Chapter 36: Tik-cravings Are No Joke

…continued from 14 June 2026...

FIRST TIME HERE? NO PROBLEM – START AT THE BEGINNING – WARNING YOU WILL BECOME ADDICTED TO THE STORY.

The nights with his friends were spent boasting about past glories. How so and so had scored with that girl, how so and so had robbed someone, how so and so had stolen a car… that kind of thing. Fortunately for everyone concerned, there was not enough money between all of them to have too much of the drug at any given time, but they had enough to be clinically addicted.

One night Justin felt the full effects of withdrawal after he had not had a hit for 2 days. He became argumentative and aggressive with one of his friends. Impatient to take a hit, he lashed out physically and had to be pulled off his friend.

Tonight, the cravings were intense. His stomach churned and cramped; his head throbbed and he felt intensely anxious and irritated.

He headed out into the night, hoping to score a hit of Tik with his friends. After waiting for what seemed an eternity on the street corner where they usually hung out, he decided to go to the house of the one of his friends to find out where the hell they were.

The house was dark and no one answered his knock on the door. He continued roaming the streets as it got later and later. Being unable to sleep, he eventually made it back home just as the sun was rising, feeling wired and tired at the same time, with all the other symptoms of withdrawal raging through his veins, he just sat on the edge of his bed and held his head in his hands.

It was impossible to make sense of the millions of thoughts racing through his mind. So, he just sat there and stared out into the space in front of him.

In the main house, his sister Jenny, was saying her goodbyes to a sleepy Whitney, before heading out to her job. Whitney was still in bed, snoozing like the proverbial bug in a rug. “Bye, bye,” mommy she said sleepily as Jenny kissed her on the cheek.

Granny was up, having made a porridge breakfast for Jenny and herself and saved some for Whitney. Granny couldn’t sit still, she always needed to be busy. So, she cleaned the kitchen again, wiping down all the surfaces and even mopping the kitchen floor.

Eventually at about 07:30 Whitney stumbled into the kitchen holding her teddy in one hand and sleepily rubbing her eyes with her other. “Morning Ouma,” she said.

“Morning Grandma’s baby,” came Ouma’s reply.

“Are you hungry?”

 “Yes ma.”

“Okay, you know the drill, go wash your hands while I warm up your porridge.”

 “Yes Ouma”

Granny loved Whitney so much. Not only was she a good-natured child who was easy to take care of, she was also good company and kept her busy all day long.

Today she was especially happy because she had to go to the community clinic for her doctor’s check-up and both she and Whitney would dress up in their best outfits and make a day of it. On average, if you were lucky, a visit to the community clinic, or day hospital, as it was referred to by the locals, would last 3 hours, though sometimes you could be there for up to 5 hours.

Continued tomorrow 15 June 2026, before 12pm

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