The Most Expensive Lie?

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Never knew that one lie could’ve hurt me so much.

During engineering, I met a guy who was completely opposite to me. He drove a pulsar 220 in 2013. Had a girlfriend. And openly talked about porn and masturbation.

He was the chutiya (badass) friend that your parents always advise again. My parents told me the same.

But I found him cool. He had everything that I didn’t have — a girlfriend, an awesome bike, and ability to talk about substances and addictions.

That time, I was a studious guy who just stayed at home and never talked to girls.

One time a few months after meeting him, we went for a movie. The movie finished and then we went out to a nearby kirana (mini-grocery shops in India) shop to have some water and snacks.

“Cigarette phukta hai (Do you smoke cigarette)?”, he asked me.

I hesitated for a while and then abruptly said, “Haan bhai (yes bro).”

Don’t know why I lied. May be I wanted to fit in as I found him cool. May be I had always the curiosity to try a one but never could. May be I knew it was harmful but knew the one won’t hurt. Or a combination of all these factors.

That day and almost 12 years later — I’m still smoking cigarettes.

I think that’s the most expensive lie I ever spoke. And I’m not telling this to get your sympathy or express my anger for the guy who got me started.

I just wanna ask you — What’s the most expensive lie you spoke? How did that hurt you?

And some open-ended questions for you and myself:

Why do we lie? Do we learn it from our parents?

Why aren’t we taught about addiction and their science at the school level?

How does smoking and alcohol industry still manage to influence our kids during their most vulnerable phase?

Why do some of us find some of the most troubling kids at school so cool?