Overwhelming Euphoria©

Hannah bought me Overwhelming Euphoria© for my birthday; for her twenty-first, I bought Long-lasting Happiness©. She thought she was being kind but I couldn’t help but wonder if this was her way of trying to change me. I know she’s always thought of me as her dull friend.

A bore.

A wimp.

A prude.

A nun.

A goody-two-shoes.

I love her but I don’t think she loves me the same way. She would change so much about me to suit her but the only thing I would change about Hannah would be her ability to believe that I am actually okay with who I am.

She smiled as she handed me the bottle. Hannah was expecting me to open it and down it in front of her like she did for me only a few months ago. I sigh and say, “What the hell?”

I tore open the bottle cap and expected the overpowering scent of cocaine or heroin to intimidate me. But it didn’t. It smelled… minty but subtle. I take a deep breath and chug. It was surprisingly light and refreshing. It tasted like green tea with a hint of mint, but it wasn’t an overbearing mint like toothpaste – it was delicate and invigorating.

It warmed my throat like a hearty hug from a family member who you haven’t seen in a long time. It brought back memories of reading Dickens in my grandfather’s tartan armchair and of my grandma chuckling at us while wearing her flour-covered apron. I could smell the cake that was baking in the oven and longed for a slice of her famous Victoria Sandwich. I could taste the first time I drank coffee. The feeling of a book in my hand, the way a hand-knitted woolly jumper brushed against my skin.

The drink reminded me of playing in the snow with my big sister for the first time. It reminded me of when my fathers both told me they were adopting their third child. It reminded me of first meeting my little brother and when his tiny hands first clasped around my finger as I held him. It reminded me of how he used to show off to his friends and introduce me as his “super-smart big sister”.

I had assumed that Overwhelming Euphoria© would encourage me to go dancing at the club where Hannah works or take drugs. I had expected the drink to force me to take bigger and crazier risks than I could even fathom, but all I wanted to do was phone my fathers, my sister, my brother and visit my grandpa and grandma’s graves to tell them all how much I love them.

The look on Hannah’s face was priceless. It was truly the best birthday present she could ever have given me.