The Smallest Things

1

Raven, Ray for short, was a 14 year old BOY. he was an in the closet trans male. He always cringed hearing the sound of his grandmother's voice saying , "That girl takes after Reema, she's one of them lesbion, lesbiban, oh screw it . She's whatever the hell Reema is, always didly-dadling off with that woman, what's her name?" Ray hated hearing anyone speak ill of aunt Reema. She was a lesbian, who really gave a crap? She was happy and living her best life with Annalise. While Ray trusted her more than anyone, he couldn't bring himself to tell her he wasn't a girl. Everyone called him Raveena. "It sounds so much more feminine , sweetheart" , his grandma would tell him. He simply rolled his eyes and put his hands in his sweatpants. Sometimes he'd argue and say Raveena just wasn't him, and never would sound right. This usually earned a slap on his wrist from his grandmother, eventually he stopped trying. His grandmother seemed to enjoy slapping him , whether it be on the wrist, or his face, she did it often. She'd recently begun slapping his mouth when he started biting his nails or the skin around them. His eyes widened and then dialated back to their normal state each time she'd do this. His other aunts bragged about their children , and would often criticize Reema for taking care of Raven in such a "homely, low effort" way. Truth was, Reema was the best damn aunt a guy could ask for. She had family dinners every Saturday and Wednesday night. She was the only one who went forward to adopt him when his mom passed away, and when his dad left. Ray always felt comfortable around Reema, he didn't mind when she pressed him into her soft round body and squeezed him. He wouldn't wanna live with anyone else. Annalise was awesome too, always chipper and kind. She never hesitated to offer help on homework, and would jump at the chance to pick him up from school. he knew they'd be supportive of how he identified..... but he still felt so 

afraid