Ram and Murthy are close friends. From childhood, the two grew up in the same neighbourhood, went to the same school and were inseparable. Ram was a calm and responsible boy. The death of his older brother from an overdose of drugs still haunted him.
Murthy was a bit naughty. He had other friends apart from Ram. But together, the two friends roamed the fields and gardens in the area. Indeed, the two were very close. Murthy also played with his other friends. At first, he started to play games on the mobile phone with them. Then, he started to go out with them and spent more time with them. He began to spend less time with Ram.
There were days when Ram and Murthy did not meet at all. One day, Ram went in search of Murthy. As Murthy was not at home, Ram looked for him in different places. Then he heard that there were some children in a run-down building on the outskirts of the village and decided to go there. When he reached the building, which was in a secluded part of town, he heard voices coming from inside. When he went closer, he could smell smoke. He went inside and what he saw shocked him.
Murthy was with some boys smoking drugs. Ram was heartbroken seeing his friend like this. Is my friend a drug addict? Already saddened by the death of his brother due to drugs, Ram could not believe that his close friend was now taking drugs. Many questions came to his mind. How did Murthy come into this habit? Under whose influence did he start taking drugs? Where do they get the drugs from? Should I tell their parents? The one thought that was dominant in Ram’s head was ‘How do I get Murthy to stop this habit?’ Ram couldn’t sleep well that night. His mother asked him why he was not sleeping. Ram wondered if he should tell his mother what was bothering him and decided not to. He merely said ‘nothing’ and pretended to fall asleep. Ram wanted to speak to his teacher about Murthy but decided that it was not a good idea as the school might expel his friend. Suddenly he remembered the counsellor at the drug de-addiction centre who had tried to help his brother and decided to meet him.
The counsellor asked Ram to bring Murthy with him. However, when Ram asked his friend to come with him to the centre, Murthy flatly denied that he was an addict. Ram told him what he had seen for himself. Murthy left the place without saying a word. Not giving up, Ram tried many times to persuade Murthy to come to the de-addiction centre but failed. He decided to tell Murthy’s parents and they were shocked. Murthy’s mother started to cry and his father became angry. Ram calmed them by saying the best course of action was to take Murthy to the de-addiction centre. They agreed to his plan. Ram went home and thought about how to convince Murthy. An idea came to him. He looked for his brother’s old photo album and finding it, decided to talk about his brother’s death to Murthy. The next morning, he went to Murthy’s house. His friend was still in bed. Ram gave the album to his still angry friend and stood in tears. Seeing the album and his friend, Murthy broke down and hugged Ram, saying: “I too want to get rid of this habit but am unable to.”
Murthy finally went to the de-addiction centre with his parents and friend.
Story by Kabilan, living in Madurai, India.
Original story in Tamil.
Kabilan is supported by Vidiyal, one of the partners of CONNECT.
