The Killer.

In all of my 21 years I have never encountered something so detrimental. I have never seen something so small engulf everything in its path like it does. I have never wanted something to disappear as much as I do The Killer.

It lures. It deceives. It captures. It hooks. It harms. And it kills.

It kills dreams. It kills opportunities. It kills potential.

It takes lives right out from under people.

It collects souls in a little, tiny bag and it carries it everywhere and suffocates them until they bow before it.

It rips apart families and causes incomparable pain and anxiety.

It steals youth away from the innocent.

Its a killer.

We call this killer drugs.


My point of view is different than some in that I have explored my fair share of The Killer's territory. I haven't wandered too far into the neighborhood but enough to know I don't want to live there. It is dirty. It is dark. And most repulsive of all - it is sad. It's a very sad place to be.

And coming from a person who has seen, first hand, the effects of The Killer, I can tell you that it is not something to be taken lightly. It is serious and once it smells your interest, it won't let you go. It will have a grip on you like a snake that has locked its jaw on its victim.

Currently the victim is someone very close to me and the Killer's grip is strong.

I can't even begin to organize my thoughts into the words that would come close to explaining how I feel about this situation. Sometimes I feel nothing at all and other times I feel helpless and scared that something might happen.

I have woken up numerous times from a reoccurring dream that I can't seem to shake. In this dream I receive a call that something has happened to this person whom I care so much about. Each time I wake up I frantically check my phone to make sure it was, in fact, a dream.

After reassuring myself that everything is OK, I realize soon that nothing is actually OK. That scare being a dream only meant that I didn't receive a call that night. The Killer still has his grip on someone close to my heart. The dream simply serves as a reminder of what could happen. It is a reminder of what this person is experiencing and how deep into the Killer's territory they really are.

To us, the people adversely affected by these types of situations, it seems as though The Killer is more important to our loved ones than we are. However, I have come to realize that this is just not so. The Killer only makes it seem this way. This person who I care so much about never chose one side or the other. The Killer chooses for them when they step into its territory. If I feel helpless, I can only imagine how this person feels.

Trapped. Stuck. Imprisoned.

Imprisoned within the cells of The Killer.

Four tall, concrete walls on either side with only a slight crack and a chisel as means of escaping.

In so deep that it will take everything in their power to get out. Every ounce of will power. Every last bit of self control.

Or maybe just a statement - I NEED HELP.

Because what these people don't realize a lot of the time, is that if they help themselves, if they exert every last bit of self control and every ounce of will power they have left, there are people who will help them. There are family and friends at the top of those tall walls waiting for them to grab hold of the rope they have descended down to them. To grab it and hold it tight so that they might escape the grip of The Killer and make the climb to the top.

Unfortunately though, it is not until they grab the rope that they can be helped. They can't be lifted by the strength of others unless they take that first step themselves.

With every cell of my being, with every bit of hope, and with every last ounce of love I have in my heart for this person, I hope they can find the strength to reach up and grab that rope. I will do everything it takes to pull this person up, I just need to see some commitment, some promise, some light in their eyes.

I know it is still there.

I know you are still in there.


** This post is written without names for a reason, so please respect that decision.