"The air around me was slowly suffocating and killing me. I took my final breath and then everything went black..."
I wake up gasping for air, trying to breathe in deeply. My whole body shakes from my sobs as I remember what I had just dreamt. My mother comes in and asks what's wrong. I wave her away telling her I'm fine - but I'm not. That dream was so real I actually thought that I was dying. I coughed and hacked, my throat dry and parched. I groan, I get up slowly from my bed feeling sick and dizzy. My eyes blur and my throat feels scratchy. I shuffle to the kitchen and pour myself a glass of water. I gulp it down but it doesn't help wash away my dream.
I walk to the bathroom and stare at my reflection in the mirror. I sigh sadly. i have bags under my eyes and my skin is scaly and ugly looking. I smile and look at my teeth. They are yellow and rotten. What I wouldn't give to have nice teeth, even if they were wonky. "I really need to give it up." I say to myself. Dad died of lung cancer and I don't want to end up like him, I'm only 16. I brush a hand through my hair and it comes out with some of my hair. "Great, my hair is thinning as well!" I chuckle humorously. I brush my teeth and go back to bed.
I lie on my bed and think about everything that smoking has done to me. I sit up, determined to quit smoking and walk over to my hidden stash of cigarettes. I toss all 10 packets into a rubbish bag. I grab the bag and slowly, but painfully walk to the street. The street lamps illuminate the street and I locate the family rubbish bin. I open the lid to the bin and close my eyes. "Maybe this isn't a good idea." I think to myself. But, pushing through my addiction, I drop the bag into the bin and quickly close the lid. I rush back to my house and walk into my bedroom. I release my breath and think about what I had just done. I felt oddly happy but sad at the same time. "It's the first step to being free of my addiction." I say out loud to my empty room. The next morning I woke up feeling good. It was the best night's sleep I had had in a long time.
By Olivia Eysseric
