The Fiesta

After a night of vivid dreams, wakening in a foreign room can be especially disorienting.
Gregory opened his eyes slowly, trying his best not exacerbate the ache pulsing between his
temples.
This isnt my apartment, he thought to himself.
The room had a distinct smellthe scent of lilac tinged with sweat was in the air.
Its perfume, he realized.
Something was odd about the pillow he was laying onit had two raised portions and
some sort of hard framework. Also, it appeared to be slowing rising and falling.
Gregory sat up.
Pillows dont breathe.
He looked down, and gasped in disbelief. Lying in the bed was a beautiful girl; sound
asleep with an expression of contentment on her face. Her long, golden hair fanned out around
her. Her petite nose twitched and she sneezed softly, the noise reminiscent of the squeak of a
mouse. She opened her eyes.
Good morning, she mumbled.
Morning, said Gregory, slightly nervous.
She stretched her arms out and yawned.
Would you like me to make you some breakfast? she offered.
Oh no, Gregory responded, Dont trouble yourself.
Its no trouble, she said with a laugh, Id be happy to. Just let me use the bathroom
first.
Gregory, feeling a bit of confidence now, placed his hand on hers.

No, I forbid it, he said sarcastically.

She laughed and jumped up out of bed. Gregory watched as she walked on the balls of
her feet over to the closet, grabbed a white dress shirt and walked out of the room. Gregory
sighed, replaying memories of the previous evening. Her name was Lucy. They worked in the
same building and had run into each other at a bar in town called The Fiesta. After a few
margaritas and a little dancing, she invited him to stay the night with her. While their amorous
tryst had been great fun, Gregorys favorite part of the evening had been right as he was drifting
off to sleephe was resting his head on her chest, and she had gently kissed him on the forehead
as she wrapped her arms around him.
Gregory was an insomniac. For months, he had survived on two to three hours of sleep a
night, sometimes less. He had tried every prescription medication, every herbal remedy,
cognitive therapy, and all kinds of exercise regiments. Nothing worked. Sleep was beyond
elusive. Everything just melted into one endless day. No one realizes how wonderful sleep is
until its gone. Without it, the world turns gray. Excitement and joy become impossible to feel.
During a routine X-ray, Gregorys dentist discovered a benign tumor growing in his jaw.
The operation to remove it was a simple outpatient surgery that went off without a hitch. As
palliative care for the pain, the surgeon prescribed him oxycodone. After the first pill, Gregory
understood why people let their lives fall into ruin seeking the pleasure of opioids. For the first
time in months, Gregory felt alive. He was expecting the drug to have a tranquilizing effect, but
it did quite the opposite. He had energy, motivation, and more than anythinghope.
Oxycodone had returned color to a bleached world.
Once Gregory took the second pill, he knew that he could let his life fall into ruin seeking
the pleasure of opioids. The second pill made him feel as though he was floating above his body,

gliding over all. It wasnt a dreamlike stateit made everything else feel like a dream. This
transcendence was far more real than anything that could be achieved while sober.
And then Gregory took the third pill. And he slept. For two days straight. Gregory woke
up feeling as though a great curse had been lifted. For about a month, life was bliss. And then
his surgeon refused to continue prescribing narcotics, switching him to prescription strength
Motrin. It did the job for the pain, but once again sleep became impossible.
Gregory went to see the insomnia specialist who had prescribed him various sleeping
pills and explained the situation. The doctor told him that it would be irresponsible to prescribe
opioids, as they are highly addictive and easy to overdose on, not to mention unapproved for
treatment of sleep disorders.
For a time, Gregory suffered through the sleeplessness, feeling the happiness the
oxycodone had given him being stolen away by bit by bit. There is no greater psychological pain
than having a taste of what you want more than anything in the world, only to have it slip
through your fingers. After a few weeks, Gregory could no longer stand it. He did a little
research on ways to obtain controlled medications without a prescription, and stumbled upon a
website called The Fiestaa narcotics trafficking hub on the deep web. Gregory had studied in
computer science, and he quickly learned how the site worked. Drug dealers created seller
accounts and listed their products, buyers paid with anonymous crypto-currency, and the
requested substances were disguised and shipped to the buyer. Proxy servers and multiple layers
of encryption protected the whole transaction.
Gregory tore through every piece of mail he received for days until his order arrived.
With trembling hands, he opened the package. Inside were five hundred tablets of instant release

oxycodone. For a solid minute, he simply stared at the massive stash now in his possession.
And then he took one.
That all happened two years ago. Without oxy, sleep would not come. And so, Gregory
took one every night. But one soon wasnt enough. It took two to put him down. Then three.
Then four. At this point, it took seven pills a night to get Gregory to sleep. And he could tell that
was not going to last for long.
But last night Gregory had been having so much fun, and was so enthralled by Lucy, that
he had completely forgotten about the stash of oxy he kept in his car. Gregory looked over at the
clock on the nightstand.
I slept for ten hours without a single pill.
Gregory replayed the forehead kiss in his mind again.
Breakfast is ready, called Lucy.
Okay, Ill be right there.
But how? he wondered.
Gregory shook his head to clear his thoughts and got up to meet Lucy in the kitchen.
Upon walking in, he was greeted by a large plate of scrambled eggs and hot toast.
Here, Lucy said, Its all for you.
She shifted her gaze to the floor, a slightly guilty expression crossing her face.
Sorry I burned the toast a bit. I got lost in thought and forgot to take it out. If youd like
Ill
Gregory cut her off by taking a large, audible bite of a piece of toast.
Tastes fine to me, he said through the mouthful.

They both laughed. Gregory had never really understood what people meant when they
said things like appreciate the little things, or cherish beautiful moments. But he did now.
Gregory and Lucy spent the afternoon together, and they probably would have spent all
day together had they not had prior commitments. Reluctantly, they parted ways in the early
evening. That night, Gregory found himself staring at the Altoids box that held his stash of pills.
For a few minutes he simply sat and stared at it, as if it was a puzzle he could crack.
Gregory reached into his pocket and took out his phone. His eyes shifted back and forth
between the phone and the Altoids box. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. After a
moments hesitation, he got up to make a call, leaving the Altoids box sitting on the coffee table.