The smoke filled her lungs as she drags the cigarette between her lips. Once again she felt on top of her game- the world was in her hands and all her problems were squashed with her stilettos again and again. She is the boss lady in the room. How can you not notice her. They call her BEAUTY.

“Years ago, she ran for it at the slightest opportunity, as though a weapon in a fight, to defend herself when faced with difficulties. Yes! It always worked. She won the fights cigarettes helped her overcome.

Overtime, she became confident in the smokes she blew in people’s faces. puffs of blue smokes spoke her language without words escaping her lips, irrespective of the many frowns.

Years ago, she ran for it at the slightest opportunity, as though a weapon in a fight, to defend herself when faced with difficulties. Yes! It always worked. She won the fights cigarettes helped her overcome. Overtime, she became confident in the smokes she blew in people’s faces. The puffs of grey smokes spoke her language without words escaping her lips, irrespective of the many frowns.

One day, she came home, and her door was broken down. To her surprise, the settee was ripped, flat screen television smashed and curtains pulled out. The floor was waterlogged with many broken pieces floating and the chandelier seemed to have found a better stage on the mirrored staircase. She was shocked and could not proceed further to the havoc that was glaring from a distance.

Look at her needing an explanation as her body drowns in cold sweats. The cover-up mission was over at this time. losing her footing as she ran down the front stairs in stilettos, she realised that she never won any of the battles she fought. The cigarettes were not a weapon, it was a misconception, an illusion of truthfulness. A chicken brought to many life lessons. Without knowing, a source of comfort had become a bad habit. One that accommodated her many demons that were now fully present in her home. Destroying the home that kept her organs, spirit and soul.

Now she is on the floor trying so hard to breath. In ICU- lost in a dark tunnel and wondering around to find the nearest light to make her way. With a frightening voice of a 5 year old, she says SAVE ME! And in no time, a lovely subtle voice, familiar to her, says “I TOLD YOU SMOKERS ARE LIABLE TO DIE YOUNG.”

“Preparedness meets opportunity are wise words” the voice continues. Unfortunately, you have been preparing for the invisible enemy that now looms the streets of the world. They call him CORONA.

X pj