Curious
My grandfather was a very determined and stubborn man. Once
he set his mind on something, nothing could change it and no matter how tough
it was, he would still attempt to complete it. Although declared bankrupt
twice, he still strived hard to set up his own company, selling everything from
stationary to computers. Once he successfully set up his company, he would sell
it off to anyone who wanted to buy it. After his death, he left us with one of
his many successful companies which imported and distributed printing paper.
Every weekend, I would sit in one quiet corner of the
factory and observe the workers as they went about their daily routine of
stacking and storing the paper after each new shipment and taking stacks of
paper to the van to deliver to the customers. Every afternoon, I noticed a
group of workers disappearing into the toilet and reappearing half an hour
later. Curious, I decided to sneak in after them one afternoon.
When I entered the toilet, the smell of cigarette smoke hit
me and gave them away. As I was about to leave, one of the workers grabbed my
shoulder and offered me something which seemed innocently harmless at that
time.
"Hey kid, we’ll supply you with cigarettes every
weekend provided you don’t tell your father about our ‘break’" Before I
could reply, a stick was pushed into my hand. Although my mind was screaming
no, curiosity got the better of me and before I knew it, it was in my lips.
Within a week, I had become addicted to smoking. I needed
two to five sticks a day to feel good; otherwise I would be very tired and
short tempered. I usually hid in my school’s toilet or under void decks in
order to smoke my daily ‘requirement’. It was not surprising my grades suffered
and many of y friends deserted me.
I usually stole from shops in order to sustain my smoking
habit. Then one day, a teacher walked in onto me while I was smoking in an
empty classroom after school. My parents were informed of this and that night I
received the worst scolding since I was in primary school. The following day in
school someone told me that it was the class chairman, Jimmy, who had reported
me to the teacher. Hence after school, I confronted him and demanded to know
the reason of his actions. Eventually, we got into a fight which lasted for
quite sometimes until I flung a nearby dustbin cover at Jimmy’s head. Upon
impact, he collapsed on the floor and blood began to flow freely from a deep
gash on his head. Not knowing what to do, I quickly ran to my grandfather’s
company and sat in the usual corner, confused on what I should do next.
At that moment, the same group of workers spotted me and
asked me what was wrong. I ignored their question and asked for a cigarette.
Minutes later, al of us were sitting against the wall, smoking into the
silence. Soon, my father came, fuming as he saw his workers and his son smoking
our lives away. With a tight slap, he knocked my cigarette out of my mouth and
onto a stack of paper. He then proceeded to give me my second worst lecture. However,
before he could complete it, a sudden wave of heat and light made all of us
look to where my cigarette had landed.
Instead of a stack of paper, all we saw was burning columns
of it. Apparently, the fire had spread so quickly that half of the factory was
already engulfed. Panic ensued as the workers clumsily attempted to extinguish
the fire with low pressured fire extinguishers which should have been changed a
long time ago. The attempts were futile as the fire quickly engulfed the whole
factory. All I remember was attempting to find the exit before something fell
on me and knocked me out.
When I awoke, excruciating pain blinded me. After a while,
the pain subsided and I was able to look around me. After a while, I concluded
that I was in a hospital ward. I lay on the bed staring at the ceiling until a
nurse walked by and noticed that I was awake. My family members were contacted
and soon, I was surrounded by smiling faced that showed how relief they were.
Confused I asked them why they were not angry with me for starting the fire. I
later found out that the fire occurred ten months ago and after being knocked
unconscious by a support beam, I had been slipped into a coma.
However, my grandfather’s hard work had all gone down in
flames. On top of that, Jimmy had slipped into a coma, like me, from his head
injuries. That night, I cried silently into my pillow. A moment of curiosity
had ruined my entire life.
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The time when you shouldn’t give up is when you feel like giving up
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