I Am Not an Addict

by Aaron Rowley

I dreamed about it last night. In my dream, it told me it would be what it wanted me to think my first time was: beautiful, powerful, and overwhelming. It promised to be the transcendent, religious experience it never had been. I rolled out of bed and found my emergency stash. It was the same as every other time: weak, dull, hollow, and far too short. I hated myself for doing it, all while I thought about how I could get more.

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Aaron Rowley lives in Mississippi with his wife.