Once a Drug Addict. . .A sudden feeling of ecstasy; all your senses are changed, transformed, seem falsely true. Everything is really wonderful, powerful, creativity flows freely from your mind. You feel indestructible, confident and proud. The sun is cheerful and as you inhale the air it seems to suck you in effortlessly. Everything is blue, no, not blue of melancholy, this blue is "the blue that knows you and where you live and will never forget" (107). Blue is the facade and excitement an addict gets from the drug. Addicts immediately look for an escape, a better life, and something more rewarding. In Kate Braverman's short story "Tall Tales From the Mekong Delta," she describes a woman's struggle with drugs and how she eventually returns to using them after being sober for five months. Examining the manipulative personality and changing appearance of antagonist Lenny, the narrator's desire to escape the ordinary, and the influence of colors, it is evident that her temptations will get the better of her and destroy everything she tries to maintain when sober. .Lenny is the essence of his addiction. When he is first introduced to Lenny, she describes him with a kind of disgust, because to her he is undesirable. "He was short, fat, pale. He had bad teeth. He had dirty hair" (89). She's no longer attracted to drugs, she likes Lenny, they're disgusting. Lenny is there, always, everywhere you look, like a barnacle to a whale. It's a mystery that becomes temptation, as if she secretly longs for him to always be there. He confirms his desire to be there: "'Yes. You're happy to see me. You hoped I'd be here. And here I am'" (91). Was he really thinking about this? He said he was, so maybe he was, but... middle of paper... color bolism, his growing passion for "Chameleon Lenny", right down to his first drag on a cigarette, it's all clear he won't be able to overcome his temptations and allow himself to be drawn into the world of drugs and alcohol, only more intense this time (93). She has seen the sober life and is not happy about it. His smoking and drinking cigarettes, though not illegal, will still conform to his downfall. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't force it to drink. At the beginning of the story we see hope for someone who brings cookies to her AA meetings, who sits and drinks coffee while her daughter practices her dance, but unfortunately at the end "There's just this infected blue enormity that stretches out defiantly" (107). Once a drug addict, always a drug addict: "When the glass ran out, he poured another one. When the bottle was empty, he bought another one."" (107).