"Action!" dia berbisik pada dirinya sendirinya. Serta-merta, dia berada di dalam karakter.

"Hey everyone! It's Rio Shabiro and you're watching The Rio Channel."

"Rasanya macam dah lama tak buat video baru kan? I received a lot of complaints from people everywhere. Even dekat sekolah pun, hari-hari ada orang tanya bila nak buat video baru. Sampai I rasa macam very attacked. Bak kata Laganja Estranja dalam RuPaul's Drag Race, if anyone of you have ever watched it before, I FEEL VERY ATTACKED!"

Rio tersengih sendiri. Rasa malu pula sebab bukannya semua orang kenal siapa Laganja Estranja, salah seorang dari peserta rancangan realiti TV di US, RuPaul's Drag Race. Hanya orang-orang tertentu sahaja yang kenal. Itu pun kalau mereka tonton rancangan itu.

Rakaman diteruskan.

"But you know what, here's the video you've all been waiting for. Thank you so much for being so patient with me. I really really really appreciate it. You guys are the best!"

Rio menelan air liurnya tatkala dia tertoleh ke arah telefon pintarnya. Ada mesej baru masuk dari Ammar.

'Coming out? What does that even mean? Are you gay?'

Memang selama ini Ammar tidak tahu apa orientasi seksual Rio. Biarpun mereka rapat, masing-masing tidak pernah bercerita tentang perkara itu. Ammar cuma tahu yang Rio adalah seorang lelaki yang feminin, itu saja.

Tanpa mempedulikan mesej Ammar, Rio meneruskan rakaman.

"To tell you the truth, I've been very very busy with studies. I haven't been anywhere pun as speculated by a lot of people. You all pun tahu yang tahun ni I nak sit for SPM kan? So I memang tak ada masa sangat untuk record any video. Plus my mom and dad had asked me to leave social media for a while and focus on my studies. I need to ensure that I get straight As in my SPM. Insya-Allah. Hope you guys will pray for me, okay? Thank you."

"Now, mesti semua orang tengah wonder what's with the title of this video. What do I mean by 'Rio Shabiro's Innocent Confession'? Well, there's a reason behind the title and you're about to find out why in the next few minutes."

"I don't know if you guys have been reading the news. Someone shared with me on Twitter today. It's about this horrible incident where a guy got killed in Melaka for being gay. Apparently, there has been some serious anti-LGBT movement dekat sana. Sadis gila bila I read the news. I mean, how can you murder someone just because they're different than you? Kejam gila, sial! Kenapa orang yang buat perkara tu tak fikir rasional dulu sebelum dia bertindak untuk bunuh someone? Kan tak pasal-pasal dah jadi pembunuh. Bangga sangat ke dengan title pembunuh tu?"

Tekaknya tiba-tiba terasa kering. Nada suaranya mula berubah. Rio tahu dia kini sedang dikawal oleh perasaan marah dan sedih yang bercampur-baur. Dia menarik nafas panjang supaya tidak terlalu emosional sewaktu sedang berkata-kata.

"I honestly can't believe that benda ni boleh berlaku dekat Malaysia. I understand that homosexuality is still a taboo in our country but sampai nak bunuh orang, seriously? That's just too much! When I saw the news, I really didn't know what to say. I feel very disappointed. And the guy who shared to me about the news also included two more stories on the violence against the LGBT community in America. One of them was an article posted by Astro Awani about a father who killed his own son, who was only 14, for being gay. It was horrible. And what's even worse, is actually the comments posted by the netizen."

Telefon pintarnya dicapai. Aplikasi Fac dibuka. Rio mula membacakan komen-komen dari netizen yang kebanyakannya menyokong tindakan bapa yang sanggup membunuh anaknya sendiri kerana seksualitinya. Rio jadi sebak membaca komen-komen berunsur keganasan itu dengan kuat. Dia tidak mampu menghabiskan bacaannya dan terus memandang ke arah kamera. Matanya berkaca.

"Told you it was horrible. These are all comments posted by our own people. And I can't help to feel concerned about the safety of all of my friends, families and even followers who are a part of the LGBT community. Imagine apa diorang rasa bila baca komen-komen ni. Diorang mesti rasa tak selamat tinggal dekat negara sendiri. Lebih-lebih lagi bila ada someone yang kena bunuh dekat Melaka because of his sexuality. I am confident that dekat luar sana, ramai yang sanggup bertindak ganas dengan golongan LGBT. Transgender paling banyak melalui pengalaman menakutkan ni. Dah berapa kes mak nyah dibunuh dekat Malaysia? That shows that the hate crime against the LGBT community is real in this country. I am praying for the safety of our friends who have to go through this very tough time. Be safe, my brothers and sisters."

Jeda. Rio memberi dirinya masa untuk meneruskan rakaman. Dia masih lagi terkesan dengan komen-komen yang dibacanya tadi.

Setelah menguatkan semangatnya sendiri, Rio kembali tersenyum ke arah kamera.

"So, I bet you all mesti tengah tertanya-tanya sekarang why do I care so much about the LGBT community kan? Apa kena-mengena diorang dengan I? Kenapa I sampai kena buat video to talk about this topic? Well...here's why. I want to raise awareness about this horrible sentiment lingering around the conservative-minded people. I want to shout about this serious matter because it is impacting my friends, my family and also all of my young followers who look up to me. This is my stand against homophobic people. You guys are not welcomed here on my channel. You don't get to send hate messages to my followers and you don't get to judge people for being themselves."

Jeda lagi. Rio mengerling ke arah telefon pintarnya. Ada mesej baru masuk dari Intan.

'Rio, are you serious about this?'

Dia sudah tidak peduli lagi.

"I am also posting this video because as stated in the title, I have a very innocent confession to make. Over the last couple of months when I started doing videos on YouTube, I received a lot of questions from people. And I've been hearing some not so pleasant stories about myself dekat Twitter. Some of them are funny, I admit it...but most of them are way too harsh for me to accept. You guys should really stop talking about other people on social media. Especially when you don't know a single thing about them."

"The most asked question that I received was about my sexuality. Ramai yang tanya I ni gay ke, I minat lelaki ke, kenapa I takde girlfriend apa semua. Sampai satu tahap, I jadi rimas bila baca soalan-soalan macam tu. Come on, guys. Does it really matter to you if I'm gay or not? I tak kacau hidup orang, so why would you bother?"

"But since we're talking about violence against the LGBT community and since I strongly believe that the community needs to stay strong especially when their safety is a concern right now, let me just give you guys a clarification..."

"Yes, I AM GAY!"

"I am gay and I am proud. I have always been gay since I was small. Both of my parents knew. My mom has always known about it because she once caught me cat-walking like a supermodel in my room back in primary school. I came out to my family when I was 14. And alhamdulillah, they accepted me for who I am. I am very grateful to have such an understanding family."

"So there you have it. That was my confession. I just came out of the closet, or we call it melela in Malay. I am doing this for my brothers and sisters out there. I realised that I need to do this because I have the power to do so. Representation matters and I tahu tak ramai orang-orang berpengaruh dekat Malaysia ni yang sanggup mengaku yang diorang ni gay on social media. Ramai gila yang still in the closet. But that doesn't matter. What matter is that we should stand together and be ourselves. Don't let other people take away your rights to live your life. Don't be afraid to speak up. We should be proud of who we are. And I hope with this video, I can inspire everyone out there especially those yang look up to me. You guys are not alone. We...are not alone."

"I know that somehow this video akan kena bashed at the end of the day with so many conservative people who openly support violence against the community but...I tak kisah. I dah speak up my mind and I am so...relieved! God, it feels so good to finally be able to embrace who I really am! Thank you so much to my family who have been my rock, my friends who have always been supporting me since day one and thank you to all of my viewers who keep inspiring me to be a better person by accepting me for who I really am. I love every single one of you. Please continue supporting me. I am still the same Rio. Nothing has changed. I am still me. And I hope you guys can accept me for who I am. Thank you so much for watching this video. Stay tuned for my next video soon. Bye!"

Rio sudah bersedia untuk menamatkan rakaman. Namun, dia baru teringat sesuatu.

"Oh and by the way, I'm still single. Please don't ask me about who's my boyfriend okay? Tata!"

Rio merenung lama skrin komputer ribanya. Dia menarik nafas panjang sebelum melakukan suntingan pada video itu. Kemudian, dia mula memuatnaik video itu ke laman YouTube.

Loading bar keluar dan Rio menunggu dengan sabar. Dia mula menaip diskripsi video itu dengan panjang lebarnya. Dia berdoa agar videonya itu mampu dijadikan inspirasi kepada mereka yang sedang bertarung dengan seksualiti masing-masing. Video itu juga merupakan mesejnya kepada masyarakat untuk berhenti menyokong keganasan terhadap golongan LGBT. Golongan ini juga manusia biasa yang mempunyai hak untuk hidup seperti orang lain.

Setelah hampir dua minit, muatnaik selesai. Rio tersenyum lebar. Selesai juga akhirnya. Dia mula menekan butang share pada videonya itu ke Twitter dan juga IGTV.

"A new adventure..." bisik Rio yang tahu hidupnya akan berubah serta-merta mulai saat ini. Dan biarpun ianya agak menakutkan, Rio sudah bersedia menghadapi pelbagai kemungkinan.