Are you an addict? And I don't mean drugs or alcohol. What I mean is those seemingly innocent addictions like food, spending money, taking pictures, video games.....or reading.
Some probably will say no or some joke about it and laugh and say yes like it's not something that can affect them negatively, or at least they think it doesn't.
But what if it does? What if....those innocent addictions can change your life in unexpected ways. What would you do if you could live your addiction differently, unexpected, uncontrollably, unwanted...
As a middle-aged woman, Selene had her own little addiction. She loves reading, she has a love for reading ever since she can remember. Everything that stirs an interest in her , a tiny spark that whispers "this is it, I want this" she would read it, every book, every paper, every online article, she would devour it in record time like a starved animal on the brink of death. Her preferred readings are novels, especially online novels. She read so many even she can't remember them all, in fact she can't remember what she read last month, the amount of information her brain is forced to read is so much that calling her an addict would be too little, too demeaning. If her eyes and brain could talk it would surely scold her to hell and back and then some.
On this particular day, Selene, the goddess of addicts, was sitting on her worn out chair, legs bent under her ass, a laptop in front of her thick glasses and with a crazed smile like a hunter ready to catch it's prey, she was once again searching the internet for her next read.
Oh how she wished she could buy some membership privilege on some popular web novel apps but her credit card was as empty as her wallet and as empty as her fridge. Unfortunately she was dirt poor now, not by coincidence but by choice...yes choice(crazy women). Selene resigned her job a few weeks back.She was an editor at a not so popular company but it was a job that would bring her joy every day, she could do what she loved most, and that was reading. Alas, good times don't last, 20 years doing what she loves most seems too little...if only life wouldn't have given her such a bitter lemon to swallow.
26 days ago she was doing what she always does and that was reading, next thing she remembers was an excruciating pain then the hospital room she was admitted in. Apparently she suffered a stroke. The doctor said her body was in too much stress and her heart almost gave out. Bewildered, Selene looked at the doctor like he grew two heads. Stress? What stress????!! Except for eating and sleeping a few hours a night, sometimes every other night, all she does is read. She doesn't have any stress, there's no family, no kids, no partner, nothing, just her and her books, so what stress is this doctor talking about???
Alas, she didn't realize that her lifestyle is what put an immense stress on her body until it couldn't take it anymore and had a heart attack nearly taking her life. It's a good thing she was at work when it happened and her collegues where quick to call an ambulance or else she would be six feet under already.
The doctor advised her to change her lifestyle if she wants to reach old age. Of course she didn't listen and planned to do what she always does but at work she was told she should take a vacation and get better especially since she hasn't taken any in years. She begged for some work at home but was denied so in a fit of anger she quit thus leaving her jobless but with a fat bank account since she wasn't much of a spender. But who could have thought in just a few weeks she would spend so much to read ? Every cent was gone like it never existed. Since she was home all day all she did was read. Read every book she had on her TBR list, read every article that earned her fancy, read every online novel her eyes could spot...and that's exactly what she was doing even now, discarding the doctors warnings and giving in to her addiction.