“Have you brought it?” asked Sam
“Yes.” said Dilip, taking out a pack
Sam snatched it from him and opened it. It contained soft brown powder. He knew it would taste great.
Dilip and Sam, in their early teens, always met in the lighthouse, far from their village. They were already privy to robbery and smoking. The powder was a new attraction.
They heard a cough behind them. An old man huddled in a corner.
“What is that heavenly fragrance?” he asked in a shaky voice, coughing.
“This is nothing for you, grandpa.” said Sam, hiding the powder.
“Whom did you call, ‘grandpa?’”, asked the man, rising up. “Are you blind? I am just 29.” He fell down, shaking weakly and coughing again. His hands were shrunk and bruised.
The two boys stared at him.
“Give it to me. I have been using these for the past 15 years.”
The boys looked at each other and slowly edged away. The powder lay alone behind them. They would never touch it again.
This was written for Ermilia’s Picture it & Write.
call2read 
A lesson learned it seems! Good one!
Thank you, Joe
A visual lesson. That is the best way to learn for some. Great one.
Yes, the man was their age when he started and so it would have scared them off for sure:) Thank you, Susan
If only every adolescent could have an intervention like that – and adhere to it, too! Nice tale… Randy
It is definitely a timely intervention. But if they forget the man and succumb to their temptation, it’d be hard to stop them. Thank you for reading, Randy
Oh, the evils of the cinnamon!
Absolutely. lol
oh Annie!
lol. They certainly look similar. but, you don’t have to hide in a dark castle to taste cinnamon:)
this is a lesson one should give every drug addict!
True. Hope it works in most cases. Thanks, Sharmishtha
oh I like this one….!
)0(
ladyblue
Thank you so much, Ladyblue:)
I wish all children would read and hold this dear. Addiction is dibilitating these days. 😦
so true..and it causes so many problems. and life is too valuable to be thrown away in this manner
A 29-year-old OLD man. If only all who were tempted could see where they might end up.
Yes, but probably their craving is too strong to resist. Thank you for reading, Sarah:)
What a great lesson. It’s actually in their favour that they met that “old” man. Now, they can learn not to make the same mistakes! I also thought of cinnamon when you mentioned brown powder. Or maybe cocoa? That’s my drug! All the chocolate! 😛 Thanks for contributing this week at Picture it & write.
– Ermisenda
Yes, cinnamon probably looks a lot the like harmful heroin.. but let us stick to the tasty chocolates:) Thank you, Ermilia:)