Campus secrets

Things escalated.

The seniors forced him to use female pronouns in private. Then they made him wear an anarkali suit to the temple, pretending to be Arvind’s “cousin sister” visiting from Tirunelveli. He walked through the streets with a veil over his head, bangles tinkling, strangers smiling.

He should’ve hated it.

But instead… he felt free. No one judged him. No one mocked his softness. No one questioned his voice or posture.

For the first time, he felt safe—ironically, in a lie.

Back in the hostel, Vinay sat on his bed, saree neatly folded beside him, face bare, but heart overwhelmed.

“Who am I now?” he whispered into the dark.

Was he still the boy who came to college for a degree?

Or was he becoming the girl they forced him to be?

His fingers slowly reached for the pair of jhumkas on the table.