The final cut –II

I cried as if my heart would break. The condition in which I found my friend was too much for me to bear. It seemed like ages when finally I felt a hand on my shoulder. I turned around to see my mother beside me. She nodded to me with her knowing eyes left us saying that I could stay with my friend to give her company.

I wanted to know the reason behind the condition of my friend. I had thousand of questions and but my friend was in no condition to answer my queries. She was intoxicated by the alcohol and she made no sense when she talked. To wipe off her intoxication of alcohol, I had to wait and I grew impatient every passing minute. In the mean time, my mother had called some one to drive them to the Tshechu and they left leaving me behind for which I was glad.

The wait seemed longer than I had expected and finally when she came around, I tried to talk to her but she waved her hands and did not want to hear anything. After much persuasion I made her to talk. And she revealed that the reason behind her deteriorating condition and her life was because of her addiction to alcohol. She had started it when she went for social gathering and as time went by, she started drinking in larger quantity which increased every passing day until a time came when she could not stay an hour without the drink. He husband tried his best to bring her out of the addiction but she would not listen to him and instead she started using abusive language which forced him to move away from her house with the children. With the moving of her family, she had another excuse to drink and that was how she had been since many months. Her children were scared to come near her because she would use what ever she had near her to smash on their tiny body.

Though the husband stayed away, he brought her grocery and thing which would remain almost untouched except those countless bottles of drinks. He would send someone to check on her only to be sent back humiliated. Thus her neighbours never bothered about her.

After her narration of her addiction, I resolved to take the risk and admit her to a rehabilitation centre where I could see some hope for her. But I didn’t disclose my intention to her and went to look for her husband to ask his consensus. He was more than glad to hear my plans and we moved her to the rehab the following day.

Her days in the rehab had given her courage to fight her addiction and she is recovering well as per the report we received from the centre. Now I can only wait for the day when I can meet my friend the same old cheerful friend..