Fictions by Ima.

                Damien “Mom, I think something is wrong with dad” Damien said on their way from school where Karen went to pick him up. “I never told you but, dad has been borrowing lots of money from me for a while now. I told him it was my monthly allowance that I was saving for something important and he said he would pay but he still hasn’t paid me. I need the money back mom and what’s worse is that I don’t know what dad uses the money for.” His mom listened quietly and said nothing to her son except to tell him that she would pay him the money when they got home. That night, when the children had gone to bed, Karen confronted Tom about his debt to Damien. She saw something in his eyes when she confronted him about it, it ought not to have been there but it was. Tom didn’t say much no matter how hard Karen probed; it was very unlike him. He was always one to defend his actions and he never backed do...

                                                   Ben   Ben showed up one day at Tom’s house. He looked really good. His hair was neatly cut and his eyes clear. And the way he smiled made something in Tom desire what ever he had. “I gotta hand it to you mehn you look great! What are you on now?” Tom said with his voice muffled. Ben smiled and said “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you but I’m clean. Been clean for a month now.” Tom was shocked and he didn’t hide it.   “Clean?” Tom said with both shock and amazement. Ben went on to tell him about a tract he stumbled on while cleaning the store. He had thrown it into the trash and was about to leave when a split iron from the trash can held unto his shirt. He tried ...

Shirley A terrible thing happened six months after Tom met the blue candy. Tom had lost his job at the hardware store where he was a salesman because his boss had found out that he was behind all the missing cash from the cash register. His friend Ben didn’t even try to stick up for him; he just stood there while their boss confronted him and fired him. So while he was looking for another job, Tom had to spend some time at home and though it was tricky at first with his wife being around, he found a way of getting high without being detected.   One day, his wife had to go to the store to get some groceries and he had to babysit Shirley. She had been crying a lot that day and he brought her to the kitchen to stay with him. Unknown to him, Shirley drank his “coffee” while he went to get her toy. It never occurred to him that she drank it until the next day when she was taken to the hospital. The doctor said that she had ingested a stimulant that had caused her to be r...

  He occasionally heard the voice telling him again and again to get out but now, after a month of being introduced to the “blue candy”, the voice had been dulled. He had asked for his salary for that month in advance and apart from the portion he gave to his wife for the children and the home, he could not account for the rest. All he knew, all he wanted was to get his fix and if it didn’t come when it was supposed to, life would be hell for him. He would begin to hear voices again; not the voice of his daughter, no, these voices were not lovely or innocent. They told him what to do, where to go, what purse of his wife to look in, yes! They knew it all. His wife had complained to him that her money was missing and had her suspicions on their son but couldn’t do anything till she got her facts straight. He just nodded all through what was meant to be a conversation.   One day, she almost caught him stealing from her purse. He had checked earlier for his stas...

It was three days ago that it happened and something about this song brought back memories of the high and calmness the yoghurt laced with crystal brought. He had sworn never to try it out again but it seemed to have a tight grip. He had been finding it difficult to concentrate for the past three days; everything just seemed to crowd him up and he felt more stressed than ever. He managed to finish drinking the water but he thirsted for something more, something different and something rugged. “What if he just had a taste of it one last time; just one for old times sake” he thought to himself. “Get out while you still can! Get out dad” Shirley’s voice interrupted his train of thoughts. “Shirley, what did you say?” he asked when he got to the sitting room. “Nothing” her voice was sweet and innocent; she had no idea, none at all. At work, Tom fought the urge to talk to Ben. It was almost time for lunch break and like Ivan Pavlov’s dog, he felt conditioned to need Ben’s kind...

“But it was so little, how could something so little have such a firm grip?” he asked himself. It all started on Tuesday afternoon at the office. He was complaining to his friend Ben about how stressful work was and how he hardly had time to relax; when he got home, he’d have to help out in the kitchen and before he knew it, it would be way past bedtime and sleep was never enough. While he went on about how hard his life had become, Ben called him to the back of the office building during lunch break and gave him some yoghurt. He wasn’t sure what his friend was up to because he had never been generous with his lunch. It was after the second scoop it hit him; that unusual highness, he felt good, too good.   Surely yoghurt couldn’t have this kind of effect on someone no matter how hungry that person might be or was he over-processing a simple yoghurt? It wasn’t until he saw the wry smile on his friend’s face he knew that something fishy was up. Ben asked if he enjoyed the yo...

                                                     TOM “Some broken hearts never mend, some memories never end...” the sound of Don’s voice singing a timeless filled the room where the family sat to relax. It was a classic family gathering; Tom (husband), Karen (wife), Damien (son) and Shirley (daughter). Their family was the envy of the neighbourhood; they always seemed so close and loving and they kept a neat life. The husband was a decent salesman and had been so for the past four years; Karen had decided to quit her job to be a stay-at-home-mom, totally devoted to their children and her family; Damien was a son like no other, he got through his classes with really good grades and many pats on the back for good behaviour and...