Indian Herbs and Spices

Indian Herbs and Spices

It was eleven o’clock on a cool autumn evening. Thin, dingy rain spat and drizzled past the lighted street lamps. I was ensnared in the patterns which were embroiled in the lace of the window curtains. While trying to make her words drown out to the late night news. ‘How could you fucking do this to me?’ She screamed. ‘Why…’ The screeching sound of my mother’s voice. Her question wasn’t a question. It was a statement. A statement she would eventually make with the door being slammed on my face. And like that, in a split second I was standing on the other side of that lounge room window. No longer looking out. No longer ensnared by her hold on me. I was shaking, though I pressed by feet firmly on the road one after the other.

Around me the wind is howling, and the noise of cars driving past as I’m running to a place I haven’t been before while the sound of my mums screems echo continuously in my head. All I’m saying to myself is that I need to escape the world I’m in I wasn’t sure how until I felt the vibration from my phone it was message from a kid from school “Pranjal Bhandal” was his name. The message read; “come to my house I heard what happened.” When I got there I was petrified at the thought of not knowing what was going to happen next. The lurking smell of the alleyway where he lived is a smell I could never forget the odour of the dumpsters, the smell of cigarette smoke and another smell I wasn’t sure of the closer I got to his unit the stronger it got I knocked on the door so loud I could feel the ground shake beneath me.

This place is completely different to my house and I wish I could go back at this point but I know that’s not a possibility right now. He answered “come in bro” he said, I’m shaking and sweating uncontrollably that smell is getting stronger it appeared to be from his room and then I noticed a table with unusual objects on it there was a bottle with dirty water in it with a hose sticking out, not a whole hose that you buy from Bunnings it was cut to a short length where it was in the bottle but not touching the surface, there was a lighter, and a white china bowl with what appeared to be some type of herb in it chopped into small amounts. He said to me “do you want to have some to forget about your mum and just relax” I replied, “what is it?” he told me it was marijuana, I replied with a nod, grabbed the bottle with my right hand, the lighter in my left, brought it up to my mouth, and in sync lit the marijuana while holding the bottle up with my mouth sealed around the opening, inhaled the smoke and let it out slowly. I don’t remember much after this as far as I know I passed out.

Today I have nightmares about this night, the night that changed my life forever, despite trying to mend the bond with my mum and realising the choices I