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Tying the Rainbow Knots

Written by: Karlene Santos

Illustrated by: Karlene Santos

Edited by: Karlene Santos

Personal Narrative

    Bzzt bzzt. My phone vibrated from its place on my 

wooden nightstand. I groggily opened one eye to check 

the message. 

    From: Michaela

    Hey! Did you see the news yet?

    I blinked twice and sat up. “What’s so important that 

she would wake me up at 9 am on a Saturday?” I 

asked myself. I shook my head curiously. Tired and 

confused, I decided to open up Google on my sleek, 

silver laptop. The brightly lit screen burned my eyes 

while I typed “news” into the search bar. In less than a 

second, the webpage filled with headlines about 

something incredible; something that I had viewed as 

an impossible dream for years. 

Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Marriage Equality 

    Supreme Court Declares Same-Sex Marriage Legal 

in All States

    5-4 Love Wins!

    Little air could make its way to my lungs as I read 

through the various news articles. Gay people could 

now get married. My body reacted subconsciously with 

tears welling up in my eyes.   Blinking didn’t help; it 

made the tears fall. Even as they rolled down my 

cheeks, new ones appeared right away. Tears of joy, I 

thought to myself. I opened up my messages to reply 

to my friend, but my vision was wet and blurry. I could 

barely see the words as I typed: 

     Thanks for the notice! Wouldn’t have seen it for a while 

without you telling me.

    My phone vibrated again and again and again. 

Message after message flooded my inbox. I glanced 

down, quickly scanning the preview of them. Yellow, 

grinning emojis popped up every now and then as the 

messages sped upwards to make room for new ones.

    From: Hannah Banana

    Congrats! You’re being treated as equals! 

    From: Shimmy

    The date of 6/26 will go down in American history

    as a step for progress for equality! :D

    “I am so lucky to have found people who love and 

care about me,” I cried out, hugging my pillow. “Ooh, I 

have to tell my girlfriend.” 

    I shifted my attention to my computer. I jumped onto 

Skype and adjusted the webcam. I double-clicked her 

name in my friends list. A chat window popped onto the 

screen decorated with blue and white speech bubbles 

from our previous conversation. The little green circle 

symbolizing her availability to chat made me giddier 

than I already was. Hovering the mouse over the call 

button, my face broke into a brilliant smile. I clicked 

and started the web call. 

    “You’re up early,” Tarni mumbled and threw her plaid, 

dark blue covers off. She grinned cheekily knowing that 

I enjoy cozily sleeping in my bed. Her pale face 

reflected the brightness of her computer screen. 

    “Marriage equality just happened,” I burst at her, 

unable to contain my happiness. “We can get 

married!” Happiness is one of those things that can 

be contagious, like yawning or the common cold, and 

Tarni’s smile expanded until she jokingly complained 

about her cheeks hurting. 

    Bzzt, bzzt

    “There goes my phone again, let’s see who texted,” I 

chuckled and grabbed it, but to my surprise, a nasty, 

negative message filled the screen. 

    From: Jenny    

    This should NOT have happened. I’m disappointed 

    in this country! 

    “What does she mean by that?” I murmured and 

swiped the screen to reply. I could feel my eyebrows 

furrow as I asked my cousin for clarification. She’s the 

one who would normally extends acceptance to people 

different from her. 

    Jenny volunteers every Sunday at our church. I 

pictured her at the front of the church’s classroom, her 

expression bright and body language open. She always 

seemed to care for others.

    "I don’t understand,” I tell my girlfriend after I finish 

texting, “Jenny’s normally so accepting and open-

minded.” 

    “Some people are okay with gay people until 

marriage,” Tarni explained, making a sour face as she 

finished. “They think that gay people are less 

important than straight people.” 

    From: Jenny

    I just don’t think that gay people should be allowed

    to marry. They’re ruining the purity of marriage! 

    They shouldn’t even exist. It’s a corruption of the

    country.

    I stared at the text. I read it twice more before letting 

the realization sink in. My cousin was homophobic. She 

didn’t view gay people as equal as straight people. I 

read the text out loud for Tarni to hear. My voice broke 

as I read it and by the end of text, my voice shook and 

sounded hoarse. My breath caught in my throat. I cried 

for the second time that morning, this time in pain and 

sorrow. 

    “Sh-she… It h-h-hurts…” I cried into my pillow, Tarni 

made soothing, shushing noises over skype to comfort 

me. I missed the warmth of her beside me. My 

sobbing lasted an eternity, but it eventually led to my 

vocal questioning. “She needs to understand that 

we’re similar to her, we just don’t like people of a 

different gender. We’ve always been here! There’s 

nothing wrong with us!”

    I furiously grabbed my phone and punched in my 

passcode. I began typing a retort to my family 

member.

    From: Me

    You’re being very rude and closed-minded. Gay people

    deserve respect because they’re human too.

    It’s not a decline of the country or morals! No one is

    forcing you to be married to a girl, you can still

    marry a boy. It’s that type of thinking that hurts

    people, especially when they come from people

    you care about.

    My brain raced to create more responses while 

simultaneously thinking of ways to make myself 

enjoy the day. June 26, 2015, the date faintly 

glowed in my mind, snuggling its way into my 

permanent memory. I zeroed in on experiencing the 

bliss of the country’s decision and on my girlfriend’s 

comforting words. The shaking of my cell brought me 

back to reality. 

    From: Jenny

    They’re wrong. They’re dirty. Why should I care about

    how my words affect people I don’t know? 

    Rage filled me. My teeth hurt from clenching so 

tightly. A knife sliced its way to my heart with every 

crude sentence. “I’m so angry, I swear I could go 

Hulk,” I told my girlfriend. An airy chuckle reached 

my ears and brought me back to my senses. Instead 

of typing an equally repulsing reply, I realized should 

try appealing to Jenny’s compassionate side.

    From: Me

    We’re not wrong, we’re not dirty. Even if people try

    to shut us down and keep us quiet, we will rise

    above it. We’re just trying to live our lives like you

    are. When you say hurtful ideas, it harms everyone.

    That’s a good way to let her know that her words upset 

you,” Tarni contributed upbeat, following a read aloud 

of my text. “It’s important to let people know when 

they’ve hurt you, especially since she’s your cousin.”

    Multiple buzzes grabbed my attention, but they weren’t 

from Jenny. I laughed as hard as I could, given the 

argument I was participating in. 

    From: Hannah Banana

    Yo! You’re probably in a lot of pain right now

    because of cruel words, knowing your family. Just

    dropped by to say that you need to continue the

    fight for what is right. 

    From: Michaela

    Things are going to be okay, buddy.

    From: Shimmy

    Don’t stop fighting, this is such an important

    turn of events!

    “And remember, no matter how bad the situation 

turns, your friends and I’ve got your back,” Tarni 

knowingly smiled. Her peridot green eyes twinkled with 

the idea of hope.

    As I thought about how hard the gay movement had 

worked towards this goal, I was convinced that the 

fight was not over. We still had to fight against the 

hatred spewed at us. 

    I decided to focus on the positive aspects of the day: 

gay people could get married and could visit their 

partners in the hospital. The war is not over, but this 

was an important step towards true equality for the 

gay community. Even though a message from my 

cousin took over my phone’s screen, I decided to 

ignore it. Why should I listen to harmful words if they 

only bring people down?

POETRY

Tarni is my Aussie girlfriend.

She always knows the trend

In literature, what’s popular.

I can’t wait to marry her.

Gay, laced with venom drips from their 

mouths. 

I pay no attention to them.

I keep my head high.

Gay, I proclaim to myself

I am validated, in the eyes of my friends,

Almost there in the eyes of society.

Gay, they say as I cry with happiness.

Who cares that I hold his hand?

Yes, I am gay and so is my future.

nsuring the victory of rights for all.

uite a lot of people support us,

nconditional love from the participants.

sking on one knee, I didn’t think I could so 

soon.

ove Wins!

think about our future

ogether in marriage.

ou’d be jealous.

A celebration I’ve never had

For my own. Now I can.

Indulging in suits and I’m glad.

My future wife and I standing hand in hand.

Wedding

Joyful laughter

Walking down the aisle

The happiest day of my life

Wives

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