It was 7 o'clock at night in the town of Bluefields. No one was outside. At least, no one except for one girl.

She had dark skin and almost black eyes, with bleached blond hair past her shoulders wearing a sundress. She looked to be in her early teens, probably about 13 or 14.

This girl was the South Atlantic Autonomous region, known as Sur by the other departments. And she was addicted to cocaine.

She wasn't always addicted. It started in the late 1990's when a small package of white powder floated to shore. She couldn't even remember the year. She just knew that before that white packet came, she was already in a depression. She had been still getting over the shock of separating from her brother. Suddenly, she went from the Southern half of the Zelaya department to her own autonomous region. Her twin brother had to move out of the house to his new capital, and she was left all alone. Suddenly, she couldn't talk to the closest person she had to her, and she felt lost. Not to mention that the high unemployment rate was getting to her.

She knew what the packet was. She had heard Mamá talk about it enough. She also had heard from Corn Island that this stuff could make you forget everything, if only for a moment. So, she took a shot at it.

It had burned in her nose, but the result was incredible. She had been using ever since.

But back to the present, Sur already felt irritated. She had been waiting here from an hour. She needed her fix NOW or she was going to murder someone.

Finally, she saw the old man run up to her. He was a fisherman, someone who bought the cocaine for her with the money she gave him. She had been buying it from him for years, so he already knew that she was a personification. He kept on blabbering on about why he was late. Something about waking up late and it throwing off his schedule. She didn't care. Not a girl of words, she just held out her hand as if expecting something. The old fisherman got the message and took out 5 clear packets that revealed the white powder that was inside. It was a Godsend to some, a curse to others. But to her, it was the white treasure. She snatched the packets and quickly stashed them in her pockets. She then took some money out and gave it to the old man, a thanks for the trouble of buying the treasure in the first place. She then ran as fast as she could, anxious to get home.

Sur ran all the way home, locking the door as soon as she raced in. She then quickly ran to the bathroom. After catching her breath, she walked over to the counter of her bathroom, wet a paper towel, and cleaned a small part of the countertop. Treasure shouldn't be put on a dirty surface, after all. After cleaning the surface and drying it, she opened 2 of the packets and carefully deposited it onto the counter. She took a small razor she only used for this kind of stuff and scraped it on the cocaine, causing it to go into 3 lines. Sur smiled, she would finally feel normal again. She brought her face close to the lines, and inhaled it.

Like it always did, it burned. She sat down on the floor, and felt herself relax. She then felt herself forgetting everything, instead focusing herself on the sensation.

Sur knew that this addiction of hers wasn't helping anyone. So many of her people were still unemployed. She still felt sick all the time. But she couldn't stop herself. She needed it to feel alive. To feel as if nothing in her life had gone downhill. She rarely talked to Norte anymore, rarely attended meetings. Matagalpa kept on calling, asking if she wanted to go to one of his dance festivals like they used to. She couldn't bring herself to say yes to his invitation. She didn't want him to see her like this; he was only 12 for crying out loud! Well, physically he was only a year younger than her, but that was beside the point! He didn't need to see her like this. She knew she looked like a mess.

She sighed. Trying to get herself back on track. What was she going to do again? Oh, yes. She was going to check how much spending money she had. Sur walked over to the small safe she kept her money in. As she punched in the code and opened it she saw that it revealed…

A dollar.

Sur rubbed her eyes and looked again. Did she really have… only one dollar? Now was the time to panic. Why did she have no money? She only had enough treasure for a couple more days. How was she going to get more? She thought and thought… but then had an idea. A lot of the cocaine was transported to Managua. Maybe she could get some money by having him buy some…* She didn't notice the flawed logic in this. She quickly took the dollar she had and ran out the door to catch a bus to Managua. This was going to be one long train ride…

Sur looked up at the house. She knew Mamá was at work, and Managua worked at home. She knocked on the door.

"Coming!"

She heard steps and the door unlocked as the door opened to the older department. His chocolate brown eyes showed confusion.

"Sur? What are you doing here?" He asked.

Sur fidgeted for a bit before she looked up at him. "c-can I come in?" She asked. She normally didn't say anything, which was probably why Managua had a look of surprise on his face.

"U-um, sure, I guess." He stepped to the side to let Sur in.

She quickly ran into his house, leaving him rather surprised.

Managua closed the front door, going over to Sur. He still had confusion in his eyes. "So…to what do I owe this visit? You don't normally visit me or… anyone, actually." He looked even more confused.

Sur suddenly became nervous. How was she going to propose this to him? Well, just do what you normally do. Go straightforward.

"W-well…" dammit! Don't stutter! She inwardly scolded herself. "I-I'm sort of tight on money… and I had a proposition for you…" Sur fidgeted a bit, not sure how this would turn out.

"Really?" Managua asked, raising an eyebrow. What exactly did Miss Atlantica Sur have in mind?

"…Si" Sur replied. "I'm willing to give you something… if you pay me for it." She took one of the packets she had in her pocket, holding it out in front of her.

Managua's expression was unreadable. "and what makes you think I would want that?"

Sur was taken by surprise. Wouldn't an addict be almost dying to get it at any cost? "W-Well… It's just that so much of the drugs at my house are trafficked here… and I thought that maybe I could… help you?" Way to crash and burn.

"Just because my people do this drug doesn't mean that I have to!" Managua yelled, startling Sur. His anger was extremely evident, his brown eyes seeming to take an almost red hue. "There's no way that I would even TOUCH that Devil's drug!"*

Sur whimpered, unused to Managua being angry. He got annoyed often, but never angry. It was as if it was a myth. Until now.

Managua finally calmed down, sighing softly. "Is this what you've been doing for so long?" he finally asked quietly.

Sur looked at Managua in confusion. What did he mean?

Managua looked up, meeting Sur's eyes. "Is this… drug… why you never go out or talk to anyone anymore?"

Sur looked at Managua in Surprise. "H-how did you-"

"Know?" Managua finished. "Just because I'm the capital doesn't mean I hole myself in my room all day doing work. That's Tegucigalpa's job*. I've been talking to Norte and Matagalpa" His eyes softened. "They're worried about you. Everyone is. When you and Norte split, you stopped talking to anyone, even him. You don't answer calls, or write back, or anything! You might think that we don't notice, but we do! When you do decide to go to a meeting, you never seem attentive, and you always look around in paranoia."

Sur felt herself shake a little bit. Her eyes were burning with unshed tears. She wouldn't cry, she wouldn't cry s-she…

Sur fell to the floor crying, curling into herself. How could she be so stupid? This drug had seemed like the answer, just a way to escape. But it wasn't. It was making her situation worse!

Sur felt a pair of arms encircle her in as hug. Managua had sat down next to her and hugged her. "it's okay…" he murmured soothingly, gently rocking her in order to calm her down.

After Sur calmed down, Managua helped her up. She wiped her eyes, wiping away the rest of the tears.

Managua put his hands on her shoulders, making her look at him.

"Sur.. Promise me that you'll stop this." He said.

Sur looked at him. She didn't want to give up her escape… but she wanted to see her brothers again She nodded her head.

Managua smiled a bit and let go of her. "Come on, I'll give you come money so you can go home.

Sur sat on the couch in her home, holding herself and shivering. She hadn't used in a few days, and it was starting to get to her. She never knew withdrawal could feel so horrible.* She shivered even more, bringing her knees up to her chest. She had been feeling more irritated as well, thank goodness she hadn't been around anyone.

Sur shook her head. She needed to snap out of this! She had already slept for 2 days straight, and she wasn't tired.

She took a shuddering breath, shivering even more. She couldn't take this! The withdrawal started to settle when she had woken up and it was getting to her. She felt like she was going to die.

Was this what real life felt like? Because if it was, she didn't want any part of it.

But… I promised.. She thought to herself. Maybe she wasn't strong enough to deal with it yet.

She took another breath, feeling it rack her entire body. Just one more… One more and she'd quit forever!

She ran to her safe and punched in the code and opened it, revealing the final three packets of escape. Of white treasure. She grabbed them and ran to the bathroom, not bothering to close the door behind her. She needed it now.

She opened the packets onto the countertop and quickly used the razor to make the lines, and quickly inhaled, feeling the burn.

She collapsed onto the floor, feeling content. She started to feel the effects, except they were stronger.

She suddenly felt nauseous, and everything started to blur together. This wasn't what she normally felt. Why was everything starting to feel weird?

Then she realized:

she had overdosed.

She couldn't move, and things started to blur even more. Was she going to die?

Sur started to panic, she didn't want to die!

Just before he blacked out, she heard a door slam open and saw the blurry images of a male version of her and a blond German boy…*

Norte and Matagalpa were in a hospital room. Sur was on the bed, recovering from her brush with death. She was still passed out.

Norte had his arms crossed across his chest, and had his legs crossed as well. His eyes were closed, as if not bearing to see his twin sister in such a state. He shook his head, his bleached blond hair shaking with it.

Matagalpa looked as if he had been crying, his chocolate brown eyes showing sadness and pain. His light blond hair was messed up and he seemed pale.

"N-Norte?" he cautiously asked his older brother.

"hm?" he grunted in reply.

"W-why would she do this? I-I mean, what's so good about this… kokain (Cocaine)?"*

Norte sighed, opening his eyes. "Cocaine is addictive. Once you start it, it feels impossible to stop." His expression started to become bitter. " I never expected Sur as the type to take the easy way out."*

Matagalpa shook his head from side to side. "n-no! She didn't take the easy way out!" He looked at Norte, fresh tears welling up in his eyes. "S-She was probably in pain, ja? I mean, you and her were so close before you became your own regions…"

Norte sighed, uncrossing his arms and his legs. "Si…"

Matagalpa continued. "I-It's probably that drug! Managua called it the devil's drug before!" Matagalpa scrunched his hand into a fist, and shook. "It's not her fault. I-It's not her f-fault!" The tears started to roll down his cheeks.

Norte sighed. "But it was her choice to start that drug. She's gone in over her head." He stood up and hugged Matagalpa. "which is why I'm having her move in with me when she gets better. That way, I can keep an eye on her and maybe reconnect with her again."

Matagalpa stopped shaking. "a-as long as you keep her away from the devil's drug, I'll be fine…"

Well, this was rather long ^^;;

I wanted to write about the drug trafficking problem in the South Atlantic Autonomous region. It's also the reason why Matagalpa absolutely hates any kind of drug and why Norte and Sur live together even though they're different regions now.

Oh! Here are some notes:

A lot of the drugs that are sent to the South Atlantic Autonomous Region are sent to Managua because the pacific side of Nicaragua is much more populated. This is why Sur automatically assumes that Managua uses cocaine as well.

*Managua has seen what cocaine does to people and how the drug trafficking affects Nicaragua's health, so he refers to it as "the Devil's drug".

*Tegucigalpa is Honduras' capital. I have it that he's a shut in and just stays in his room all day, which is why Managua refers to being holed up in a room all day "Tegucigalpa's job".

*Withdrawal is really hard on people (so I've heard ^^;;) Most cocaine users have to go to rehab in order to successfully break them of their habit.

*aaand now you guys faintly see Matagalpa and Norte. The backstory for this is (no she's not hallucinating) Managua told Matagalpa and Norte that he had talked to Sur and that they should go visit her. He didn't tell them about her little addiction because he felt that was her burden to share. Guess he didn't expect her to overdose ^^;;;

*Mata's the German department of Nicaragua, which is why he has blond hair. It's also why he speaks in German at times (Kokain is how you say Cocaine in German).

*I guess Norte's being a bit harsh on his sister, huh? But like Sur, he isn't that good at expressing feelings. He's just upset that he hasn't talked to his sistr in years and that he couldn't protect her from this.

Wow, this was long! ^^;;

So, was it okay? I need to know~~

Review por favor~!