Dealin' With The Devil

Hilda Berg

HA HA HA!

Welcome! Welcome my dear, to the Inkwell Isle observatory!

Now, what can I do to help you? Here for some stargazing or...what? The-the devil? What do you want with-?

Oh. It...seems my past has come back to haunt me. Oh dear. I'm afraid you'll have to leave; I want no business with that fiend or his underlings. No offense.

Uh huh, sure. Do you think I was born yesterday? Anyone ever to murmur that name means trouble!

What? What happened to me? That's...a difficult thing to explain. Love? Ambition? I can't tell, even now.

Anyway, if that's really all you're here for....not more than a few years ago, I brought this place up from my childhood dreams. I worked everything I could to bring it to life, believing that it would let me fly above, into the cosmos. Heh heh.

I...was a foolish child. But I digress.

When I finally got this observatory approved, I had a hard time keeping it that way. There was always something new and shiny and expensive that they wanted, that I couldn't afford. It wasn't until I made a deal to keep this place alive...at the expense of myself.

I was no more than a youth, on the brink of quitting. In a starry night, a shadow spoke to me. He whispered in my ear like a breath of wind. "Little late for a stroll, wouldn't you think my dear?" "Wh-what? Who-" "Calm down, miss. I mean no harm. In fact, I was just looking for you, Miss Berg."

I raised an eyebrow. "How do you know my name?" "Why wouldn't I? You're practically a legend! The woman who wouldn't quit trying to reach for the sky!!", he boasted. I was still skeptical.

"I see. What would you want to speak to me about?" "Ah, yes. Unfortunately, I've also heard that your observatory may not be doing the best. Is this true?" I nodded.

"Well, I'm here to help. Now, what did this place offer to you, if I may inquire?" I took a deep breath. This was happening. "I...wanted to touch the stars.", I meekly answered.

"Well, sounds like a wonderful wish.", he agreed. "Alright then; done!", he delightfully offered, finally appearing in front of me. His gloved hand was outstretched towards me expectantly. My shaking hand grabbed hands, and we shook. A parchment flew in front of me, to which I eagerly signed. This was it, I had thought. I'm finally getting help, things are looking up-

My thoughts were cut off by the spring of gears from me, spinning faster and faster. All of a sudden, I started flying! It was amazing!

However, what he failed to mention was the price to pay. The parchment grew bright as the life was sucked out of me. He was merciful, though: it was painless. He boomed in laughter before I flew down and grabbed the parchment. I flew up to the skies, knowing he couldn't follow.

I unrolled the parchment, reading what I signed to. The Devil's office. Realizing what I've done, I sped to my observatory, where I locked myself inside in isolation. That is, until you came.

There. I hope I satisfied your thirst of knowledge. But, I need you to leave, I don't need any trouble.

I've already gotten myself into enough.