A Deal With The Devil
By: Terry Mansfield
Tags: Short Fiction, Cancer, Short Story, Short Read, Devil

A Deal With The Devil

In this short-short story, the devil truly is in the details.

Image by Markéta Boušková from Pixabay

Tom Winters sat on his living room couch, watching his five-year-old son Robby play with some toys on the floor in front of him. Tom had always loved to watch over his son. He did this from the time Robby was a baby sleeping in his crib. But these days, his habit had become even more poignant and melancholy.

Robby had leukemia, and the radiation treatments had caused all of his hair to fall out. But even with a bald head, Robby was as cute as a button and somehow managed to keep a smile on his face most of the time.

This particular day, Robby looked up from his toys and asked his dad a question: “Daddy, am I going to die?”

Tom Winters swallowed hard and paused for several seconds before answering: “No, Robby, you’re not going to die. You’re getting the best medical treatment in the world, so I know you’ll get all better soon.”

Robby gave his daddy a skeptical look, and said: “OK, daddy. That’s nice to know.”

Tom’s heart was breaking because he knew he had just told his little boy a lie. The doctors had already informed him that Robby’s condition was too far gone now, and the cancer was incurable. Although Tom and his wife Jessica initially refused to accept that diagnosis, they both eventually came to terms with the horrible reality facing them: their precious little boy was going to die within a matter of weeks. And there was nothing at all they could do about it.

They tried to keep a brave face around Robby, but he was a very clever boy and caught them dropping their guard down on occasion when the sadness appeared on their faces. He had never known anyone who had died, so he wasn’t sure what to think about the possibility of dying.

As Tom dwelled more on the situation, he thought there must be something he could do to save the life of his little boy. He turned over various possibilities in his mind and finally settled on an option that was farfetched at best and impossible at worst: he would find a way to make a pact with the devil to trade his own life for Robby’s. Now the question was how to go about doing this.

He had long casually studied the occult as something he thought was just a harmless hobby, a mere curiosity. But in his readings, he had occasionally come across mentions of the devil, including tales of people who sold their souls in exchange for things they thought were of value.

Of course, such a deal with the devil was never something to be done lightly, because turning over your soul to an evil entity was irreversible, and there was no turning back once you’d done it. Nonetheless, he settled on what he was going to do, which he never discussed with Jessica, of course.

Tom knew of a local store that specialized in the occult, including artifacts endowed with special powers. He told the shopkeeper that he was looking for an artifact that would summon the devil. The shopkeeper said he had such an object but strongly discouraged Tom from using it for any purpose whatsoever. It simply was much too dangerous. However, he failed to dissuade Tom.

Tom Winters paid the shopkeeper a considerable amount of money to use the artifact and then went into a private room in the back of the shop. Soon the shopkeeper brought the artifact to him and again tried to talk him out of using it. He said that the store would assume no responsibility whatsoever for anything bad that happened to him. Tom waved him off, took possession of the artifact, and bid goodbye to the shopkeeper.

The shopkeeper had given Tom instructions on how to use the artifact. To summon the devil, you rubbed the object ten times quickly between the palms of both hands. What could be easier than that?

After completing the ritual, Tom sat back and waited for about a minute for something to happen. He was starting to think it wasn’t going to work. But then, there it was. An apparition of the devil appeared directly in front of him. Naturally, Tom was startled by this but shortly composed himself enough to say to the devil: “My little boy is dying of cancer, and I want you to save his life by taking mine — my soul.”

The devil looked him over and said: “I can easily do that, but are you certain you want to do this? Once I take your soul, I will have it forever.” Tom swallowed hard and said: “Yes, I’m sure. My boy must live because he’s so young and has his whole life ahead of him. I’ve led a good life, so I’m not afraid to give it up now. My wife will take care of Robby.”

So Tom made a deal with the devil. But of course, there were details to be considered. Tom would be allowed to return home and spend one last day with his wife and son. After that, he would head off to work as usual, but on the way, he would be involved in a one-car accident and die, all caused by the devil, who then would take control of Tom’s soul. It all seemed so straightforward.

And it was. Tom went back home and hugged and kissed Jessica and Robby so many times that they were starting to wonder what in the world had come over him. But he was happy and contented because he knew that after that day passed, Robby would no longer have leukemia. It was a beautiful thought.

The day passed, and the next morning arrived. Tom grabbed his briefcase and gave a heartfelt goodbye to Robby and Jessica as if everything in the world was as it should be. He knew that soon it would be.

That afternoon, a policeman came and knocked on the front door. When Jessica answered, he informed her as gently as possible that Tom had died in a car accident. Upon hearing this terrible news, she fell to the floor and wept uncontrollably. How could this be so?

Robby kept asking where his daddy was, but his mother was still trying to figure out a way to tell him that daddy had gone to Heaven to be with the angels and would not be coming back home to live with them. But that would have to wait a bit longer. Right now, she needed to get Robby over to the hospital for a scheduled visit to receive his next chemotherapy treatment.

While at the hospital, the doctors treating Robby ran some routine diagnostic tests and were astounded at the results. They called in Jessica and told her the news: Robby was completely free of cancer. They said they couldn’t explain it, that it was nothing short of a miracle. Jessica fell to the floor again and wept, but this time with joy.

She thanked the doctors and thanked God for saving her son. But the one she should have been thanking was her husband Tom — and the devil himself, of course.

The End

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