The Gift

The Gift

This story is inspired by a real story but some of the facts have been
invented to make this story more interesting.

Jenny was a true natural beauty. She was 5 ' 6" and had long brown hair that
she always wore in a pony tail. She was 30 years old and was in great shape.
She loved being active, almost all her hobbies were related to sport and all
her friends were just as active as she was.  Cycling, running -  she loved it
all.

Even her job was related to her passion of sports, she was the recreation
coordinator in a small local college. Because she worked in the sport centre,
she never really had to dress up for work. She wore jeans and t-shirts almost
every day.

The only time she had to dress up a little more was when she attended
meetings a few times a year and she always felt awkward not knowing how to
dress up for the occasion and not having many dressier clothes to wear. It
was the same thing whenever she went out with her friends, which was not
often. At 30, she wasn't so keen going out to noisy and smoky bars as much as
she used to when she was in college. She much preferred having friends over
for dinner instead.

The fact that she was still single at 30 didn't bother her. She was hoping to
meet someone and get married and have kids one day, but there was no rush,
she enjoyed the single life. She dated a few guys in the past few years, but
never for longer than a few months.

She often wondered if the fact she wasn't putting much effort in her
appearance had something to do with the fact that she was still single. She
envied her friends who had more style than her and who had more fashionable
clothes than her. Everyone always said how beautiful she was but she wondered
if natural beauty was enough to attract the right guys. Even though she
envied her friends for having more style, she never really did anything about
it, always feeling better in her comfort zone wearing the same type of
clothes.

Then one day, she was visiting her parents for dinner when her mom mentioned
that she had inherited a watch from her sister who had passed away in a car
accident a few months earlier. Since her mom did't wear watches and Jenny was
the only other girl in the family, her mom offered it to Jenny.

Jenny didn't know much about her Aunt Sylvia who had just passed away. Sylvia
lived on the other side of the country and Jenny only saw her two or three
times in the past 10 years of her life. She remembered how stylishly Sylvia
dressed and thought of her as a very attractive woman for her age, always
well dressed and looking much younger than her age. Even though she didn't
get to see her often, Jenny really looked up to her only aunt. She always
thought that Sylvia was cool and stylish in every way.

"How come you inherited Sylvia's watch? Is it very expensive or something?"
asked Jenny.

"I think it is. It is a Rolex and it came with all the papers and guarantee
so I think it is real."

"How much do you figure it is worth?" said Jenny.

"I don't know, I wouldn't be surprised if it is very expensive, your aunt
liked indulge herself with expensive things. She always wore expensive
clothes and drove luxury cars."

Her mom continued, "It is the only souvenier from her so I wouldn't want to
sell it."

Jenny's brought the watch home that night. When she got home, she opened the
watch box for the first time and she was surprised by the beauty of the
watch. She could tell this wasn't a fake or replica watch from the size of
the box and all the paper that came with it.

She did a quick research online to try to figure out how much was the watch
worth. The paper inside the box said it was a Rolex Ladies Perpetual
Datejust. After a few minutes researching she realized the watch was worth at
least a few thousand dollars!

Jenny loved how the watch looked. She never wore any jewellery and her own
watch was a plastic digital sport watch. This watch was so different! She
never in her life had worn anything but plastic sport watches. She always
liked watches and had always fantasized about buying herself a fancier analog
watch but she thought it wouldn't match her "style" and her clothes so she
never did.

This watch really reminded her of her Aunt Sylvia. Even though she didn't get
to know Sylvia well, she could picture Sylvia wearing the watch, along with
her fancy clothes and smoking her long cigarettes. Cigarette smoking was one
thing that Jenny remembered about Sylvia. Sylvia had always smoked long cork
tipped cigarette labeled "Avanti light". The cigarettes had a particular
smell that she associated with her aunt even if she only saw her once in a
while.

Although Jenny was a big anti-smoker, she didn't mind the smell of her aunt's
cigarettes very much for some reason. It might have been the mix of scent
with Sylvia's perfume that made the smell more tolerable for Jenny. She
remembered sitting outside a café with a friend once when she smelled a
familiar odor. A women next to her was smoking the same brand of cigarette as
Sylvia and she had recognized the distinct smell of that particular brand.
She remember thinking that it sort of smelled good to her, probably because
it reminded her of her aunt, who she always looked up to.

She always wondered how Sylvia managed to look so young and healthy while
being a smoker. Sylvia had once told her that she only smoked four or five
cigarettes a day because she was concerned about her health. She exercised
regularly. She used to run every day and participated in many sports, which
Jenny thought was weird given she was a smoker.

Jenny took the watch out of the box and put it on her wrist. For some reason
she was nervous and excited. The watch was the perfect size for her wrist.
She had seen other women wearing Rolex-like watches in the past and always
liked the way they looked but she never thought she would wear one herself
one day since it just didn't seem to fit her style. Looking at herself in the
mirror, she thought the Rolex watch looked odd with her white t-shirt and
shorts.

She immediately when to her closet to find some dressier clothes to go along
better with the Rolex watch she was wearing. She grabbed her nicest pair of
jeans and a black turtle neck and put them on. It was already better. She
suddenly had an urge to buy more clothes to fit her new watch and update the
rest of her look.

She went to bed that night determined she would change her look in order to
once in a while be able to wear her new watch. She thought the watch was too
nice to leave it in the bottom of a drawer and she needed some sort of a
makeover anyway.

Maybe there was a reason why the watch had made its way to her, it had
provided her the motivation to change. It was weird and exciting at the same
time!

The very next morning, she was at the hair dresser to get a haircut. She
wanted to be able to wear her hair down instead on in a pony tail all the
time. She got a nice haircut and some blond highlights that made her look
fantastic. She loved her new hair cut and color. Next, she went to the mall
and bought clothes she had never thought she would buy before: leather boots,
skirts, dresses, nice pants and trendy tops. She got back home so excited
that she spent the next few hours trying all her different outfits.

She would be able to wear most of the clothes she bought at work since it
wasn't too "dressy", it was simply more "trendy".

She then realized how self conscious she would be if she had to go out with
friends wearing her new clothes so she decided she needed to get used to her
new style by going out on her own at first before she could get comfortable
showcasing her new style around her friends or co-workers.

She put on her new high boots with black stockings and a jeans skirt along
with a nice tight long sleeve black top. She stopped to look at herself in
the mirror and could barely believe she was looking at herself. Still, it
seems something was missing... Of course, her new Rolex watch! She ran to the
drawer where she had carefully placed the watch the night before and took the
watch out of the box and placed it on her wrist. She then went back in front
of the mirror to look at herself.

She liked what she saw. She felt confident and very sexy for the first time
in her life! The woman in front of her was both sophisticated and sexy.
Without waiting any longer, she went out the door, got into her car and drove
to a nearby coffee shop.

At first she felt very conscious of how she looked and whenever a guy would
look at her. She kept looking at her new watch which she really loved but
still looked strange on her wrist. She ordered a cup of coffee and sat by the
window to read a magazine while sipping on her cup of coffee.

She was thinking that the way she looked reminded her of someone but she
couldn't quite remember who... She then clicked, the way she looked and felt
reminded her of Sylvia, probably because she was wearing her watch, but
also because she could have pictured Sylvia dressed the exact same way. It
felt weird, it was like the watch she had received from Sylvia was meant to
teach her something and help her become a new person.

Jenny thought the only thing missing in order to feel like Sylvia would be
cigarettes!  Sylvia didn't smoke much, but she always did when she had
coffee. Jenny had heard before from smokers that cigarettes where great with
coffee. For some strange reason, Jenny wondered if she should try to smoke a
cigarette as an experiment. There was no way in her mind she would ever want
to become a smoker, she valued her health too much, thought it was a filthy
habit and her friends wouldn't approve but maybe she could try to smoke a
cigarette or two just for fun and see what it was like.

Her mind was racing and she start thinking of a plan of how she could try to
smoke a cigarette. She had never before in her life smoked a cigarette! That
alone was a good reason enough to try it, she thought. Everyone must try to
smoke a cigarette at least once in their life. She couldn't smoke in public,
she would too self conscious and would be afraid to see someone she knew so
she decided she would go back to her house for the experiment. She went back
home and did some research on all the different brands since she knew nothing
about it. She remembered her aunt smoked Avanti lights but realized that
these might be too strong for her experiment and that she should stick to an
"ultra light" or mild brand.

She found a website with all the Canadian brands of cigarettes with their
nicotine and tar content and decided that she would try du Maurier Ultra
Lights. She had seen other women's smoke du Maurier's before, they seem to be
a popular brand for women and she liked the fact they had a cork tip, just
like the cigarettes her aunt used to smoke. They also looked like they'd be
very mild, which should help her enjoy the experience.

Jenny was determined to make this new experience enjoyable. She decided to
get some wine to calm her nerves because she was very nervous at the idea of
buying cigarettes, let alone smoking one! While she was sipping her red wine
she continued her research and found a site that taught her how to smoke
properly and inhale the right way. She decided she had to try inhaling in
order to fully experience what smoking was all about but she would follow the
advice she found online and just puff on her very first cigarette and avoid
inhaling any smoke in order to get used to the taste.

She finally got her courage up and drove to a convenience store far enough
from home so she wouldn't risk of running into someone she knew.

She nervously walked to the counter and asked, "Can I get a pack of du Maurier
Ultra Light, please?"

"Regular or King Size?" replied the cleck

"King Size, please," said Jenny, knowing these were longer than regular
cigarettes and would look more feminine than short regular cigarettes. She
paid and hid the pack of cigarettes in the pocket of her jacket, feeling very
self-conscious. She drove home and was feeling nervous and excited at the
same time.

She walked to her basement and went into the small room in the basement and
closed the door behind her and opened the window. She placed a chair and table
next to the window so she could blow the smoke outside and avoid having the
room smell like smoke. She also brought a big mirror so she could look at
herself.

She got an ashtray and some matches and placed everything on the table in
front of her. What am I doing!?! she thought to herself. She wasn't sure
this was a good idea anymore but felt so alive and it was such a thrill that
she decided to continue her experiment. I am being such a bad girl! she
thought to herself.

A couple of cigarettes won't kill me after all, I have to try this! Without
waiting any more she sat at the table and opened the pack of cigarette. She
paused for a second to smell the 20 unlit cigarettes. The smell was
interesting. She carefully took one long cork tipped cigarette out of the
pack and placed it in her mouth. She then lit one of the matches and
positioned the burning match at the end of her cigarette. She pulled a bit
and saw the tip of the cigarette glow a bright red color. She blew the
smoke out immediately to avoid inhaling. She paused to look at the cigarette
in her left hand. It looked so out of place there, just as much as the shinny
Rolex watch on her left wrist. Looking at herself in the mirror, she thought
she looked somehow sexy holding a cigarette on the same side she was wearing
her Rolex. It was like she was watching somebody else, a movie star or a
celebrity but it was a fun experiment! The smell wasn't too bad either, she
thought. She managed to take about ten puffs on her cigarette without
inhaling before putting the cigarette out in the ashtray.

This was so out of character for her and she liked that. Nobody had to know
about this, it was just her own personal experience. She didn't want to
become a smoker but she still could maybe become a closet smoker who would
secretly smoke a few cigarettes per year, just for the thrill of it!  

She decided to wait a little before trying to smoke a second cigarette. She
went back up and watched TV for a while but all she could think about was
going back in the basement and trying to inhale! She liked the fact she
smelled like smoke, she was being a bad girl and enjoying it!

After 30 minutes, she couldn't wait anymore. She went back and lit her second
cigarette of her life. This time she pulled more smoke in her mouth when she
lit the cigarette. It tasted good! She then courageously took a long drag and
then, while keeping the smoke in her mouth, inhaled through her nose just
like she had learned on the website earlier. She felt the smoke go down in
her lungs and she resisted the urge to cough and immediately blew out the
smoke. She then felt a rush going to her head. This must be the nicotine
rush, she thought. She paused for a moment feeling completely relaxed.

This is not bad at all! she though. Better be careful, I don't want to start
liking doing this too much! Jenny continued to smoke her cigarette and
managed to inhale deeper with every puff. Her eighth drag was very deep and
while exhaling the smoke she felt a strong buzz going to her head. Better
stop before I get sick, she thought, so she crushed her cigarette in the
ashtray and leaned back on her chair, enjoying the feeling of relaxation she
was getting from the cigarette.   

She went to bed still feeling excited about everything that had just happened
to her in the last 24 hours. The next morning she cleaned the ashtray she had
left in the basement and decided to throw away the rest of the cigarettes. It
was meant to be an experiment so she didn't want to keep the cigarette any
longer.

In the following days, Jenny had a lot of fun with her new look. She also
started to pay more attention to people smoking around her. She didn't envy
them or wanted to start smoking but she could understand better why they
smoked. In a way, she kind of looked forward to another occasion to try
smoking. She told herself that she would repeat her experiment a few months
later to see if she enjoyed it still.

For her second experiment, she decided to try stronger cigarettes to see if
she could handle them. She bought a pack of du Maurier Lights and went to her
basement again. She was able to inhale from the start but she did feel a
difference and thought the du Maurier Light were much stronger but she
enjoyed the richer taste of the new cigarettes. That night she smoked two
cigarettes before throwing away the pack.

She repeated the same ritual about five months later and again another 4 months
after. She thought five or six cigarettes per year certainly wouldn't kill
her, and it is kind of fun to do once in a while.  So she kept this ritual
going, smoking no more than six cigarettes per year for the next two years. It
was just a way to have fun on her own. She never told anyone about her
experiment.

One time, while she was out of town for a conference, she challenged herself
to something new. She challenged herself to smoke in public just to prove to
herself she could overcome the fear of being seen smoking in public. Since
she didn't know anyone in that city, she wasn't risking being discovered. She
went to the local mall and went outside the door where a few people were
smoking. She approached another girl who was smoking

"Can I buy a cigarette from you?" she asked.

"Oh, please have one, no need to pay me," replied the girl and she extended
her pack to Jenny who was really nervous. It was a pack of full flavour
Benson & Hedges. Jenny felt very self-conscious smoking her cigarette but she
enjoyed the experiment anyway. It was fun seeing the attention she was
drawing from a few guys staring at her. She felt very sexy smoking in public.
The cigarette was strong and by then end, her head was spinning which she
also liked!

The End