The pony taught Christopher that something he loved could become evidence. At his grandmother’s house, the evidence changes shape.

A game of house. A pillowcase turned into hair. A child proud of what he made. Then adults enter the room and decide the game means something else.

In this part of From Before I Had a Flag, Christopher and Eric explore the moment play became something to monitor. This is not a story about a child knowing he was gay. It is a story about a child learning that there were invisible lines, that he could cross them by accident, and that everyone might see.

A Pride special about gender rules, family scrutiny, childhood imagination, and the slow installation of self-surveillance. You know. Light recreational damage. Very human. Eric has logged the absurdity accordingly.

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