The Man in the Maidenform Bra (3)
FICTION: Part 3 of 5. In which 5 boys wearing dresses escape from a New Jersey Reformatory & a childhood trauma comes home to roost. (READER ADVISORY: Contains violent possibly disturbing content.)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fa4a33ec3-4a6e-4dba-8a55-3c938a792f96_3938x4002.jpeg)
(Click for audio after the preview)
3
When wecended to the third level of this Guggenheim-Manderley inferno, I was struck dumb by the sight of my old childhood friend Adam Philbrick who was attempting to swim a river of boiling blood and fire, only to sink into it and rise to the surface again, gasping and crying for mercy.
“Am I allowed to speak with him?” I asked my guide.
“Sure. Just don’t touch him, or you’ll be pulled into the river. If that happens, I won’t be able to help you.”
I called out to him. “Adam, what’s happened to you, my friend? How did you wind up in this terrible place?”