It’s just sitting there in the corner. A small, red backpack leaning against the wall, seemingly just another item temporarily forgotten amid the detritus randomly strewn about this shared student apartment in Seattle’s University District. But while orderliness may not be a top priority for Cerberus, the charmingly outgoing, erudite library science student who lives here with their partner Fin, the contents of the little red backpack are anything but random.

Flashlight.
Pocketknife.
Emergency blanket.
First-aid kit.
Medications.

And, tucked away in the front pocket, Cerberus’s passport.

This backpack is a go-bag. Carefully prepared and ready at a moment's notice should Cerberus, 22, have to get out fast. Out of the United States. Out of this country that has made it crystal clear that people like Cerberus are unwelcome. That in the eyes of the federal government, they don’t even exist.

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A transgender woman from the deeply red state of Texas, Cerberus already fled mounting anti-transgender bigotry once before. After growing up in the town of Allen, they moved out of their childhood home as they were approaching their 18th birthday to attend the University of North Texas in Denton, at which point they also began taking estrogen as part of their transition.