An old caṇḍāla acrobat and his teenage trainee talk to a one-year-old Bodhisattva boy who will learn to perform stunts in the guise of a girl named Medakathālikā.
Kaṇṭaka, a sāmaṇera (novice monk), tells a bhikkhuṇī (nun) about his bisexuality.
Author's Note:
The title is Pāḷi and means "We'll exhibit stunts, we'll receive income, safely we'll dismount the acrobat's pole!" These words come from Sedakasutta in the Buddhist canon (Suttapiṭaka : Saṃyuttanikāya : Satipaṭṭhānasaṃyuttam : Nālandāvagga : ninth sūtra), in which Medakathālikā is a character with a masculine gender and feminine name. Kaṇṭaka and his sexual partners are also characters from the Buddhist canon (Vinayapiṭaka : Mahāvagga).
These two stories of two-hundred-and-fifty words each were entries in the LGBTQ+ Micro-Fiction writing contest.
Trigger Warning:
Extent of Trigger Warnings : moderate ; Trigger Warnings : child abuse, forcible marriage.
Content Warnings : sexual situation, mild sexual language.
PriyaArshiSarun
