Bone tired she sits down on her pink chair
in front of the mirror.
Her feet are aching, her back hurting and the
smile on her face long gone.
Carefully she removes her feathered wig and places
it on its stand.
One by one she goes through her well rehearsed
routine of ''de-frocking'', of unmasking, of transforming,
until she finally emerges as Brian, the typical ''guy next door''.
Having removed all visible signs of ''Tooloolah the Exotic'';
his effervescent, exotic and fabulous true self, he begins
yet another transformation: becoming Brian, the guy next door.
Carefully he puts Tooloolah and all her ''bits'' in a costume bag.
With the bag draped over his right arm he
walks to the back of the dressing room, unlocks locker 19 and
for another six days, Tooloolah the Exotic lives no more
except for in Brian's imagination.
How long can I keep doing this? he asks himself as he
steps out of the club.
While searching for his car keys in his overcoat pockets
and in deep thought, he suddenly finds himself
pushed to the ground.
His head is hurting from hitting the ground and he feels
very confused.
-Look at this fucking pathetic DragQueen guys,
not so exotic now is he!!
The pain in his head is making it hard for Brian
to see anything but he thinks he can see three
masked men standing at his feet.
As he tries to get up all three men starts to beat him,
kick him and spit on him.
He decides to curl into a fetal position and not
say anything.
-Come on Tooloolah, give us a fucking song, show
us how good you are at faking it, you faggot!!!
Brian knows that they are going to start
beating and kicking him again so
puts up his arms to cover his face and tries
to protect himself as much as he can.
With the taste of blood in his mouth and his
whole body screaming with pain, he passes out.
-I think he is waking up now Doctor, he hears
someone in the far distance say.
He tries to speak but he can't move his lips.
-Don't speak, just listen, someone says which
he assumes is the doctor.
-Brian, you are in hospital and you have multiple
injuries that we have tried to tend to as best as we can.
-You have serious bruises to most of your body
and severe lacerations on your face. Fortunately there
are no breaks but it will take quite some time for you
to heal. You will have to remain here until we can be
sure that there are no complications or infections.
Meanwhile we will give you pain medication and
intravenous antibiotics. You will heal, but there may
be some scarring. Is there someone we should contact
for you? We have contacted the police as you
have obviously been violently beaten up. They
will come to ask you some questions when you are
able to speak. Is that okay with you?
Brian nods his head in affirmation.
-Good. I'll come back later and look in on you.
Until then, the nurses will look after you.
The doctor gives Brian's left hand a gentle tap
and then exits the room.
As stillness settles in the room Brian tries
to think.
How will he tell his wife about Tooloolah?
How will he tell his mum, his brother, his sister?
With the police being involved he can't see that
he can keep his secret from his family any longer.
-The pain medication may numb my physical pain
but not so my mental anguish, he thinks to himself.
-Time for Tooloolah to meet the family I guess,
he thinks and then presses the nurse button.
With outmost effort and a very dry mouth Brian
asks the nurse to please get his wife on the phone.
-Brian!!!! Where have you been???? I have been
so worried about you!! Where are you????
Brian takes a deep breath and then softly,
choosing his words very thoughtfully and precisely,
he shares his inner most secret with his wife.
''If civilization is to survive we must cultivate
the science of human relationships,
- the ability of all peoples, of all kinds,
to live together.''
(Franklin D. Roosevelt)
''Everyone you meet is fighting a battle
you know nothing about. Be kind. Always.
(Brad Meltzer)
about the image: acrylic on large canvas
painted with a cloth and fingers only
some editing in Elements
title: The DragQueen
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