George looked on. His unflinching gaze never wavered. It was there...right in front of him, all that he could ever imagine. His prurient mind ruminated frantically over the endless possibilities. But at that very moment of uncertainty, something inside told him to stop right there. He stood still, juxtaposed with conflicting emotions clashing in his mind. A split second later, he decided to take the plunge. Such a plunge which would send him spiraling down headlong into the bottomless pits of self destruction. Right at that very moment, a junkie was born...in an insatiable world of drugs, this was his new beginning. The beginning of an end.
"First time, eh?...I know it, man. I F***ING KNOW IT...hah! Damn...you gotta try this. This, this right over here...it will blow you away. Like a dream, man...yeah, just like a F***ING dream!". Jack was his usual self. Yelling, gesticulating, extolling the virtues of drugs & propagating his twisted take on 'life'ism to one and all. Droopy eyed, crisscrossing wrinkles all over his forehead...he bore the sign of a broken man. Living in a phantasmagorical world of his own, he really cared less about the very world he belonged to. In fact, nothing. His carefree self was quite satiated with this seemingly parallel existence. Jack knew this fact, albeit unknowingly.
George seemed perturbed. He looked around. All he saw was a swarming bunch of people exhibiting a similar streak of behavior such as that of Jack. A guy staring at the wall without causing his eyes as much as to blink, a couple making out...quite oblivious to their surroundings, a young girl having an engaging conversation with an inconspicuous being. George closed his eyes. For the first time, his understanding of his immediate surroundings seemed to fail him. But he couldn't get over this strong unrelenting urge. He opened his eyes and looked at the symmetrically segregated equidistant long lines of the 'white dust'. It was now or never. He knew he could do it.
"HEY, C'MON HERE...I KNOW YOU WANNA DO THIS, MAN!", yelled Jack. This was the final whistle, thought George. As he transgressed his thoughts which seemed to hold him back, he bent down and took a quick sniff...then fell back on his seat and closed his eyes, yet again. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing at all. For a moment he thought he knew himself. Or did he? Seconds later, this feeling changed. Time, stood still. A sudden realization creeped in that he had traversed to the other side. Finally, a new world...A new awakening! For the first time in his life, this pregnant feeling made him look beyond his life's trials and tribulations. The demise of his parents...the unexpected breakup with Sarah...all faded away, in an instant. He didn't want to stop at this tempting juncture. Shedding all his inhibitions, he snorted more. More and more. The poison spread in his blood akin to an enemy infiltrating the oppostion stealthily in the silent cover of night. The world around him faded into a wavy haze of garish colors with the surrounding clamour inadvertently supervened upon by the pulsating heavy beats of Gravity's Rainbow submerging his head. The music made a whole lot of sense now. Swaying back and forth, George was now completely under the control of this intoxicating sensation. Powerful and heady. He couldn't let go of it. And he didn't even try...
George shivered in fright. Wide-eyed, he tried to look again. Nothing lay in front of him now. As if in a flash, everything had changed. It was like waking up from the dead. Two long years had gone by. Jack was dead. And so were many others who were in the terrible grip of this poison. George's crave for drugs had ruined him. Broke and homeless, he wandered the streets aimlessly until rescued. He underwent rehabilitation. Those two arduous years had been a living hell for him. George knew this too well. Giving up drugs was like giving up his life. But he did and now...he was reborn. Reborn again as a man who knew the true meaning of life and his existence. A new beginning, awaited him.
"First time, eh?...I know it, man. I F***ING KNOW IT...hah! Damn...you gotta try this. This, this right over here...it will blow you away. Like a dream, man...yeah, just like a F***ING dream!". Jack was his usual self. Yelling, gesticulating, extolling the virtues of drugs & propagating his twisted take on 'life'ism to one and all. Droopy eyed, crisscrossing wrinkles all over his forehead...he bore the sign of a broken man. Living in a phantasmagorical world of his own, he really cared less about the very world he belonged to. In fact, nothing. His carefree self was quite satiated with this seemingly parallel existence. Jack knew this fact, albeit unknowingly.
George seemed perturbed. He looked around. All he saw was a swarming bunch of people exhibiting a similar streak of behavior such as that of Jack. A guy staring at the wall without causing his eyes as much as to blink, a couple making out...quite oblivious to their surroundings, a young girl having an engaging conversation with an inconspicuous being. George closed his eyes. For the first time, his understanding of his immediate surroundings seemed to fail him. But he couldn't get over this strong unrelenting urge. He opened his eyes and looked at the symmetrically segregated equidistant long lines of the 'white dust'. It was now or never. He knew he could do it.
"HEY, C'MON HERE...I KNOW YOU WANNA DO THIS, MAN!", yelled Jack. This was the final whistle, thought George. As he transgressed his thoughts which seemed to hold him back, he bent down and took a quick sniff...then fell back on his seat and closed his eyes, yet again. Nothing happened. Absolutely nothing at all. For a moment he thought he knew himself. Or did he? Seconds later, this feeling changed. Time, stood still. A sudden realization creeped in that he had traversed to the other side. Finally, a new world...A new awakening! For the first time in his life, this pregnant feeling made him look beyond his life's trials and tribulations. The demise of his parents...the unexpected breakup with Sarah...all faded away, in an instant. He didn't want to stop at this tempting juncture. Shedding all his inhibitions, he snorted more. More and more. The poison spread in his blood akin to an enemy infiltrating the oppostion stealthily in the silent cover of night. The world around him faded into a wavy haze of garish colors with the surrounding clamour inadvertently supervened upon by the pulsating heavy beats of Gravity's Rainbow submerging his head. The music made a whole lot of sense now. Swaying back and forth, George was now completely under the control of this intoxicating sensation. Powerful and heady. He couldn't let go of it. And he didn't even try...
George shivered in fright. Wide-eyed, he tried to look again. Nothing lay in front of him now. As if in a flash, everything had changed. It was like waking up from the dead. Two long years had gone by. Jack was dead. And so were many others who were in the terrible grip of this poison. George's crave for drugs had ruined him. Broke and homeless, he wandered the streets aimlessly until rescued. He underwent rehabilitation. Those two arduous years had been a living hell for him. George knew this too well. Giving up drugs was like giving up his life. But he did and now...he was reborn. Reborn again as a man who knew the true meaning of life and his existence. A new beginning, awaited him.
“I’ve seen the needle and the damage done,
A little part of it in everyone.
But every junkie’s like a setting sun”
Neil Young
A little part of it in everyone.
But every junkie’s like a setting sun”
Neil Young
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