Do You Smoke?
21st is always a painful day. I remember her. But I don’t want to. So I go back to my best friend, nicotine.
I snuck out at 3 AM in search of a proper place. Cigarette makes you do weird things.
As I light up and took my first drag, I heard someone approaching near me. All attempts to hide.
“Bro, Can I have a drag?” He looked like a teenager who lost his way home. He was smiling. A front tooth was missing.
I didn’t say no.
After he left, I continued.
A minute or two later, a bike stopped in front of the gate.
He was my age. Neat Moustache. He was wearing a hoodie, with a big ‘V’ on the back of it.
“Hey yo, Can I borrow a cigerette?” He whispered, loud enough for me to hear.
I was confused. “How many people know here that I smoke. Gotta be careful” I thought
Again, I didn’t say no.
I went back to mine.
As I was approaching the end, a sob made me turn around.
There was a middle aged man sitting near me, crying.
Now, I got creeped out. It was time to go back home now.
“You shouldn’t have shared your items. He’s gonna smoke away his entire life….” Man kept on sobbing. As sob turned into something hysterical, I went back inside.
My mind kept thinking about the sobbing man as I went into deep sleep.
Next morning, I woke up like a disgruntled mess.
My parents were at the table, sipping tea and discussing something.
“Hey, You know Mr Vishwanath? The one who lived 4 blocks away?” dad asked
“No”
“He expired last night. Cancer stage four” he said with a sigh
His Photograph was on my dad’s phone.
The moment I looked at it, I couldn’t believe my eyes.
He was the same man who was sobbing last night. He had a missing tooth.
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