Sid : the Devil's secretary

30. Office spacing

30. Office spacing

After lunch, Sid returned to his work in finding his third new recruit at a public arts exhibition being held in the upper sanctums of the Anubis library above the silent reading areas in a glass dome rising above the rest of the building. While crowds gyrated from one portrait to another, Sid sat on a seat next to a moustached man in a sweater and beret who was immediately unimpressed with his presence.

"bonjour" Sid attempted.

"I don't do that" the man replied.

"I thought you do that kind of thing here" Sid flustered.

"then it shows you have no class, certainly not enough to demand my precious time and energy" the man turned away from Sid.

"is that one of your works?" Sid looked to a pastel made depiction of a tree in a farmer's field in summer.

"I prefer to think of it as a fragment of my soul on a canvas, not a work. Work means labor, labor means toil, toil means anguish. I do not create works, sir. I create art" the man, by the name of Jacques, emphasized.

"with an ego that big, I'm sure you do just that" Sid murmured.

"what do you want?" Jacques turned back.

"to offer you a job" Sid explained.

"a man who has no taste needs some culture?, interesting" Jacques rolled his eyes.

"not me, Lucifer" Sid shook his head.

"what are you playing at?" Jacques narrowed his eyes.

"who needs just one canvas when you can paint entire walls, roofs. You can sculpt courtyards worth of works, I mean, art" Sid made Jacques gaze around the room.

"intriguing. And the pay?. True artistry doesn't come for free" Jacques mentioned.

"you'll have to take it up with him" Sid said bluntly.

"deal" Jacques got up and left without another word. This left just one more person for Sid to find, and she could be found usually on across town on the corner of Pluto drive and main street. Sid indeed saw a young woman with blue hair fiddling on a guitar and keeping the earnings from passers-by in a black top hat.

"great sounds. Come here often?" Sid put a few coins in the woman's hat.

"and you are?" the woman, by the name of Sandra, looked up and stopped playing.

"your ticket off the streets" Sid continued.

"how?" Sandra doubted.

"sure, you make some change out here, but what if I told you there was a new opportunity to perform in great opera halls, concerts, weddings, parties, all that jazz?. Lucifer says he loves your sound and he has the ability to help you go even further than this with it" Sid held his hands behind his back. The idea was left to fester for a couple of seconds before a gutter punk in a dark green hoodie swiped Sandra's hat of money and ran off down the street.

"get that guy who took my money hat and maybe I'll consider it" Sandra proposed.

"goddamit" Sid begrudgingly gave chase to the thief, who made the wrong turn down a dead end alleyway. With a couple of shots into the air, the thief scrambled out of the alley and back out onto the streets out of view while Sid went the other way back to a waiting Sandra.

"there, happy?" Sid dropped the hat at her feet.

"where do I sign?" Sandra smiled. With his work done for the day, Sid decided to make one final stop to an old friend. Recently he had been feeling much happier, either from the thrill of a daring career or the thrill of his first real love.

"oh Sid. Nice surprise. What brings you here?" Dr Saul saw Sid waiting patiently outside his office.

"can we talk?" Sid asked innocently.

"sure...how do you feel?" the doctor led Sid into the office.

"actually, better than I have in a very long time" Sid sat on the brown lounger.

"really?" Dr Saul twiddled his pencil.

"really" Sid replied.

"maybe this special someone coupled with your new job have had a positive impact on your lifestyle. I have never really seen you smile in this office before until now" Saul retorted.

"I don't know why, but it just feels like things are really going my way" Sid continued to smile.

"have you remained positive recently?" the doctor questioned.

"as much as I possibly can" Sid said.

"and have you experienced any recent visions from your past" Saul continued.

"honestly, no" Sid answered, surprised himself.

"then we have made a truly remarkable breakthrough here, Sid. You are thinking positively, which is counteracting your negative emotions. You are finally learning to let go of the past to see what tomorrow brings. Your mental health and your overall self-confidence both seem to have improved since the last time I saw you. I am very impressed, and you should be proud" the doctor gave his diagnosis, and a positive one at that.

"thanks" Sid appreciated the positive news from Saul.

"no worries, my boy. do you feel like returning for another session next week?" the doctor prepared to write down a reminder on his clipboard.

"right now, not really, but I promise to keep in touch doc. Thanks very much for all your help" Sid stood up and walked out of the room.

"good to hear, now you should get going. The night is still young. I hope you have plans in store" Saul opened the door for his patient.

"oh, I do" Sid walked out of the hospital to meet Carlos as the sun was going down over the lava sea.

"hey man. rough day at the office?" Carlos joked.

"not at all. Let's go have some fun" Sid held Carlos' hand as they waltzed off into the city's nightlife together.