“If I were the only person in the world,” she said to the ceiling, “how would I even know I was a woman? Who would tell me? Who would make me? I would just be me. Why can’t I just be me?” The earl was quiet for a moment. “An interesting hypothesis,” he then allowed. “But no one is ever just themselves.”

“If I were the only person in the world,” she said to the ceiling, “how would I even know I was a woman? Who would tell me? Who would make me? I would just be me. Why can’t I just be me?” The earl was quiet for a moment. “An interesting hypothesis,” he then allowed. “But no one is ever just themselves.”

— Evie Dunmore