My Short Short for the Day

“How did you keep this hidden for so long?”  Mandy asked.

“Well, when you tell people you work with bees, it’s not a big leap for them to believe that you see them everywhere you go.”  Ally explained.  “So, when I have a hallucination, I just pass it off as me talking to or looking at some bees.”

“Wow.  That’s crazy.”  Mandy shook her head.  “You sure did a good job of hiding it.”

“Years of practice.”  Ally smiled but her eyes were tinged with sadness.  “Ok, here goes.  Wish me luck.”

“Are you sure this is the best thing?  I mean it is the…Devil.”  Mandy paused and touched Ally’s hand.  “I can’t believe this is even possible.”

“It’s the only way, Mandy.  I just can’t do this anymore and maybe, maybe he can fix it.”  Ally slipped her hand away and got out of the car.  She waved and turned away.  She could hear the car drive off as she walked into the building.  She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as she walked down the hallway.  It seemed cheerful and inviting.  A little weird considering where she was going, but I guess it made this easier.  If the hallway had been dark and scary, she probably would have changed her mind and ran out.

She reached the door at the far end of the hall and stopped.  Again, she took a deep breath in and let it out slowly.  She raised her fist to the door and knocked.  Almost instantly, the door opened and a voice floated out to her.  “Come in, Ally.  I’ve been expecting you.”

The voice did not sound particularly frightening, just kind of deep with a bit of a lilt to it.  She walked into the room and the door closed quietly behind her.

“Come, sit down.”  The voice came from across the room.

Ally sat down on the soft, red velvet chair nearest the desk.

“As you probably guessed, I’m the Devil.”  A figure stepped from the shadows, reaching his hand out towards Ally.  “Shall we begin?” 

She shook his hand and nodded.

“Excellent.”  The grin that spread across his face was wickedly mesmerizing.