Ming Kee

   Ming Kee used to be the best restaurant in town
   Home of the marginalia, basket cases of society
   In there I’ve seen cybergoths, suicidal vampires, elderly cross-dressers
   Monogamist drag queens and child-bearing fetishists
   Transsexuals to both sides; gays to both sides too
   In there I saw a gun for the first time: in the hands of a black man killed by the police on that same night
   — he taught me how to shoot a revolver, told stories of previous robberies, and later on shot and killed an innocent couple —
   In there I met a guy who found pleasure in burning himself
   His arms were hibiscus-pink inside the coat, but he smiled all the time
   In there I met an Indian guy that came to Brasil knowing only very little english besides hindi
   An absolute expert in cellphones; could diagnose one in less than 10 seconds
   In there I met a Chinese girl, around 10 years old, wearing nothing but a thong and a crop top
   First, offering her body, then, sitting down for a free meal before going back into the street
   In there I saw an eunuch for the first time
   His mistress was showing him around in a collar, while he opened wide his trench coat to display a single rotting gonad flopping around
   In there, once, I watched a cop give my friend a black eye, then shooting five bullets to the roof before screaming that none of us deserved to wake up the next day
   Same thing this friend’s mom told them earlier that day; the very next week, I came to visit them at the hospital after a gastric lavage
   In there, I remember, my band was invited to play at the freshly installed stage in the restaurant
   It was the first time we managed to perform a whole track list without being kicked out — also the first time we were cheered by people besides our friends
   And from the counter, yes, I remember very well, was Mingkee herself, clapping hands and shouting bis 

***

   Mingkee came to Brasil with the dream of opening a restaurant, and she managed not only to give life to the best Chinese restaurant in town, but to the best hideout from society one could ever ask for. The banner up-front represented both her nature and the restaurant’s — that was more a direct extension of her spirit —: “Ming Kee —— Our restaurant”.
   She was the sweetest person I’ve ever met, and doesn’t matter your race, color, creed or monetary condition; if you’re hungry she will try to feed you — and if you need a hug, she won’t hesitate independent of your smell. A person with zero hatred in her heart; an example. What all of us aimed to be like.
   With her I have learned to let go of my prejudice and accept whatever it is of the other: look at the bright side on any person and on any situation, join hands and enjoy life — teach and be taught. Mingkee helped me find the way to myself and understand me fully. Find the real me amongst an ocean of me-mess that before seemed unending; that before I deemed unworthy. And I’m sure she’s done the same to everybody that came in contact with her and the restaurant. That place changes you in ways unpredictable, but always to the same end: self-fulfilled happiness. 

   The success of the restaurant helped Mingkee bring the rest of her family to the country. But they were not like her. In good days they would laugh and point at the costumers that dressed differently, and in bad days would scream furiously at random people for no reason. Mingkee always kept quiet independently, and began to avoid the regular clientele. Didn’t take long for signs to start to pop up all over the walls: No animals allowed, no smoking allowed, payment upfront, a dress code was established and then, the kick in the bucket: “no gays allowed”. Queer people would be kicked out no more, no less by an angry Chinese man nobody knew the name of, and even the straight people would find the door closed to them for the littlest sign of potential homosexuality. Little by little Ming Kee became a restaurant like any other, only difference being the sheer emptiness of the place at any time of the day.
   When I saw her at the grocery store, tried to start a conversation but was ignored the whole time. She wouldn’t look me in the eyes, wouldn’t respond to any questions, and I understood that I was simply not welcome by her side anymore. She changed, let herself be changed, and was led to ruination by her peers.
   I never ate at Ming Kee again, never seen Mingkee again, and today I find out the place is closed, for rent. Not even the banner stayed, and is now only another building in the Chinese district.