At the Crossroads

 

I’ve been coming to the crossroads diner for over twenty years now. It’s seen some changes over the years. When I first started coming it was your typical diner food, maybe a cut above, but no Michelin stars. It was sold a few years back, gentrified and turned into a coffee bar. Gone are the vinyl upholstered booths, the Rockola juke box players on every table and the smell of fried onions. Now there is seating for two or four at individual tables and plants everywhere, but I still go. Now I go because it’s close to the oncology center and I go to get a cup of tea after my chemo.

They know me by my first name, “Phil” and drink of preference, green tea. Other than today being my last day of chemo it was just another day. I ordered my tea and was about to pay for it when the cashier said, “It’s already paid for by that guy over there.”

He pointed to a table for two with a well dress man that looked to be in his thirties. As I looked over he raised his cup and I saw the wrist bracelet from the oncology unit I collected my tea and went over to thank him.

“Have a seat”, said the stranger.

I held out my hand and said, “My name is Phil, thanks for the tea.”

He shook my hand, “Don’t mention it, I’ve seen you at the center and saw you coming in behind me. So how many more treatments?”

“None, I come back in a week for them to see if the tumor is shrinking or continuing to grow. I’m hoping for the former, but preparing for the latter. How about you?”

He waved off the question like it was inconsequential.

Instead, he posed this to me, “What would you give to be absolutely cancer free?”

I thought about it for a minute, “Would that be cancer free with no chance of it returning?”

“If you wish, might as well go big.”

“I don’t know?”

“Would you give up all of your earthly possessions?”

“That’s not much, I rent an apartment and have a couple thousand dollars in the bank, I don’t think I get any takers for that.”

“Would you sacrifice a loved one, a daughter, a grandson?

“No, absolutely not.” I was getting ready to walk away from this conversation when he said one last thing.

“How about your soul?”

I looked him over, and he now had a sinister look about him.

“Who are you?”

“I’m sorry, my name is Lucifer. Here’s my card.”

He handed me an embossed ivory colored card with the name Lucifer on it.

I looked at it and laughed, ”Anyone can get these made up.”

“Have another look.”

As I looked at the card the letters began to change, they morphed through a litany of names for the Devil finally ending on Lucifer searing it’s way into the card with a puff of smoke.

I held the card for a moment and then with a wave of my hand I made it vanish, then I made it reappear.

“I used to perform magic back in the day, that trick with the names was good. Those cards must set you back a pretty penny. I won’t ask how it’s done, I understand professional secrets and all.”

Lucifer sat there flabbergasted, “I don’t think you grasp the gravity of the situation. With the snap of my fingers I could make your cancer disappear.”

“Oh, yeah, right. With the clap of my hands I can make the light come on at home. I’m not some rube that you can wow with a conjuring trick.”

“You really don’t know who you are dealing with here.”

“I am not dealing with anyone, I was having an interesting conversation but that seems to have come to an end,” I said as I got up to leave.

“Wait a moment, I’ll prove it to you. You have to come back in a week?”

“Yes, so?”

Lucifer snapped his fingers, “They will find no trace of cancer, it is completely gone. Meet me here next week and let me know the results, that’s all that I ask.”

I looked him over, “Suppose you are who you say you are, then you don’t just go around handing out cures to cancer. There has to be a catch, a string attached.”

“You’re a tough customer, it’s been centuries since someone hasn’t believed me. This is just a convincer, on the house, no strings attached. See you in a week.”

One Week Later

Lucifer was sitting at the same table as if he had never moved. I came over and he motioned me to sit down. “So how did your test results come out?”

I stared at him for a long moment, whether is shock, awe or amazement, I’m not sure. When I finally spoke I said, ”Just like you said, no trace of cancer. It was as if it had never been there.”

“Are you convinced now? Do you understand who you are dealing with?”

“You keep using the word ‘dealing’. I’ve not made any bargains with you despite the fact that we are at the crossroads. I have taken the opportunity over the past week to check up on you and how you operate.”

“Indeed, well please fill me in. This should be interesting.”

“Well normally somebody goes to the crossroads looking for you and not the other way around. I just came in here to get a cup of tea. Making a deal with the Devil was the furthest thing from my mind. I have also never found the Devil giving anything without something in return. All of this leads me to believe I am somehow special, but for the life of me I can’t figure out what it is.”

“I’d say your research is spot on. I don’t normally go out soliciting as it were, there are enough souls waiting for me at the end of their lives. Yes you are special, but I’ll explain that later after we have concluded our business.”

“We have no business to conclude, until today I didn’t actually believe you existed. Fallen angel and all that.” That last remark made him wince just a tiny bit.

“I can give you anything you desire, eternal youth, wealth, you name it. Of course, I will expect something in return.”

“Ah, now we come to it, you want me to bargain for my soul. When I was doing my research on you, I spoke with a priest, a rabbi and a lawyer. Sorry that sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. What I was able to glean from the clergy was the soul of man was created by God at the moment of conception and as such is associated with that physical body. At no time does that physical body own that soul. The lawyer told me that if you enter into a contract to sell something that you don’t own it’s considered fraud and the contract is not valid. So I cannot sell you my soul because it’s not mine to sell and if I did I’d be committing fraud and the contract wouldn’t be valid. You probably don’t want that information getting around. But mums the word for me, besides who would believe I was having a chat with the devil about the legality of his contracts.”

The Devil was visibly agitated. “Every man has his price, what’s yours?”

“I want nothing now that I’ve been cured of cancer.”

“Every man wants something.”

“There is one thing that would be nice to have.”

“What? Just name it and it’s yours in exchange for your soul.”

“I’d like world peace.”

The Devil sputtered out a mouthful of tea. “I can’t give you that, that would run counter to my entire being.”

“OK, thanks for the tea and the cure, but I must be going. You could tell me why you picked me, earlier you said I was special.”

“Oh, that, don’t be getting any ideas about being special, I just meant that you were chosen randomly for me to work my magic on. It was just a small wager between me and Gabriel. We still stay in touch and have small wagers from time to time. Up until now I have never lost.”

“Well, no offense, but I hope to never see you again.”

I walked out of the diner and across the street into the park. There was an old gentleman sitting on a bench feeding the pigeons. He had a wreath of white hair on his head and that way the sunlight hit it made it look like a halo, or maybe it just was one. I walked over and sat down.

Gabriel looked over at me and asked, “How did it go.?”

I gave him the rundown and he smiled appreciatively. He handed me an envelope and said,” Keep this safe, these are the winning lottery numbers. There is one per year, but I would use them judiciously otherwise you might come under undo scrutiny.”

I took the envelope and put it in my coat pocket and then asked, “And that other little thing?”

Gabriel winked, “Yes that is all taken care of, you will have excellent health for the next thirty years. You will get the occasional cold, but nothing serious. This is not immunity from serious accidents, you can be killed, so be careful.”

“May I ask what the wager was?”

“Oh, why not. Whoever lost the bet had to be the other one’s valet for a day.”

“All of this for a valet for a day, seems a bit much.”

“You forget that God created the Heavens and the Earth in six days, my day is a bit longer than twenty-four hours.”

With that he vanished, just leaving a bag of bird seed behind.