A friend in need

I want you to imagine your most helpless moment. That point in your life when everything just seemed like it would burn away, leaving little else than specks of carbon. When you started eying the medicine cabinet nervously, taking inventory of your options. This is bottom. This is where everything you tried so hard to create dies. With your face pressed hard against the cold, rocky bottom of reality, your reach out your hand, fishing a dark sea for a sign of hope.

Today, I was reached out to. But I couldn't do anything.

Let me tell you a little story. A really short one, don't worry. A friend of mine has a weakness. Their weakness is a craving for two things; one socially acceptable, and the other strictly forbidden. Their cravings were satiated in the worst possible way, and once they had taken a step back and realized what they had done, they called me. I was working when the call came. I thought they were only calling to say that they couldn't play Halo tonight, so I ignored them until my break. The call went to voicemail.

A moment later, a text message popped up. "FUCKING EMERGENCY!!! CALL ME NOW!!!!" was the better part of the message. I decided to take my break earlier than planned. I called them back as soon as I stepped into the back room, seating myself carefully for possible bad news to come. You see, I was concerned that a mutual friend, who's had some emotional instability issues, may have finally done the unthinkable. Instead I hear them sobbing pitifully into the receiver, telling me about a stupid mistake that turned into a terrible offense between sharp gasps and muttering that their life was over.

In a different story, this is where I'd happily describe how I rushed in to save the day; first berating them for their stupidity, then throwing them back up on the horse that we might solve the problem together. That won't be happening this time. We can't simply talk our way out of this one. There is no-one to appease, no-one to whom we can plead or beg. This is now a matter of whether or not authority will crash down upon them or dismiss them entirely. Neither of us knows just what will happen, and that scares them more than anything.

I know, this must sound odd, this tale of pitiable affairs appearing in a place that champions disdain for your fellow man. I think it's fitting; the untold story is how our friends had told the one at fault that this could very well happen if will and sense were not employed. Stupidity is the word. Plain, bare-assed stupidity is the root cause of all my friend's woes. Had they not decided that this wouldn't be the time they got in trouble, none of this would have come to pass. Life isn't some cheesy movie, where the situation can be resolved with a sudden twist of fate, a one liner, and a hearty laugh as the heroes walk off arms-on-shoulders towards a bright new day. No, life is a fucking Quentin Tarantino movie; nobody gets away clean.
If more people could fathom that, we would probably have a more stable society. Laws may not be just, but is it worth it to break them before we can remake them?

As I sat down to start writing this post, I noticed that I still hadn't checked my voicemail. I waited for it to start, trying to ignore what I thought was some sort of strange radio interference. Then I saw that the voicemail was playing, and the sound, likened to a dying animal, were the cries of confused terror from my friend. I couldn't bear to listen to the entire sixty seconds, but by the time I pushed the stop button, I knew what it sounded like, being at the bottom of that pit. I hope that voicemail isn't the last thing I hear from my friend, along with an awkward and lengthy discussion of legal matters and prison life. I don't know yet what will become of my friend. I hope that nothing truly disastrous happens, but I do hope that justice is done, and more so that justice is just.