SO HIGH YET SO LOW

He was her source of solace. Her pillar of hope. She never imagined a life without him.

Well, no one wants to visualize a shattered version of themselves, all down cast and forlorn.

Making her happy was all he ever yearned to do. After a long day at work he’d get home, a bouquet of flowers in hand and a bar of chocolate safely hidden in the inside pocket oh his blazer.

And she’d gladly take rightful ownership of the goodies as soon as he walked through the door. Hers was the jolliest of souls.

Life had never been the same for them ever since their parents lost their lives to a grisly road accident on that fateful Thursday.  She had cried bitterly and asked God to take her pretty soul as well for a life in the absence of mama and papa was unbearable.

There was no one to listen to her girly stories every day after school and the only man who  had always carried her to bed religiously every night had lost his life to drunk driving, taking his better half with him too.

“If only daddy loved mum half as much as he loved the bottle, they would still be alive. They would still be here with us”, she lamented amidst sobs every night. Her sole consoler, the teddy bear. That teddy daddy got her on her 9^th birthday.

But she considered herself lucky to have a brother who never tired of making her happy. He had a way of making her forget her misery, and that was why she valued him more than anything else.

Little known to her, he had followed in the steps of his old man. Only that he felt a tad too macho and chose a poison too lethal. Way lethal than his dad’s choice.

He was hooked to heroine.

But he had kept it a secret for he knew she be devastated if she ever discovered it. Money was never a problem so his supply of the devil’s baking powder was in constant supply.

He had later come to discover that the same friend who had introduced him to heroine was the area peddler. And that meant he not only got his dose on time, but also at a “friendly price”. So friendly indeed.

On that particular night, he was to have a meeting with his mentor and he was nervous.

He needed to cool his nerves since his long served evening shot was not really helping. So he decided to take an extra jab, with twice the oomph of a regular one.

And that was just it.

He not only cooled his nerves but his body as well. The overdose knocked him out, threw him into a fit and in 5 minutes he was cold turkey. His nerves cooled just like he had desired.

The news of his death shook her. But she decided not to cry anymore. She was not going to give the devil the gratification of watching her cry. Allowing depression to set up shop within her featured nowhere in her bucket list. She had to do something about it.

“This is the second time in a row I am losing a loved one to this menace. I am tired. And so I say unto you peddlers and junkies; you may not love yourself but we love you. Have pity on us and stay away from the drugs. The pain and anguish we feel when you depart is not comparable at all to whatever you gain from your endeavors. It is way beyond it. Spare us the sting. Spare our loving hearts the torment. We love you.” She said as her tear ridden eyes focused on her brother’s casket one last time.

The ministry of Youth And Sports Affairs would be her next stop. She had to hand in her proposal as soon as possible.