Tradition Break (short story)

The figure stood tentatively before the rehab clinic, wondering if he was really doing the right thing.  He'd been popping pills ever since he was tiny, and really got a buzz out of it.  In fact, you could almost say that it ran in the family.  He probably wouldn't have much of a career left either, and maybe...  No, he pushed that thought aside.  It was just too horrible to contemplate.

The therapist looked at him with a sad and knowing smile.  He'd seen this same sad story so many times now.  Kids, drugs, hallucinations...

"So, what do you see when you're taking the drugs?"

"Well, I normally do a lot of small pills, you know, kid stuff really.  When I'm on these there are, like, ghosts that try to get me.  I need to eat all of the pills quickly or I'm out of time, black out and have to start again, like.   But in the corners I find the hard stuff, the super-pills.  When I'm on these I can do anything.  When I touch the ghosts when I'm really high, they have to go back to their cage because I'm invincible.  The buzz doesn't last long, though, so I have to be careful I don't touch them just after I come down."

The therapist looked sadly at him.  Advanced paranoia as well.  This was going to be a hard case to crack.

But crack it he did, and it was worth the effort.  Pac-Boy broke the habit, went on to lead a highly successful and happy life, and all his personal ghosts died due to a lack of exercise.

(And may that be a lesson to us all.)

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You can blame 16-Bit Dad for this - I remembered this story I wrote many years ago whilst chatting to him on Twitter, and he said he wanted to read it.  Therefore I dug it up and you have just read it, you poor thing!