I was in grade 11 when I met my first boyfriend.  He was a cousin of a friend of my sisters.  She was visiting him in hospital and my sister and I tagged along.  Dave was involved in a roll over and sustained massive internal injuries.  We hit it off immediately and became close over the next 6 months of his recover. I would catch a bus to the hospital every night to sit and talk with him.

Dave made a full recovery and the next few years were great. One weekend a large group of us planned a weekend away camping and dirt bike riding deep in the pine forest out the back of Woodford.

Some of the group headed out early on Friday to set up camp. The rest of us left Brisbane late that afternoon.  We were bringing the alcohol and drugs. Someone had scored a sheet of LSD trips. I still remember them. The tiny little squares had a picture of the phantom on them.

Those of us not driving dropped a trip on the way up to the camp site. By the time we got there the drug was starting to take effect and I was ready to par-tay

We pulled up at the camp site in the dark. The first thing Dave did was take his dirt bike off the trailer his brother had driven up. He’d ridden his road bike out there so had not had any drugs. He started up the bike and took off into the darkness.

As my eyes strained to see through the blackness, I saw a spark. Dave’s brother ran into the forest, soon returning yelling for help. They’ve crashed he kept saying. Some of the group started running towards the area I saw the spark come from.  I walked into the darkness alone.

One of the other guys that had arrived there earlier that day was riding his motorbike back towards camp as Dave was riding out. They hit head on. Dave died. His body was taken by ambulance to hospital. I followed in a car driven by a friend. There I was back at the place we had first met.

I was hoping this was just a bad trip, but it was real. So kids, don’t take drugs because if something bad happens the flashbacks are intense and can remain with you for the rest of your life.