by Miranda Rhuda

Created on: July 23, 2009

She didn't mean to cause problems. She didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. She was a good person. She wanted to be the compassionate, loving person that she felt deep down inside, but the demons that were taking her over, just wouldn't leave her alone. The demons would emerge at all times of the day, but especially at night in her sleep! Graphic visual images of the abuse that she survived plagued her sleep and haunted her during the day. She couldn't get away from it, no matter how hard she tried. Until one day she met a friend that made it all go away. Alcohol.

She met alcohol in a bar when she turned 18 years old. One year later, she met a man in that same bar. Together, the two of them partied frequently with their mutual friend Alcohol. Neither of them realized that Alcohol was beginning to take over their life and control all of their actions. They began taking Alcohol with them everywhere they went- work, home, family events, friend's houses, it didn't matter. Most outstandingly, the two of them allowed Alcohol to be present for the birth of both of their children. Now their children were forced to accept Alcohol into their lives as well.

The children learned from a very early age, that Alcohol came first. Alcohol came before them, work or anything else. Neither of the children understood why they were always being put off for Alcohol. Finally, their father realized that it was hurting the children and discontinued socializing with Alcohol. He banned alcohol from visiting the home of his family. Alcohol would come knocking on the door and their father would turn Alcohol away. He knew that Alcohol was a terrible influence for the children.

The children's mother had a hard time banishing Alcohol from visiting her. Alcohol was her friend before she met their father. Alcohol was the only friend who ever made the pain disappear. So when the children were out playing and their father was at work, she would sneak Alcohol into the house for a visit. She would hide Alcohol in the closets, lazy suzan, light fixtures and any other place she could find that it fit. And then one day the youngest of the children drank some Kool-aid from the pitcher in the refrigerator and became very ill. It was that day their father realized that Alcohol was still coming around and still affecting the children's life. He knew that she could not separate herself from Alcohol, so he had to separate her from himself and the children.

The children, being as young as they were, didn't understand the impacts of their mother's friendship with Alcohol and they still desired to visit with her. Visits went good when Alcohol didn't come around. But on visits when Alcohol was there, Alcohol would make their mother sleep all day and the children would play in their room alone.

As the children got older, they began to realize that Alcohol was bad news for their mother. The children no longer desired to be around their mother if she was still associating herself with Alcohol. They tried so hard to convince their mother that Alcohol was bad news, but she just couldn't see it their way. She chose her friendship with Alcohol over her relationship with her children.

Alcohol moved her way across the country from her family, where she lived on the streets, just her and Alcohol. She would do anything for Alcohol. She would steal to be with Alcohol. She would lie to get close to Alcohol. Alcohol was the only friend that had always been there for her.

In the end, it turned out Alcohol wasn't such a great friend. Alcohol killed her. She spent her last days suffering in a hospital bed alone without anyone to hold her hand, not even Alcohol.

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