Tom

"Crying never got you nowhere, so suck it up child". The words echoed like cymbals off a church hall in the back of Tom's head. Every day was a struggle to not shed a tear at the malady's of his ill-temper. This day was no different. He could still smell the fresh reek of his father's breath as he had seethed the well-worn paradigm in to his ears, and placed it forever in his head. Still, he was conscious of his erstwhile emotion. Perhaps, this is why he found himself in this position. Again.

The bag on his head had only been removed recently, and then it wouldn't have seemed so bad if he did cry. The tough voice from behind the balaclava asked Tom the same question he had been parroting for hours, "where is my fucking money?!?!". Perhaps, in this moment, Tom genuinely thinks he is to die for the monetary gain of a ransomer, and would rather spend his last moments thinking on his shortcomings, sins, anything that could act as last minute insurance, should he be shot to heaven.

"I don't have it", he replied. Again, he feels the hot, uncontrollable flush of tears well up in his eyes. "Why do I do this? I am pathetic. I am weak. I don't have the money. I am weak because I want to go.", he thought. He could almost feel his legs buckle into submission, yet he was still tied to the same chair he had been for hours.

The balaclava'd man turned, slid a bullet in to the chamber of a gun, and turned. He raised the gun directly to Tom's head. "I am afraid, your time is up Tom".

*CLICK*

He was back in the room. Perspiration emanated from his brow, and flushed down his cheeks. Dr. Connolly had been watching over him the entire time, her thumb and middle finger still rested on each other, post-click. "It seems that you have quite a common issue, Tom".

"I do?!" he asked, almost whimsically.

"It appears you suffer from the idea that you need to be masculine in order to justify your existence, a problem that is heavily under addressed in our society. We have only just begun the true triumph of Feminism, but the male issue runs a lot deeper. You are the soldiers, the swollen dead, the casualties, the providers, the muggers, the rapists and the bad fathers. Who are you expected to be if that is all you are given? Regardless of man or woman, people are people, and the popular media would have us believe otherwise. You would know all about this, doing what you do! It makes it much easier to control every man, woman and child if you divide and falsely empower them a blind sense of entitlement; artists, celebrities, internet campaigns, brash posts and articles design to hoover up on weaker people's insecurities, by telling them that their happiness is 1) uniquely channelled through the company/artist's medium or 2) that their happiness is of paramount importance above every other issue on the world spectrum, just so these poor people can feel as though they are supported by something, mainly the warm hum of their laptop extractor fan. But that doesn't change the fact that they are what they are: In most cases, a 900 character, ten point sensationalist article that bears very little resemblance to the subject's experiences, yet still gives them the divine writ to progressively defame something as large as a country, race or an entire gender." answered Doctor Connolly. "Do you not think that, regardless of your life experience, it is wrong to generalise as often as we do to make our lives easier? Do you not think that it is not only narrow minded, but also holistically untrue? Shouldn't every person have the same right to live and breath the same air with out the threat of being scalded for simply being part of the biggest happening in our galaxy?"

"I suppose so", muttered Tom.

"Exactly. We shouldn't blindly fire in to the heaving throng of people, but rather look to the ways things are portrayed. The people that act in image are the ones that need help, such as you, Tom. Having a vagina or a penis does not immediately equate you with ANY scourge, it is in the mind where all the important stuff happens".

"I work in LA, I've experienced it first hand. But why can't I stop have these disturbing dreams, and why do I cry?" asked Tom.

"Because we all have feelings. Even the most hardened of us do. After a life time such as yours, I am not surprised you have all these dreams, Mr. Cruise."

"Thank you doctor" answered Tom. "I suppose it has been a long few years".

"Its not a problem. It wouldn't be the present day if Tom Cruise didn't have pseudo-masculine nightmares every night." She answered through her smile.

"I guess your right doc", sighed Tom, "I guess your right..."