A Beast Unworthy of Existence

I read their pieces of pain posted in a group where they are amongst their kind.

A kind they would rather not be among.

Each is a mother with a child lost to addiction.

The horrors these mothers live. Their pains, worries and fears.

And their children trapped in the hellish nightmare of addiction. No longer who they once were. Never will they become who they might have been. All is stolen from them except the moment. The immediacy of the moment.

The monster under the bed was not real. Instead it was a party pill that rared it's head and bit them. Or a sniff of fun. Or maybe even a prescription meant to tame a problem but twisted into a bigger problem yet to be solved.

So many different paths taken to arrive at this special hell on earth. It rejects no one. It takes all comers. Youth in there prime. Late bloomers wilting on their vines. The athletic seeking relief so they can continue the sport they love. The overwhelmed. But in the end, they all find themselves in this special hell.

Addiction. It cares not what it takes from its host. Nor does it care about the way it shreds the lives connected to its host. It drains every drop of energy, sanity, happiness and dignity from every life it taints whether directly or indirectly.

A knight is ever hoped for to thunder in on mighty war horse with gleaming sword to slay the beast with one fell swoop. But it is just a maddening grasp at the straw of hope. Desperation spent uselessly.

And yet, like flowers trapped in darkness we strain to grow towards the light. That we may feel the delight of sunshine on us once more. That it be rain that washes us clean instead of tears that drown us.

Addiction, you are a beast unworthy of existence. May there come a day when you are no more than a forgotten myth amongst us.