Delilah.

Warning, dated work ahead. Proceed with utmost caution.

Here's a piece I wrote at the beginning of this year, please excuse my ignorance of this subject- I'm writing from a pitifully naive point of view myself. Enjoy. 

Moonlight filtered through the smoky clouds over the campsite where we rested, boxed in by a barricade of pine and birch. I brushed Delilah’s hair from her face and pulled her tighter under the blanket as Tom did the same to Mickey. Her breath streamed in thin wisps. It was nearing two and the moon lay motionless above us, a crisp slice of night. I smiled at the darkness; the weekend away for us had so far gone very pleasantly for all of us, as the breakaway from exams was a much anticipated event. We had all split the cost for a spot at a campsite not too far out of town and Tom had supplied us with a tent - but nothing could beat a bathe underneath the stars, thus the tent lay vacant for quite some time.

The campfire danced in the centre with the four of us perched around it. We had brought out the blankets as the night went on, for the fire alone didn’t suffice the needs of our bodies for long. It was fucking freezing, to tell the truth. I, for one, had never really been a big fan of the outdoors and Mickey suffered from an unfortunate emotional attachment to the local mall, but we had reasoned with each other that to be with each other was the best it could get – even if we were ankle-deep in leaves and unsightly insects. Little did we know, the best hadn’t happened yet, but it was about to.

Tom reached over Mickey into his backpack and drew out a small pouch. He leaned back and eyed up the three of us while toying with the ziplock seal. I knew what it was straight away, as did Mickey, but Delilah hadn’t come to terms with what it was. What a poor thing, living a life of innocence. Growing up with her wings clipped hadn’t let her become street-savvy like we had done.

“Is that a cigarette?” she whispered. You could see her eyes widen, even in the dark.

Tom chuckled and opened the seal, “You don’t need to know what it is. All you need to do is have a go.”

A lighter appeared from his pocket and we all huddled in closer. His hands were shaking, the lighter was failing and the joint jittered around. Somehow he looked like he knew what he was doing with it though. Delilah looked purely confused, which made me smile a little, as Mickey sat there with one hand on her shoulder explaining how to do it and what would happen. She was adorable.

“Just once,” Mickey was explaining, “is all it takes. That little thing makes you feel like no other."

“Honey, you’re making this out to be a bigger deal than it really is.” Tom had already lit up and taken a drag. He held it and then blew out a small plume of smoke. It wouldn’t start working just yet, but it was only a matter of time. He passed it onto Mickey, who took a drag, held it and then blew it out. She held it out to me with an encouraging look in her eyes, which frightened Delilah who clutched me tighter. I whispered in her ear that it was nothing to be afraid of and had my turn, holding it in for longer than usual. She gave me another look, then took it from me and held it to her lips, looking down the joint like it was the barrel of a shotgun. A gust of wind rushed through the trees and frightened the lot of us and we all looked back at Delilah.

“You’ve nothing to be afraid of,” I coaxed. “Just do it once.”

She twirled it in her hands momentarily, then closed her eyes and took a drag. Held it. Blew it out.

~ Holly