A Wrong Way to Heaven

A party with beer and the sweet-mint taste of Marijuana with the sound of rock music and some bottles of syrup and tablet drugs have been exciting and memorable for us three energetic youngster.

It started when I met Louie and Chris. Louie was my classmate. He's 18 years old and living with his Aunt. He grew up from a broken family. His father left him when he was 3 years old and migrated to the United States and remarried there. His mother was also living with another man. Chris was my neighbor and was 17 years of age. At that time he was in his fourth year at high school. Chris was always complaining that his parents have no time for him. He was the only child of his parents.

I was about sixteen at that time and was in my fourth year at high school. I was the oldest son of a brood of three. My father was the general manager of a company and my mom was an executive secretary to the president of another company. They have provided us with all the best things in life that we needed most. They have sent us to an exclusive school. But in spite of all the best things that they have provided us, still I was looking for love, care and understanding.

With my friends I could feel a definite happiness in myself: chatting, laughing and teasing at each other. We're like brothers - we discussed our distress, yearnings and our love life. We always have shared our longings and happiness to each other.

"Wish I could be your real brother, Paulo," said Chris smiling.

"Suppose you're my bro, I 'm sure we'd always have a fight. You're such a spoiled brat. I won't wish it either...no way!" I replied laughing.

"Guys...it's marvelous! But I would rather choose that we three would remain friends forever," suggested Louie.

We agreed and have promised to each other that whatever happens - if by fate, the worse comes to worse, we would stay forever as friends. On weekends, we always have good times to see movies, strolling in the park and drinking beer in some disco pubs. Sometimes, we went to swim in the white beaches with our girlfriends - it's so exciting splashing over the waters with our girlfriends.

That afternoon, I had no idea of Louie's plan. He whispered to Chris. I saw Chris face looked delighted. Then I heard Louie said, "Shall we go now?"

Chris just nodded and grabbed my hand and said, "Common. Go with us. There's something to enjoy."

Without asking where to go, I gotten inside of Louie's car. He started the engine. Inside the car, we're like little kids - shouting, laughing and singing. After an hour driving, we had reached our destination - it's a rest-house owned by Louie's Uncle, located along the beach. The rest-house has a kitchen, dining room and a bedroom.

Inside the house, Louie asked me "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what...?" I replied.

Smiling Louie walked inside the bedroom. In my thought maybe there was something in the room that Louie was hiding to surprise us. Some few minutes later, Louie was back with a plastic bag full of stuff. Then said, "Here they are. These are all for us."

He opened the bag, took the stuff out and placed them on a white bowl and put on the top of the table we're sitting around. I could see Chris face was delighted. His eyes were filled with joy and excitement. In my curiosity, I touched them, smelled them and said, "What sort of trash...!"

Louie laughed and later explained to me about the whole thing. He said, "These are dried leaves. First class leaves."

In my mind I had no idea what to do with those leaves. It was my first time to see those trash of leaves. Then Chris and Louie have started the operation. Before wrapping those leaves of Marijuana with union skin wrappers, they cut them into small pieces and sprayed them with some liquid of drugs that smelled sweet and mint. Of course, I helped them. We were able to wrap 15 pieces of them and then we started our pot session. At first I was uncomfortable to taste them. It's my first time to be with my friends playing the game that I didn't dream about in my life.

I picked up one and started smelling it. I lighted it and started to smoke it. It was so nice and was so good. The sweet-mint taste of Marijuana was adhering through extreme cold on my throat. I could feel happiness with them. I swallowed the smokes with joy.

The three of us were enjoying the goodness of the stuff with the sound of rock music that echoed all over the place. During the pot session, I could feel great innovation happening to me. I had the feeling of strength on my body and mind. I felt that I had the power to control things around me.

I felt that I was flying in the open air; an exciting hallucination! I could see hundreds of blinking stars smiling at me and fooling around me. Wow! What a life? It was so good and exciting! But after that first pot session - I had no time to concentrate on my schooling and I had always quarreled my brother and sister. The school was no longer in my heart.

I have everything to enjoy: a sport car, dozen of imported shoes, clothes, gold and other luxury materials - I enjoyed those things but they could not replace the enjoyment I felt when I was with drugs.

Most of the time, I was with my friends. The pains, the afflictions, I felt in myself vanished. I believed that with those drugs my life will be happier. But I was wrong - when I realized, I was already addicted to drugs and had dropped from school. I learned to cheat my parents. The money I received from them were used for my vices. Those drugs were my life and nobody could stop my madness for them.

One day, my parents had found me in my bedroom unconscious. I had locked my room the whole day. I had enjoyed taken those forbidden drugs alone. I was over dosed. My parents had taken me to a rehab center. I stayed there for almost a year treatment. Inside the rehab house, I felt difficulty to adjust myself and change for good.

Sometimes I cried gravely and had wished that death would find me and kill myself. But after almost a year of being isolated from my family, relative and friends, I had realized that those drugs have nothing to give me. They ruined my young life. And I promised to myself that I should have to stay away from them. Now I live a new life with my family and had gone back to school.