A Cloudy Euphoria...

As a typical millennial
teenager, not only every
Friday night but almost
everyday after school my
friends and I hangs out. Be it
with alcohol, vape, or even a
stick of cigarette just to get
away from all the stress. But
was it all true? The feelings.
The emotions shared. Or was it
all just a facade of something
bigger?
 Coins and Bills were pilled
up in a glass table. Everyone
proposed different kinds and
brands of alcoholic drinks and
chips. Some suggested beer,
while some demanded for gin.
But what's the difference? It
will all soon get into
everyone's head and that will
be the start of the story
telling of everybody's
dilemmas.
 As I powered up my vape,
different colors lit in it. I
breathed in the vapor and it
ran stale in my lungs. They
continued talking, laughing
and minding others'
businesses. While, I just
continuously hit the vape to
remove the disgusting taste of
the shitty alcohol and let the
sweet and cold vapor rule my
tongue.
 However, as the conversation heated up, the cotton on my vape
started to dry. I looked upon my e-juices, I had 3 choices. A
fruity, that brings me back to the fresh and stress free nature.
A bubble Gum, that leads me to a never ending sweetness. Or a
Milk, that lets me go back to the sweet childhood past. I think
thoroughly so I could have my wants fulfilled.
 We all devoured the salty crispy chips as the conversation went to
its peak. Where everyone would be making fun of each other. Unleashing
the dirty funny secrets we all have. The alcohol started to numb my
mind, everybody's mind. I forgot the pain I'm feeling in my heart and
kidney just for the sake of not ruining the mood. But why am i doing
this? Exchanging my health just for a mere temporary euphoria. Why?
 The alcohol took over our head and drove us wild. Everyone were
shouting and screaming because of happiness. Wait let me clear it — a
temporary happiness, where it all ends up soon. Just like the clouds I
release from the vape. It may have stayed but just for a little while.
It may have caused me joy but not in a good way. I'm tempted.
 Color Game! Another one of our vice, gambling. Everyone pulled out
their wallets from their pockets and bet on their instincts. A game
where there's a winner and loser. But everyone wants to be a winner, no
one wants to lose. But at the end, sadly, someone or maybe even everyone
can lose. However, it doesn't matter to us as long as we are together.
Even though the alcohol already
took over our head, the stress
won't let go. I took a stick of
cigarette laying on the table. As
I breathed in the dangerous
chemical of a stick that causes
harm in my health, I continued. I
let it stay in me for a little
longer hoping it will bring with
it the heavy feeling I'm carrying.
And it answered to me. I felt
lightly after I release the smoke
in me. But does it really do me
good
 One by one, some of us
started to lose consciousness
due to the hardness of the
alcohol. To lighten up the
move a little bit, we switched
from Spotify to karaoke.
Almost everyone, the awake
ones, fought over the
microphone and songbook. We
let our hearts out as we sang
the songs that fitted our
feelings. No one cared if
we're out of tune, as long as
we have our voices we won't
stop.
 But at the end, I still feel what I felt before everything begun. The burden
I'm carrying. The tears I’ve been stopping. And the sadness I've been hiding. It
may have left me but not entirely only temporary. Temporarily I felt once again
the happiness I forgotten. But I found euphoria amidst of the cloud. The cloud
from the vape. The smoke I released from a stick of cigarette. A cloud of air as
I breathed and sang with the karaoke. I found something I shouldn't have. I have
seeked the forbidden happiness. A Cloudy Euphoria.

Written by: Francis Gerald S. Villalon