Devil's Visit

A strange visitor shows up to prove that the world isn't all bad.

_______ didn’t care for other people. _______ thought other people were rude and ignorant and untrustworthy.

            People, according to _______, were out to please only themselves. This is why there was only ugliness in the world.

            People were selfish, _______ was sure about that. And that was why wars happened and why people made fun of others and why people threw their garbage on the ground instead of carrying it a few extra feet to throw it into the garbage can. People were out to please only themselves.

            _______ was pondering all the ignorant and foolish things that humans do when a knock sounded from the door.

            This was just what _______ needed, a person to spout out at. Since the telephone was invented, no one but religious fanatics came to the door unannounced, _______ was sure of that.

            _______ opened the door to find a person standing there. The person was dressed in ordinary clothes, and had an ordinary face.

            “Yes?” _______ noticed the person carried no pamphlets or paperwork of any kind, which was the custom of religious people who knocked on unsuspecting doors.

            “Hello. I’m The Devil, and I’ve come to wish you a good day.”

            _______ was nothing short of flabbergasted. There had been talk of people being visited in their homes by God, but The Devil? Surely that was only a thing of stories.

            “Well, I just don’t believe you.” _______ began to close the door, but The Devil slipped inside before it could shut.

            I must stop to assure you that this was indeed The Devil, and not some kind of imposter. Going door-to-door impersonating the Devil would be insane and a person who did such a thing should seek psychological help, that’s something that I am sure of.

            “If you’re The Devil, then what on Earth are you doing here?”

            “God’s having a day off,” The Devil replied, while scanning the room. “Not much for decorating, are you?”

            _______ said nothing. The Devil was standing in the middle of the living room! This didn’t seem like an appropriate time to talk about home décor.

            “Not much of a talker. Okay, let’s cut to the chase. I’m here to tell you about how things really are.”

            “What things?”

            “Things in the world, of course. They’re quite a bit simpler than you might think. Do you mind if I take a seat?”

            _______ said nothing. The Devil sat.

            “Some coffee would be nice as well. I’ve had a long drive.”

            _______ prepared the coffee and sat down.

            “So, you seem to think you know how this world is run, don’t you?”

            _______ said nothing. The Devil continued.

            “You think the world is ugly. And some of it is. That’s my department, you see? And I gotta say, I’m proud of it. But, my old friend God has asked me for a favor, so I have to tell you,” The Devil paused for a sip of coffee. “Ah, that’s not too bad, thank you. Anyway, I gotta tell you, you need to look around. See the birds and the flowers and the old people holding hands? That stuff’s beauty, and it is around. I don’t like it too much, but it’s around.”

            The Devil took another sip. _______ said nothing.

            “And there’s waterfalls and rainforests and bunnies snuggling. Kittens playing with yarn and fuzzy pink sweaters. And candy and smiles and babies laughing. DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT I’M SAYING?”

            _______ started at the sudden shouting, but said nothing.

            “Arrr, listen, I don’t like talking about this stuff, but like I said, I’m doing God a favor. There’s kisses and rainbows and dancing and milkshakes and Robert Munsch stories! Do you understand that there’s beautiful things in the world?”

            _______ said nothing. Then _______ spoke. _______ said, “I know there’s beauty in the world. But I’m afraid. Because the beautiful things don’t last. The beautiful things are temporary.”

            The Devil said nothing.

            “It seems like the ugly things, the wars and the sexism and the littering, those kind of things never go away.

            The Devil thought about this. Generally, it was not The Devil’s job to defend the world’s beauty. The Devil was proud of the ugly work that had been done. But, The Devil had promised God, and God was a good friend.

            “Maybe, it’s attitudes like that that chase the beauty away. Did you ever think about that? Maybe it’s being blinded by fear that let’s the ugly parts of the world sneak in and take over. Maybe people need to stop worrying that the good things in the world are going to go away, and they should start appreciating them a little more. Maybe- Ah, I can’t talk about this anymore. It’s not my area, you know? And I don’t want to make all my hard work irrelevant, you know?”

            _______ said nothing. The Devil stood up.

            “Just, pay a little more attention to the nice stuff, okay? I have another appointment, so I gotta get going.”

            With that, The Devil left _______ to sit in silence and think about the good things in the world. _______ thought about the people who bought the homeless coffee and sandwiches and baby birds hatching and swinging on the swings in the park. _______ thought about sunsets and sunrises and phone calls just to say “hello.”

            And before _______ knew it, it was night, and the whole day had been taken up by thoughts of beautiful things, and _______ wasn’t so sure that the world was ugly.

Author's Note

In the beginning, I had trouble coming up with a name for the main character. By the end, it no longer seemed necessary, because I think, in a way, this is something that everyone goes through.

Reviews

[max_vonnegut]

This is seriously one of the most legit and relevant short stores I've read on this site, you're so talented.

And I just inserted the name "John" in all of the blank spaces so it would flow smoothly :)

[Alene Parr]

Wow, thank you again. And thanks for doing some problem solving with the blanks thing. Some people (specifically my father who could not figure this story out at all, haha) can't get past it. I was hoping people would throw their own names in there or the name of a friend or whatever. I personally refer to the character as "Blank" because I don't know if it's a man or a woman. Thanks for reading! Really glad you enjoyed it!

[max_vonnegut]

Oh dang, it never crossed my mind that your character could have been a woman.. I feel ashamed.
read moreOh dang, it never crossed my mind that your character could have been a woman.. I feel ashamed.
It's just that the character seems so cynical and I thought 'it has to be a grumpy old dude.'

[Nusquam Esse]

I actually preferred this with the Empty spaces, it is very similar to how in many of Franz Kafka's works his characters would have a single letter name, such as K. An enjoyable allegory which did not go the route expected. I am an upbeat and happy person, but every time I try and write, it always turns out so... dark. I am sure people who read my stuff would assume me to be a brooding individual with lots of self-loathing. I... uhh... blame the pen. I find it amusing that this seemed to take an opposite direction than I would have been able to go.

[Alene Parr]

Thanks for reading! I'm usually lean towards darker stories as well, so this was a surprising ending for me too. And I'm glad you like the spaces. Some people hate them, but I can't bring myself to put a name in there at this point. Cheers!

[wordman]

well you must have had me in mind when you wrote the first part of this story
I really love your stories it`s like country music it`s about real life and real people
one day I will try to write a novel lol

[Lobster Goldberg]

Fantastic story. Very interesting way of displaying your ideas :)

[Alene Parr]

Thanks for reading! Glad you liked it!

[isus]

great, great. i can say only that. the thing that character's name lefted blank is great, i like it and i would leave it that way if you ask me :D

[Alene Parr]

Thanks! I'm glad you think so. I don't know how I could ever come up with an appropriate name at this point anyway. Thanks for reading.