Pensamientos (short stories)

The Devils Son, or Whatever (Lolaska)

Alaska

You know those days where it seems like nothing is going right, at all? Even more than that, where it seems like every single thing is going no good, horrible, awful, and just... very very bad? Well I was having one of those.

I was covered in motor oil and dirt, recovering from the absolute mess that was my car, having a breakdown in the middle of an abandoned back road– great idea Lassie! Take the old stick-shift down a back road to save a few minutes heading home. I wouldn't have even had to take the backroads, if the highway wasn't closed, but the highway was closed, and there was so much traffic going down main, I thought, hey! Why not take the backroads! That'll be way more time efficient! Well it wasn't.

Enough of the tangent.

I stumbled on through the doors and grabbed the mail, sighing, exhausted, but refusing to break down.

And I suddenly I remember that I had a wedding to go to, because the conformation letter was staring me right in the face. And I had RSVP'd +1.

Great.

And it was in TWO. DAYS.

This wouldn't have been a problem if I hadn't just been cheated on. But I was. So it WAS a problem.

Where was I going to find a date in 2 days?

I turned my head up at the ceiling, hands in my face. "God? Anyone? Can you hear me?" I groaned aloud to the empty living room, shaking my head. "A little help here!"

"You rang?"

My eyes popped open and I looked away from the ceiling to the source of the voice, a sudden gasp ripping itself from my thought.

There was a man.

In my doorway.

With horns, sprouting from his head.

"Who the fuck are you?!"

"Woah, woah, woah there, Lassie." He put his hands out in front of him, like I was an anxious horse he wanted to calm. "You asked for help, and uh—" he winked "well, here I am."

I was backing slowly, thinking I might be able to make a break for the kitchen, maybe grab a knife and get the hell out of there. "What are you doing here!?"

"Ah, well you see." He flashed a debonair smile, that if I'd seen it under normal circumstances (I.e. not from some strange horned man in the living room who randomly appeared), I might have considered charming. "You asked for help, and ah, I thought you were pretty cute, so... here I am." The devil was aglow with charm "Do you know how many guardian angels I had to race to get here? Do you know how fast those guys are? Like, damn, they're..." he puffed his cheeks and blew out a breath. "They're spritely little things. Would you believe that me." He pointed his two hands to himself with a little grin "I, lord of the dark. Am just the teensiest bit tired right now?"

"One more time for me here."

He chuckled, and there was something about the gleam in his eyes that seemed so... familiar. "Alright hot stuff, one more time." He snapped his fingers, and in a blink, he appeared beside me, and I was suddenly watching myself.

Oh god. I was watching a rerun of the worst day of all time.

"Don't worry—" he said, as though reading my mind "It's just the highlights."

There I was, waking up late and tripping in an attempt to pull my clothes on, literally stumbling out of the door, watching Harley get a stupid promotion, my car breaking down on the highway, and finally, back in my living room. I watched in stunned silence, but I was fully aware he was over my shoulder.