an increasing number of public settings, the redhead was simply Cy-- more confident (albeit still shy and quiet and a wee bit awkward) and, dare one believe it?, happier. It seemed as if “Cy” was the true identity, with “Cyrus Cloud” as simply a disguise.

When Cy described this to Ophelia, Ophelia smiled knowingly and replied, “It’s kind of like Superman. His alter ego is Clark Kent. His outfit with the big red ‘S,’ that's the blanket he was wrapped in as a baby when the Kents found him. Those are his clothes. What Kent wears - the glasses, the business suit - that's the costume. That's the costume Superman wears to blend in with us. Clark Kent is how Superman views us. And what are the characteristics of Clark Kent? He's weak... he's unsure of himself... he's a coward. Clark Kent is Superman's critique on the whole human race. Sort of like Cy and Cyrus Cloud. You could wear the costume of Cyrus Cloud, but inside, you know you’ll always be Cy.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Cy replied. “I just wish my parents would accept that. They’d disown me if they found out about this.”

And, indeed, Cy was correct, for a few weeks later, that very thing did happen. While at the mall, Cy accidentally bumped into a woman. “Oh, I’m sorry,” Cy gasped, kneeling to help the woman pick up the items she’d dropped. “Here you go.” As Cy looked up at the woman to hand over the belongings, her eyes widened. It was none other than Martha Cloud, Cy’s mother. The woman frowned disapprovingly, recognizing her child.

“How dare you?” Martha hissed, trying not to make a scene in public. “How dare you dress like that, especially in public? Do you have any sense in your head? You are a boy, so dress and act like one, damn it!” With that, she dragged Cy out of the mall.

She’s going to kill me. Literally kill me. And hide my body somewhere, Cy thought, rather absurdly. She and Dad are going to take turns hacking me to bits. Give my stuff to Lia. I’ll haunt my family until they die, just to punish them! Cy was shocked at this sudden feeling of anger, then understood why she was so furious. What right did her parents have to tell her whether to act male or female? Shouldn’t they simply be grateful to have a generally well-behaved and law-abiding child who does well in school? Wasn’t that enough? Apparently not.

When they returned to the house, Martha yelled out, “Victor, come see how I found your son dressed at the mall, in front of God and everyone else!”

“What is it this time?” Victor asked, walking into the living room. When he saw Cy, he exclaimed, “Christ, what the hell were you thinking, son?”

Cy simply stared at her parents. “Answer him,” Martha snapped.

“This is how I like dressing,” Cy said calmly.

“I want you to go to your room and put on normal clothes and wipe that makeup off. And then you’re going to go in the kitchen, and I’m going to cut your hair myself,” Victor said sternly.

“No,” Cy replied, speaking against her parents for the first time. “This is what makes me happy. I’m not breaking any laws, and it’s not hurting anyone for me to dress like this.”

“No son of mine is going to dress like a woman!” Martha interjected.

“Well, good for you, then,” Cy responded bravely. “Consider me your daughter. I feel more female than male anyway.”

“I most certainly will not!” Martha gasped. “Victor, talk some sense into him.”

“You have two choices,” Victor declared. “If you want to continue to live under this roof, you will dress and act like a boy-- which you are. If you want to dress and act like… like that, you can forget about ever being considered part of this family.”

With a shrug, Cy turned and walked out the door. “Where the hell are you going?” Victor bellowed.

Cy turned around and replied, “I just made my choice. Guess you only have four kids now.”


“And then, what happened?” Ophelia asked.

“You know what happened after that,” Cy replied. “I went over to your house, I told you I got kicked out the family, you freaked out--”

“I didn’t freak out.”

“Okay, fine. You were really surprised, and then you called up your uncle and talked to him for a while, and he talked to me for a while, and he agreed to let me live with him and Charise and Cici, and in exchange, I would help out with the housework and stuff like that. I would even get a regular allowance, so to speak, so that I could afford anything that he wasn’t providing.”

“You forgot something,” Ophelia said, smiling.

“What?”

“You forgot how Gramma Cici pretty decided you were her unofficial fourth grandchild. I think she took to the idea better than anyone else, and not just because someone was helping her cook and clean. She really does approve of you.”

Cy smiled a little at this, and replied, “Trust me, I didn’t forget it. Every day, I’m reminded of how lucky I am to have such good friends and a real family-- people who love me for who I am. Know something?”

“Hm?”

“I’ve finally decided.”

“On what?”

“When I finally get the surgery, I think I’m going to change my name to Charlotte.”

“Charlotte, hm? After Gramma Cici?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s a nice idea. I bet she’ll love it. That’ll make you the second person in the family named after her,” Ophelia replied.

“Here’s to hoping that when I’m her age, I’m as good a person as she is.”

“Cy, you’re a good person now.”