The Psychedelic Reel
It was to be like any other night for Kefla and Otis, walking among the usual mainstream
punks who thought they were cool for possessing some new street drug. The same
prostitutes who thrived on the same streets continued to be picked up by the same sleaze
who kindly took money from strangers. Kefla and Otis didn’t care what obstacles they
met along the daily route to their favorite club. Nothing could stop them from reaching
those dingy doors.
There was always a line to get into the club, which they were able to avoid due to
their popularity Kefla, wearing a thin, skin-hugging shirt and bell bottoms, was thrilled to
escape the February chill which had thrown itself upon the city. Otis quickly walked to
the corner of the room where he knew Jimmy would be. His best-friend happened to have
the best connections in the city, making his and Kefla’s nights extremely enjoyable. While
passing the usual messed up girls receiving the same passes from the same uninteresting
guys, Otis wondered if his life would ever become better. Would he be like the blinding
disco ball...spinning forever in a fixed place but never exiting? Not wanting to depress
himself, he let the dizzying music rid him of his thoughts.
While walking through the sweaty bodies-the drag queens, supermodels, ordinary
people, etc,.-and having consumed a portion of his gift from Jimmy, he noticed Kefla lying
by herself on a couch by the wall. He moved quickly, not caring whether any of the
“beautiful” emaciated creatures were pushed to the ground. After reaching the couch, he
noticed that it wasn’t Kefla, but an exquisite specimen which he knew he wouldn’t be able
to get his mind off of. While failing miserably at trying to wake her up, he hauled her limp
body into a small room off of the main one, filled with small groups of bodies packed
closely together. He continued to hold the girl while finding an empty spot on the floor in
the middle of the room. Bringing her over to the spot, he let the drugs do their job to the
beat of the pounding drums from the main room.
A low bass voice hidden in the shadows suddenly called out behind Otis, “What
are you doing with my boyfriend?”
“Your boyfriend?!,” exclaimed Otis.
“Yes, my boyfriend. You didn’t realize that the horrible things you were doing
were to a man? Next time, try to be more careful on who you decide to mess with.”
His hand produced a small silver object capable of doing severe damage. Too
dumbfounded to move, he allowed the tiny bullet to penetrate his skin. Blackness
enfolded his being and he drifted off into a deep sleep.
Otis awoke the next day to his sorrowful thoughts on a white hospital bed in an
area hospital. His dreams that night contained thoughts on how terrible his life was, how
he could’ve been killed, how he had allowed the drugs to take over his life. He realized
that his life had been a joke, and he could’ve suffered from harshly from the consequences
of it. Without a wonderful person like Kefla to watch over him, he knew he would’ve
been hurt more severely at an earlier time. He had to find Kefla and tell her how much she
meant to him. No one would’ve meant to cheat on her in that way...except an idiot like
him overtaken by a cheap substance.
Quickly opening his eyes, he found a doctor looming over his bedside. “Doctor,
has a person by the name of Kefla entered my room since you’ve been in here?”
“I have bad news to tell you, Otis. Your friend Kefla has been shot several times
by the same man who shot you. I’ve heard from an ambulance driver that after you had
been shot, she went up to the person and banged him on the head with a liquor bottle. It
only managed to anger him, and he shot her for that. She is in a room down the hallway,
in severe condition. She hasn’t woken up yet. If you would like to visit her, it would be
okay, as long as you’re in a wheelchair. We still need to run some tests on you, of course.
The police will question you at a later time.”
Wheeling himself down the hallway, he thought of how his relationship with Kefla
had been going for the past few months. They had a few squabbles like any other couple,
and he loved her more than ever. He knew that she couldn’t die, he wouldn’t let her die.
She would be awake by the time he entered the room.
“Forgive me, for I did not know. ‘Cause I was just a boy and you were so much
more than any god could ever plan, more than a woman or a man. Now I understand how
much I took from you: That when everything starts breaking down, you take the pieces
off the ground and show this wicked town something beautiful and new,” he quoted from
their favorite musical, “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
She woke up to the sound of his voice. “So when you’ve got no other choice,
you know you can follow my voice through the dark turns and noise of this wicked little
town,” she continued for him.
“I will follow your voice, as long as you promise never to lead me in this direction
again,” she said, looking straight into his eyes.
Lalalala...
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