A Junk Love

A Junk LoveMy generation was brought up in an easy world with fast and effortless pleasures, sorrounded by synthetic drugs which were not as destructive in the short term.

A Junk Love

My generation was brought up in an easy world with fast and effortless pleasures, sorrounded by synthetic drugs which were not as destructive in the short term. Far behind was the memory of the previous generation which dealt with dark drugs as devastating as heroin.

In St. Petersburg we found a story that struck us. It was about a romance linked together by heroin. It was on a Sunday in December in the outskirts of the city when we met Sergey and Katia. I was surprised how close they were and all the love you could feel in the air.

We stayed with them a few days living in the darkest side of the addiction, but also the sweetest. I intensely remember some details of the first day: I accompanied Sergey to get his drug dose. Katia was under the influence of heroin when she welcomed us into her house. There was one particular scene I was struck by: when Katia pricked Sergey in the neck.

With Sergey I felt the connection quickly, his eyes showed closeness and kindness. Soon they both opened their hearts and told us their story.

Segey and Katia knew each other in prison while both were serving sentence and life was not easy inside or out. Sergey had just spent the last three years in prison. There he received abuse and lost two fingers on his right hand. Katia was serving a prison sentence because os a series of compulsive robberies and it was in prison where she had her daughter with another prisoner.

There was no doubt that they loved each other. They kissed, embraced, and were constantly holding hands. Now, no longer behind bars, they share a common life and addiction to heroin - daily life is far from easy though they try to survive. Sergey sells perfume fakes door-to-door saying that he´s a junkie and needs the money for himself and his partner, while katia´s mother cares for her daughter a few floors above.

On our last visit, after drinking some homemade liquor with them, Sergey said goodbye smiling and saying: “You are stupid” pointing at my holey sport shoes and offering me his snow boots.

We put on coats and returned to the cold streets of Saint Petersburg.