No, I Don't Need A Glass

The strong stench of cheap alcohol hit hard on the walls of my nostrils.

No, I'm not a lover of alcohol, neither am I a jury to the drunk; I'm just that fellow who had sipped the bitter glasses of life so much that sipping from an alcoholic cup would be many steps far from the gates of sanity.

As the smell of the finely brewed whiskey distills, bit by bit, I began to drown in its intoxication, and I found my consciousness drifting from me.

I saw myself gliding into a new and peaceful world, devoid of nagging from a hostile wife and quarreling from a ranting neighbor.

In piecemeal, I forgot there was no cent in my wallet, and the queue of creditors waiting to peel my skin off my bones gradually faded in the mist.

"Where am I? Which realm is this? Is this heaven? I love it here," I said to my inner self.

But the strolling wind brought back reality to me, then I realized I was sitting a few meters from drinkers, and it was the alcohol oozing from their table that made me high.

"Do you need a glass?" one of them walked over to me, offering me a taste of the green bottle. Certainly, a taste would help me forget my wars and worries.

But then what next? The illusions will eventually fade, and the threads of reality will return.

I am not a coward; I rather fight my battles forever than hide behind the flames of illusion for a while.

"No sir, I'm fine; I don't need a glass." I bowed politely and walked away.

I had left the bar behind me, its temptation and the thoughts to drown myself in alcohol started fading from my memory. The thoughts of rum were replaced by the wise words of my grandpa, an old retired military man who had tasted the torrents of life.

He once told me that the way of real men is not to flee in the face of adversity, but men who wants to be heroes while still alive hold on to the ropes of resilience and strength. Those words in his dying bed kept re-echoing in my mind as I walked through that lonely street.

I decided to take a new turn of the wheel, to find a way out of my problems like the grandpa who raised. A new man was born in me as I made the decision to amend the broken relationship with my wife; that pretty petal I met in a coffee shop many years back.

As days passed, I began to build again those bridges I burnt. With flowers, suiting words and promises I won’t break again ever, I walked my wife back to our matrimonial bed.

My once distant neighbors who were a thorn in my flesh started warming up to me, and I saw there were really good people around me rather than the enemies I once considered them to be.

The biggest hurdle was how to settle my creditors; it was a very hard nut to crack, but when you put your mind into being good, fortune smiles upon your efforts. In the very face of the universe I found help and my creditors became trusted allies.

One evening, I was sitting on my porch, sipping from a cup of tea, and my wife stood beside me, rubbing the chest that she so much missed.

As I watched the beautiful sunset and perceived the saint of the night wind, It dawned on me that I had found my own heaven here on earth. My heaven wasn’t the place of escapism; it was the place of being at peace with all men.

The strong stench of alcohol was long gone, and the desire to revisit that bar was but a memory in the distance. I chose the path of courage, and my life became a rose that sprung out of thorns.

So as the cool breeze blew the leaves around, I smiled with a heart of merry, a new man was born in me when I made the decision; that day, I boldly echoed the words “No, I don’t need a glass”