The Deal

Technically, the deals started thousands of years ago, when man had little knowledge of the world beyond our own and couldn't quite understand the function of a wheel. But it's always been there, ever since Eve was tricked into taking the first bite; before the world was transformed into a walking sphere of chaos and sin.

Now in the year 2045, humanities prosperity has fluctuated into a utopia. I bet you weren't expecting that outcome, right? The truth is, we were close to our final judgement, but the expected decay from global warming and neglect to our environment was prolonged by a deal we made with a higher power. While some say this being was the Devil in disguise, other's (or the vast majority I should say) called this entity our saviour. It summoned itself into our reality when we needed it most, and struck a deal with all the world leaders...

"Salvation for bananas."

For what reason would a cosmic being want all the bananas in the world? Do not ask me this again. If you wanna figure it out, just make a deal yourself. However, U have to warn you. Those who have done just that lose their god-forsaken minds at the sight - or even the mention of the yellow boomerang-shaped fruit. I also forgot to mention that the deals didn't stop there. Anyone could make a deal. While in concept, this would send the world into even further disarray and corruption, it did the exact opposite...

Make a deal with those who call 'The second coming' and expect your wishes to come true, so long as you abide by it's rules. This gave the deals an element of unexpected danger, and is therefore seen as unsafe by the public despite being popular. To put it in a way that you'll understand, it's like what happened with marijuana. People love it. Quite a few smoke it, for both recreational and medical purposes. Yet, for the majority of most states it's banned. Except in this case, if you take it once it will change your life forever...

That's what these deals were doing to people, including my friend, Chloe. We hadn't seen each other in over a month for no specific reason (mostly because life gets in the way) and we decided to break the silence by going for some brunch at a café. To understand my shock when I first saw my friend, you have to first understand what she looked like before. While I'm not one to fat-shame, Chloe was bordering on obesity. She told me about the many diets she gone on, surgeries she paid for, gym memberships left unused. I hate to admit it, but I was a cynical person back then. I thought Chloe was never going to change, because people rarely do... but that morning I was silenced. Chloe weighed less than me now. She had a body I envied. Looks that could brainwash men.

At first, I didn't recognise her when she took a seat in front of me. "Sorry, I'm expecting my friend, could you sit somewhere else please?" I asked.

"But Hannah, it's me," Chloe chirped, grinning with a row of pearls.

I couldn't believe my eyes. "Chloe?!" I erupted, stuttering like a moron. "H-How? W-when?" She looked either side of her like she was checking for spies. She leaned in closer to whisper, "I took one of those deals, Hannah, and it worked!"

My eyes almost popped out of my head when I heard this. "But aren't they dangerous?"

"Tell that to my size 6 pants." She chuckled like a cheerleader. She also looked like one.

"Th-this is amazing!" I exclaimed. But then, for a second, a hard, cold slap of reality brought me back down to Earth. "What's the catch?" I asked. "There's always a catch."

Chloe's smile was gone when I said that. She straightened herself back in her seat and averted her eyes everywhere but mine. "I did make a few sacrifices... none I weren't prepared for."

My excitement upon seeing her slowly begun to shrivel into a ball of dread. "Chloe, what's happened to you?" My question would soon be answered when she, by mistake, took a sip of water as she was trying to explain the situation to me. "But things have been so much better ever since I took the deal, Hannah! I'm still being stared at, but for different reasons!" She took a sip of water by reflex in between sentences, something so mundane I didn't pick it up at first. But when she put her glass back down, I saw her face contort in horror. "Oh no," she whimpered.

"What is it?" A second later, the button on her shirt burst open and shot me in the eye. I whaled for a moment, putting pressure on the bleeding, but I was distracted from the pain by the sight of my friend. Her clothes tore. Her limbs grew. Her face widened. Until eventually, she not only looked like her original self, but double her original size. The chair was close to bending under her weight.

She looked at me and broke into tears. Everyone, including myself, stared in utter shock and disbelief. A few had to lend a hand to get her into the back of a pickup truck. She was so large that her legs couldn't even support her own bodyweight anymore. I got in as well and tried to comfort her the best I could as we drove to the hospital. "Why... Why?!" She sobbed uncontrollably.

"What happened?" I asked, holding her hand.

"It's the deal," she cried. "It's the deal! Every time I wake up, I'll have the body I've always dreamed of. But as soon as I ingest anything, even if its water, I'll grow double my size!" The tears kept coming like a broken faucet. I barely held down my own, having to watch my friend live in agony...

After the incident, the nurses managed to patch up my eye, but that wasn't the only wound I received from that experience. The thought of food made me sick. I couldn't bare the thought of the same thing happening to me. Blowing up like an air-balloon. Being carried away like livestock. It plagued my mind back then, and it still does today. I could never properly enjoy a meal again.

Poor Chloe took one day at a time. She was kept in the care of the government, who made an entire new program dedicated to reversing the effects of deals on innocent people. But once a deals been made, it cannot be undone. The only way to rid of the ill effects was to make another deal, which could potentially lead into even further torment...

I couldn't eat or sleep for a while. I visited Chloe nearly every second day while they tried to come up with another deal to restore her old life. I was appalled by it all. It turns out, she hasn't been the only one to suffer for making the same deal. There were many others like herself, except any time they digested food they experienced other ill effects like uncontrollable diarrhoea or even worse, melting skin. And those were only the weight related deals...

These deals, while a blessing were also a curse. Humanity both thrived but suffered at the same time. I cannot help but think we're all still doomed. That we've only pushed our judgement day forward... but it still creeps on us, looming on the horizon a hellish shit-storm. I can't take it. I can't take it anymore. A question keeps pulling at the back of my mind... What if someone wishes for the death of all of us?

What was preventing such a wish to come to fruition? What stopped that one maniac from pulling the trigger? My mind, and many therapist, failed to comfort me on this thought. We could all snap out of existence at any second, at any moment, at any time, at the will of any man.

I stopped eating completely now. I don't sleep anymore, either. My family worries for me, but they can't help me, and I can't help them from the inevitable extinction of mankind. This has been no way to live... I wouldn't wish this upon my worst enemy, so that's why I've decided to make a deal of my own. A message to the past, at the cost of my future.

I've decided to take this deal, knowing it will be the end of me, but possibly another chance for you. Please, for those who read this, don't take the deal. It's up to us to save our planet. It's up to us to save ourselves...

-Hannah Brown