The rain stopped. The Raven’s Wing closed its doors. But a new light had been lit, passed from one generation to the next, flickering but stubbornly, beautifully alive.

The open mic began. A gay poet in his seventies read a haunting piece about the early days of the AIDS crisis, his voice cracking on a friend’s name. Two young lesbians performed a clumsy but joyful ukulele duet. A transgender woman named Elena, who ran the local support group, told a hilarious, heartbreaking story about teaching her ninety-year-old mother how to use her new pronouns.

The scent of old wood, patchouli, and stale coffee clung to the Raven’s Wing, a LGBTQ+ bookstore and café that had been a cornerstone of the Mapleton neighborhood for thirty years. On a raw November evening, the story wasn’t about the store’s history, but about a new beginning for two people: Marcus, a transgender man in his late fifties, and Kai, a nonbinary teenager who had just walked in from the rain.

Kai walked off the stage, shaking, and collapsed into a chair next to Marcus. They didn’t speak for a long moment.

Kai nodded, not looking up.

“Our last performer of the night… Kai.”

More in Sports

Port Angeles’ 400-yard free relay team achieved a state-qualifying time, improving their previous best by two seconds during the Riders’ swim meet against defending state-champion Bainbridge at Shore Aquatic Center on Wednesday in Port Angeles. Swimmers are, from left, Patrick Ross, Miles Van Denburg, Adam Kaminski and Thomas Jones.
PREPS: Roughriders swimming pushes defending state champ Bainbridge to the limit

Port Angeles added a state-qualifying time, six new district… Continue reading

OUTDOORS: Severity, frequency of storms increasing

STORMS OF THE century, 100-year floods, a perplexing Heat Dome, wildfires turning… Continue reading