Now, at twenty-two, Mei worked at a small skincare counter in District 1. Her voice was soft, her hands gentle as she applied serums to customers’ faces. Most didn't know she was transgender. Those who did—like her boss, Lan—simply said, "She sells more cream than anyone. Let her be."
At the wedding, whispers followed Mei like wind through bamboo. Her mother avoided her eyes. But then her youngest cousin, a seven-year-old girl, tugged Mei's dress. "You're so pretty! Can I have lipstick like yours?"
Mei knelt, gently dotting the girl's lips with pink gloss. In that small moment, something shifted. Her mother watched, and for the first time, she didn't look away.
"You still look like your grandmother," her mother whispered. "Double-rainbow moon."
But one evening, her mother called.
