The Devil Doesn’t Lie

The weight on my chest was crushing, like a bull had rammed into my body at full force, as I threw myself against the large door. I didn’t deserve to be here. What I did wasn’t that bad. I didn’t deserve to be in hell. I spent days biding my time to escape, praying to an entity that would burn my throat every time I tried to say the name. “Forgive me.” I would say. “Give me second chance. Please. I’ll live right. I’ll change. I don’t deserve to be here.” And every time I would, I could hear a laugh inside my head. As if it was laughing at what I was saying. As if I was lying.

I wasn’t, I would swear. Besides, right and wrong are a gray area. It’s really not as black and white as everyone says it is. Tell me, if you were pushed to your limit, wouldn’t you snap? And when he came to me, he said he would help me. I could get out of my situation. No more living pay paycheck to paycheck. No more nights sleeping in my car. No more deciding between food or my dreams. I could have it all.

He said I could have everything I ever wanted. At a small price. And believe me, it felt like a small price at the time. But I guess I didn’t read the fine print. While I got everything I wanted, I lost everything and everyone that was once important to me. I don’t know what I expected, but for some reason, I didn’t expect the Devil to make me regret having everything I wanted in life.

I called and called for him when I couldn’t take it anymore. Screaming at crossroads, chanting in front of mirrors, yelling in cemeteries for the Devil, and he refused to come. So, I abandoned that plan and decided to go to a church and look for someone who could give me some Divine guidance. I spoke to whoever it was in charge. I bared my soul. He leaned back in his chair and I heard a chuckle that sounded almost like a growl. I immediately moved back. The priest, pastor, whatever he was, had black eyes and was smiling wickedly at me. And I knew. He was here.

“I don’t appreciate being called a liar, young sinner. I gave you what you wanted. Exactly as you told me. It’s not my fault you weren’t detailed enough.”

“You said my life would be everything I wanted.”

“Everything you wanted, yes. Perfect? No. Come on, the Devil has to have his fun every now and then too.”

“I want out of the deal. This isn’t what I wanted.”

He sighed. “No can do. You belong to me.”

I sat quietly, there had to be a way to get out of this. This was probably the first and only bad decision that I ever truly made. Surly God or whoever could forgive me and save me.

The Devil huffed, disappointed. “No, I don’t think he will. You made a deal with the Devil, Honey. You’re mine.” I startled when he answered my thoughts. He tapped the side of his head.

Anger slowly started to bubble up inside me. Things began to escalate from there. Every time he taunted me, the room turned more red. Until that moment, I had never felt such anger and hatred. And before I knew it, I was lunging across the table at him. I blacked out. When I came to, I was in a cell, hands bloody and in cuffs.

“What’s going on?” I called out. “Get me out of here! I don’t deserve to be here! Get me out!”

A man dressed in an officer’s uniform came around the corner. “It’s time. I’m going to open this cell. You are to come out slowly. If you run, I will use force.”

“Okay,” I said, holding my hands up. “Okay. Just, tell me what’s going on. Please.”

He unlocked the cell, grabbing my arm a little harder than necessary and jerking me in front of him. “You are going to your hearing.”

“Hearing. I… I don’t… I can’t…” I felt myself panicking. I couldn’t remember what happened.

We walked into a room where two people sat. A man and a woman. The man wore an expensive all black suit and the woman, a white business dress. They were staring at me. The man had a smug look on his face, the woman had a pitying expression. The officer placed me in the middle of the room. Another person walked in. I couldn’t distinguish if they were man or woman, but they were ethereal and poised.

“We are here today, to decide the fate of this young woman. After selling her soul and murdering a person, we’re to decide what should happen to her.”

“Easy.” Said the man. “She comes with me. What’s there to discuss?”

“She has a lived a life that for the most part, was lived humbly and graciously despite her circumstances.” The woman said, her kind eyes sending warmth in my direction.

The man slammed his fist onto his table, a loud crack echoing throughout the room. “She murdered someone. ‘Thou shalt not kill’ or whatever it is you say. The evidence of it is indisputable.” His voice pierced through me like ice, and I realized who they were.

It was God and the Devil. And they were decided where I go. Heaven or Hell.

“Yes, but whose fault was that really?” The woman muttered under her breathe.

“Hey. I admit it. I might poke the bear, but they have free will. She was the one who snapped. And when I approached her, she shook my hand, knowing full well who I was and what she was promising me.”

This went on for a while. I couldn’t speak. After what seemed like hours, the ethereal person stood up. “Enough, after hearing both sides, I have made a decision.” I held my breath. “Despite her previously decently lived life, the evidence is in fact, indisputable. I have decided. She will be damned. Dismissed.”

No, I screamed in my head, over and over. The Devil and God shook hands and God gave me one last sympathetic look before disappearing in a blink. The Devil walked towards me slowly, grinning.

“I’m going to kill you.” I gritted through my teeth.

“My dear, you already tried.” His fingers touched my cheek. “Not to worry though, I’ll take care of you. I’ll lock you in a room and throw away the key. Compared to everyone else, you’ll be living in luxury . I promise.”

“Why would you do that?”

“I like you. You got some fire and hate in that heart of yours, Kid. Despite your lack of understanding of the legalities of a contract and that murder is wrong, no matter who it is.” He flicked my forehead and I collapsed into his arms, passing out as he carried me to the elevator down to Hell.

Time doesn’t pass the same when you’re not alive. It could have been minutes, days, or years that I sat in my cell room. Planning, plotting. I hadn’t seen him since I was sentenced to Hell. I would sit in my cell room, meditating. Ignoring the screams and yelling around me. I needed to remain calm and clear headed as best I could. I stayed quiet. No screaming, no crying, nothing. I was going to get out. I was going escape. Even if I had to run for the rest of eternity.

I tried various ways to break out, but the only way to free myself was through the door in front of me. I spent every single second, staring at the door. After days or years or whatever of praying, burning my throat, I was ready. I slammed my body as hard as I could into the door. It knocked the wind out of me. I tried again. And again. And again. When my body couldn’t take it anymore, I tried one last time.

The door creaked open, just the smallest of a centimeter. I could have cried but now wasn’t the time. I needed to run as fast as I could, no matter what. As I ran by the other cells, the faces of the souls who were locked inside cried out, their arms reaching for me. I’m sorry, I thought, but I didn’t have the time to help them. The hall I was running down was dark. I couldn’t see where I was going, but I kept running. Praying to God in my mind. Help me, help me, help me.

I ran for miles and miles in the pitch black until I saw something in the distance. A light. A spark of hope lit in me. The feeling of adrenaline coursed through my veins. The closer I got, the more I could smell the Earth from above. I could hear birds. I could smell flowers somewhere in the distance. I saw a ladder reaching down from the light.

When I approached it, stopping to look behind me. The sound of thousands of footsteps echoed behind me. The ladder was tall and went on for at least a mile. I started to climb. They were coming for me. As I moved upwards, I could feel the bottom of the ladder shaking and moving. They were here. I went faster. I could see the sunlight now, and a butterfly fly over. And someone else. It was the lady from the hearing. It was God.

Tears streamed down my cheeks. Thank you, thank you, I thought. I don’t deserve this. I am so grateful. She reached down. My fingertips touched hers and she started to pull me up. But as she pulled me closer to her, my heart stopped.

“Why should you be saved, little Sinner? Why do you, out of everyone else, deserve a second chance?”

“I… I thought…”

“You thought you could run? Like I couldn’t hear you every day, planning your escape.” I could feel the scuffling from below me. My whole body starting to shake with fear and rage. “You thought it would be that easy? That the door would open, just like that? You should have been thanking me. I gave you a room to yourself and left you alone. I let you pray. And this is how you repay me? I am your God down here. Your protector. And this is the thanks I get.” The Devil snarled. “Well, I don’t think I’ll be so kind the second time around. And I don’t think you should be allowed to return back to your cell so fast.”

Her hands let go off me and I started to fall downwards. My tears floated in the air above me. The smell of the green grass from above and feeling of warmth from the sun started to be replaced by the damp smell of clay and the cold from the dark. Claws started tearing at my skin as I fell, passing all of the hell soldiers that came for me. I could see the Devil standing above me with a shovel. And she started to scoop the dirt back into the earth. The light was disappearing and so was I.

Was the light ever even real? And was my own personal hell really about to start? Because if I’ve learned one thing while being here, the Devil doesn’t lie.