AIDS IS REAL, IT KILLS!!

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Mike, Jade , Peter , Sabbath and I were friends from the same high school. We all had big dreams and wanted to go to college, failing the matriculation board exams three times got us frustrated. To clear our heads and bury our failures we turned to drugs.

On this day Jade stormed the yard with a syringe in his hand claiming he found the ultimate high. We were excited and without much questions we all wanted to get some. It is worthy of note that junkies don't care, we share everything as far as the goal was getting high and wasted.

The syringe went round and we all had our share of the high,It felt like I made heaven and all my sins were washed away.I got into the house that evening looking too happy, mama asked if I was over joyed about my admission, Oh yes I was admitted into the prestigious university of Cape town to study computer engineering. I left my friends at the yard to further my education in a far away country, years soon passed and we lost contact.

I visited my home town, Benin city, Nigeria after ten years of an amazing education and career as a computer engineer. Made it for the yard in a bid to reconnect with my childhood friends.
I made enquirers about my friends and I was told they all died of AIDS contracted through sharing of needles. They got hooked on Jades new drug and sharing of needles in a bid to get a share of this high was the norm. Nobody knew who the patient zero of the group was. Lost four friends to a single virus.

I spent the day crying in the yard, I didn't know who or what to to blame. Jade, the drugs, our predicament or God. I knew we were to blame, we should never have shared that needle. I wasn't HIV positive, I guess I left early.
Just a reminder that four out of ten AIDS related deaths in the US are drug related.

No of words: 344
Thanks to @air-clinic for giving me the opportunity to share this story.

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