For Them

Andrew Kogolenok

0
26 min

On the night of a high-profile gallery fundraiser, Noah—a 50-year-old queer painter—prepares to deliver a long-anticipated speech. In the hours before he takes the stage, he confides in Kai, his loyal companion, revisiting the stories behind his most haunting works. Together, they trace the arc of Noah’s life: a childhood scarred by trauma, a volatile relationship with his abusive mother, struggles with addiction, and the ache of a love lost. As the evening deepens, the boundaries between memory and reality begin to dissolve. When Noah finally steps into the spotlight, the weight of his past surges to the surface. Overwhelmed, he slips into a dreamlike trance, a final, surreal descent into the emotional landscape we’ve traversed with him.