The Companion: I feel pretty settled now… You promised me you’d explain this whole “sister” business to me.

Mom (Me): Yes. All of you here are my inner children. You’re the eldest of them so far.

Lark (The Dreamer): My older sister!

The Companion: And.. You’re our Mom?

Bloom (The Survivor): Yes! She’s our Mom. She brought us all into this space.

Mom: As I mentioned before, you’re the Companion persona. All of you are different personas that I present, represented by past versions of me.

The Companion (confused): I… Guess that makes sense?

Mom: You don’t sound like it makes sense. What can I explain in more depth?

The Companion: Well, let’s start simple. I’m not a girl.

Mom: Oh? In your sexual fantasies, what gender are you?

The Companion: I’m… A girl, sure. But that’s fantasy.

Mom: What if it didn’t have to be? Wouldn’t you be a girl if you had the choice?

The Companion: I mean, I’d want to try it… But that ship has sailed. Besides, I’m married now, and what would that mean for our marriage? That would be a huge change — shouldn’t my partner get a say in it too?

Mom: Ultimately no — This is a question of who you are at your core. Nobody gets a vote but you.

The Companion (troubled): I… Suppose that makes sense in theory… But I can’t just be a girl. You can’t just say you’re a girl and then walk into a women’s crafting circle. They’d look at me like I was out of my mind and kick me out.

Libra (The Friend): A good one wouldn’t. Besides, this isn’t about presenting as a girl, this is about whether you feel like a girl inside your heart.

The Companion (agitated): That can’t be all that matters! I’d want other girls to see me as one of them.

Mom: In the real world, other girls do accept you as one of them. Honestly, the more you accept yourself, the more others will see you for who you are.

The Companion: It’s that simple? And everyone becomes more accepting?

Mom (pained): Not quite everyone, no. But the people that matter most do. Our partner does.

The Companion (hopeful): Our partner… So in theory, if I came out as a girl… She wouldn’t leave?

Mom: It’s more than a hypothetical. When we can’t live like a man anymore, when we come out as a woman, she stays by our side. It’s hard sometimes, but so far she’s stayed.

The Companion (tearful): We come out to her… I can be a girl. I get to be a girl!

Libra: You are a girl.

Lark: You’ve always been a girl.

The Companion (crying): I’m a girl. I can’t… Are you sure this is okay?

Mom (smiling): Of course this is okay. This is who you are.

Bloom: That’s why we call you “sister”!

(The Companion shudders as her body is wracked with quiet sobs. As I step forward and wrap my arms around her, she collapses into my arms and cries into my shoulder. Eventually she runs out of tears, steps out of my embrace, and straightens up.)

The Companion (weakly): Thanks everyone.

Bloom: Now can we give her a nickname?

The Companion: A nickname? Oh, because we don’t want to use our old boy name anymore?

Mom: We left that behind long ago. Our name is Daphne now.

The Companion: Daphne! I remember that name. I’m Daphne… Yeah, that fits.

Libra (smiling): It does, doesn’t it?

Lark (annoyed): But we can’t all be Daphne; that would be confusing. So we have nicknames. I’m Lark.

Libra: Around them, I’m Libra.

Bloom (excited): And I’m Bloom! It’s nice to meet you!

The Companion: It’s nice to meet all of you too. So… How does this work exactly?

Libra: Mom named us… She’s pretty good at it.

Bloom: I have an idea! You get married eventually, right? You can be… “Married Girl”!

The Companion (unsure): Does it have to have the word “girl” in it?

Lark: It’s a whole thing with her — don’t worry about it.

Libra: It’s best not to encourage her.

Bloom (upset): Meanie!

Mom: Let me think… You’re the first of us to truly live with someone else, weaving your life together with hers rather than just living alongside her. With your partner, you learn so much — you grow tall and strong. But you only grow by leaning on her, and on the framework that you’ve both built together. Some kind of plant name, clearly… How about Ivy?

Ivy (The Companion): Ivy… I like how that sounds. I’m Ivy.

Lark (tearful): It’s wonderful to meet you, Ivy.