Please don’t let me die!

My love,

It’s been a while since my last letter. I’ve been busy. Actually, I’ve been very busy.  I have so much to tell you.

Do you remember that little blond-haired boy who made everyone giggle at church every Sunday with his silly antics?  He is now a teenager. Can you believe that?  Well, I'm happy to tell you that I managed to get my hands on him.  Yes, it’s true. It happened innocently enough at a party.  He thought “just this once”. Ha!  How naïve.  I’m having a great time with him. His carefree nature is all but a memory.  You should see how devastated his family is. You should hear what people say behind their backs. Oh, how I love that!

When your daughter went to camp each summer, she met up with a nice young girl from Greenville. Do you remember her? What fun they had! They made such wonderful plans for the future. The sky was the limit with their imaginations. Well, I befriended that young girl recently. She is 20-years-old now, and no longer dreams of anything but me!  She has even sold her body to strangers to be closer to me. I knew I was charming, but this was amazing to see.  Her poor father is a wreck. Her mother died of cancer a few years ago. He is still grieving the loss of his wife, and now the loss of his only child. She is still alive, of course, but has become a shell of her former self.  I think she is beautiful with her hollow eyes, but he can’t even look at her without breaking down into tears. She has become the talk of the town, but not in a good way. Oh well, at least she still has me!

Oh, and you may want to dig out your good suit because you’ll need it in a few days. That kid who lived in the blue house with the white picket fence on Main Street died yesterday. I still can’t believe it! I’d been lurking around him for quite a while but he always resisted my charm. I hate it when that happens, but I waited. Patiently. With all his friends loving me, I knew it would just be a matter of time. Well, it happened finally. He tried me and fell in love with the pleasure that I brought to him. He couldn’t get enough of me.  Since he made me wait so long, I thought I’d have a little fun with him. I demanded more, more, more!! He lied, he stole, and he hurt others just to get access to me. I was so flattered and enjoyed every minute until the overdose. I am sure going to miss him.

I truly live in paradise. I am allowed to freely roam about ravaging all these people and no one is trying to stop me. Oh, there’s been some talk in the media. Politicians are giving lip service to my destruction, but nobody is really doing anything meaningful about it. Instead, they basically blame my victims and their families, while making me even more accessible.  In fact, I have a new family member arriving soon called Zohydro. Just wait until you see what she can do!  I mean, I couldn’t have it any better. It’s a beautiful thing to behold. I destroy lives, my victims get the blame, and I'm given even more power.  You can’t make this stuff up!

The best part of all is that most of my victims try me as teenagers; that wonderful time in life when brains are not fully developed enough to make rational, informed decisions. They are willing to take the risk because nothing bad will ever happen to them, don’t you know? Such sweet innocence. Such easy prey.

Of course, I couldn’t do any of this without you. I will always be grateful for the way that you glare with your judging eyes at those who are ravaged by me. How you talk about them so negatively to others. How you make mean-spirited comments online. How you think they are getting what they deserve. 

The stigma you cause ensures that my victims will not reach out for help. And, if they do reach out, it won’t be there (at least not to the extent needed to break free of me).  I’d be in big trouble if people understood my powers. They'd want to save people by getting rid of me. I would die a slow death. Please don’t let me die! Continue to be a strong, stigmatizing voice. Who cares about my victims and their families? Who needs them anyway?

Well, time to go and make my rounds. Your daughter’s college is a haven for me. I’ve become well acquainted with her best friend. It is a beautiful thing.

Affectionately yours,

Opiate 


Written by: Rose Barbour
 http://shadowsinpei.blogspot.ca/2014/06/please-dont-let-me-die.html