My body is growing hair where treatment took my womanhood

Dear Delyara, Treatment for a hormonal condition has changed my body quickly. Hair grows across my face and chest. My voice has deepened. My periods have stopped. Doctors speak about levels, scans, and medication adjustments. My husband says he still finds me beautiful, but I turn away when he touches my chin because I know what he feels beneath his fingers. I shave twice a day and carry tweezers in my purse. At work, a child asked whether I was becoming a man. His mother apologized until both of us were embarrassed. I laughed because I wanted to rescue her. In the bathroom, I stared at my face and did not recognize the direction it was moving. I know womanhood is not a smooth chin, high voice, or monthly bleeding. I believe that for every other woman. Inside my own body, those changes feel like theft. The doctors are still searching for the right treatment. Meanwhile, the mirror keeps presenting new evidence before I have found language for the previous day.