I never understood life, or why things happened the way they did. Bad things happening to good people, people struggling to survive, so on and so on. My life was never easy; I come from a broken home, with broken people. No one was there to catch me when I fell; I just kept falling, tumbling out of control until there was nothing left. I felt sorry for myself, I searched and searched for a way out, but in the real world, there isn't one. You either fight, or you die, there is no in between…or so I thought.
I didn't believe much in miracles, or demons. There was me, and then there was everybody else. A crossroads was just a crossroads, there was nothing special about one, and there was no reason to seek one out…that was until I met her. A person I wish I never knew, she was about my age, pretty and well off. I asked her how she managed to become so successful at such a young age, her answer was simple; an angel gave her a miracle. An angel named Judas. I laughed at her, told her that there was no such thing as angels. She grabbed me by the shoulders, looked at me with her brown-green eyes, and as serious as they came she said to me, "it was a miracle unlike any other, he came to me in the night, I was alone, broken and scared, and he gave me this gift, this magnificent gift." I looked at her a little confused, "what gift?" I asked her, she smiled at me, "The gift of life." She sighed and brushed past me… "Go to him, meet him at the crossroads, put your picture in a box, and wait." Her angelic voice crept up my spine causing me to shiver.
I sat at the bar for a few more hours, drinking beers with the locals and taking a few shots, midnight crept up on me. I stared at my empty shot glass and frowned at how it resembled my life. I tipped it upside down and headed for the door. I breathed in the cool night air, seeing my breath as it left my body. I began to walk, to anywhere but here, that is when I realized it, there was a crossroads just outside the bar. There were yellow flowers planted alongside the road. I glanced down and saw something poking out of the ground. As I was digging it up a picture fell out of my pocket, it was a picture of me at a time when I was truly happy. I sighed at the picture and opened the box, gasping when I recognized the girl in the photo as the girl from the bar. I rolled my eyes as I thought about it, shrugged my shoulders when I decided I had nothing to lose. I took her picture out and put mine in its place. I buried the box and stood, waiting for…well to tell you the truth I really didn't know.
A few minutes passed by and nothing was happening, I stuck my hands in my pockets and turned to leave, there was a handsome man standing there with a grin on his face. "Well hello Mazy." He said to me, his voice was hard not to get lost in. I didn't say anything; I honestly don't think I could. "It's ok, don't be afraid." He tried to reassure me. I studied him for a moment before talking, "Are you…Judas?" I felt like an idiot for asking. He laughed some looking down at the ground, "Yes, I am." His dark brown eyes met mine and I smiled at him, thinking maybe there are such things as angels. "Would you like to make a deal?" He asked, his voice sounding a little more sinister the more he talked. "I'm not sure I know what you mean…" he laughed again, "That's why you're here is it not? You want something that you could never have…" I studied his face, a little confused, "Well yes, but…." He interrupted me, "There are no buts sweetheart, either you're in or your out." He said walking a circle around me. "So this deal, what do I have to give in return?" He stopped and looked at me grinning; "Now that is what I like to hear. I will give you the life you have always yearned for; you can even enjoy it for .years." I rose my eye brow at him, "And what happens after the ten years are up?" He turned his head in an odd way, his eyes fading from brown to a bright red, they glowed in the darkness. I took a step back from him, unsure of what to do. "You're not an angel." He laughed at me, "Of course not my dear, there are no such things as angels. I come from a place much farther south…" I hugged myself, afraid of this thing that stood before me. "Your, a…a demon…" He started clapping his hands, "Give the girl a prize!" He stepped closer to me, I wanted to run in the opposite direction as fast as I could but I was frozen. I could practically feel him breathing down my neck. "So my dear, ten years of a good, happy life, for your soul." How typical, of course he wanted my soul, don't they always. How come it can't be something simple like a gift certificate to Chili's. I thought about his offer, what did I have to lose? Nothing, who could it hurt? No one. I nodded my head, "Yeah ok…" there was that grin of his again, "Is that your final answer?!" He yelled and his voice echoed in the night. I shut my eyes and took in a deep breath, "Yes…" He gently grabbed my waist and pulled me into him, moving the lose hair out of my face he spoke, "You're going to be my favorite." Before I knew what was happening his lips met mine, sending me into a spiral. For what seemed like an eternity, he pulled away from me, caressing my cheek. His eyes searched mine, "I'll see you in ten years." And just as he was there, he was gone.
I had my doubts of course, but life changed for me. I became married, had a nice family, wonderful friends, and a beautiful home. I had ten wonderful years, as I glance at the clock and see it's almost midnight; I know my time is coming. I can already hear the hellhounds scratching at my door, do I regret it…maybe. I was selfish when I made that deal, and I know that. I didn't think about the people I would hurt along the way, like my husband, and my friends. They will have to go on without me, they will have to bury me, and they will have to mourn me. The clock hands tick by, the sound is like a rocket going off in my head, and that is when I hear it, that…voice. "Hello gorgeous." As I turn to face the person, no…the demon, the voice belongs to, I know all too well who it is, my old friend, someone who over the years I have grown to known better than I would have liked. "Hello Judas." He walks over to me and puts his hand on my shoulder, "Your time is up." He studies my face, "Why so sad? Did I not give you the life you always wanted?" I brush his hand off and walk over to the window where a few pictures sit, "Of course you did, and that is why it's so much harder to leave." I hear him walk up behind me, "Parting is such sweet sorrow. I'd let you say good bye, but unfortunately…" He glances down at the hellhound standing next to him, "You're all out of time." I take in a breath and turn to face hells angel, he stares at me, almost as if he's waiting for permission. I nod my head as tears start to fall from my eyes, he glances down at the devil dog and within seconds it's over. One minute I was existing, but now, I am nothing. There's no memory, no tears, but I can feel…I can feel everything. Hell had been waiting for me.