HELLFIRE AND HAPPINESS

Short Story from Creative Writing Class.

Every person has a goal in life, an end game. Each person wakes up every morning with an idea of what they’re going to accomplish that day. Any person you talk to will have an idea of what they want to do with their life. Sometimes though, fate doesn’t have what we expected in store for us. One day your life can be perfectly fine until a certain person comes along; suddenly your favorite song isn’t so sweet and your favorite meal doesn’t seem to satisfy you like it once did. Every once in a while, fate has more planned for you than you thought. Fortunately or not, fate showed up at a small diner in the middle of Los Angeles in the form of a slender and pale woman sitting at the bar. 

“Hi, what can I get for you today?” 

The girl seemed exhausted, but yet still had enough energy to manage a polite and cheerful greeting. Lucia ordered her coffee--no cream or sugar--along with a stack of chocolate pancakes with everyone to offer on it. The girl was struggling, as Lucia noted, chugging a stray coffee when no one is looking and huffing through her fatigue when she turned away from customers. She had to applaud the girl; working the graveyard shifts is tough as hell and the girl seemed to be excelling. Lucia noted to herself to leave a large tip. By the way ,the girl hopefully thumbed through the dollars left at the tables and bar, she suspected the girl needed the extra cash. Her musings were interrupted by the clink of the plate being set down in front of her and the sweet girl asking if she needed another cup, which she responded to with a smirk and a quiet yes. Lucia was intrigued by the girl, attracted to her determination and positive aura. Maybe Lucia could help; maybe she would be willing to make a deal.

“What is a girl like you doing here at 2:31 in the morning on a Friday night?” Lucia asked when the girl came around for yet another refill. 

“You know how it is,” the girl sighed, placing the coffee pot down before leaning against the countertop, “I got bills to pay and this mouth to feed.”

“Extra shifts I presume?” 

“Yeah. Between my main job and this one, I’m barely affording my rent. I’m trying to pick up some extra shifts on the weekend to make this month’s payment because, even with two jobs, I’m not too sure I’ll make it.”

Lucia hummed in understanding, taking a sip of her coffee while not breaking eye contact with the girl.

“I’m sorry,” she laughed, “I’m spilling my problems to a stranger and you probably just wanted a simple answer.”

“No, please. I love hearing what people have to say. My name is Lucia”

She stuck out her hand, offering it to the girl in a friendly greeting.

“I’m Katrina, you know, like from the Taming of the Shrew. Mama loved Shakespeare.”

She chuckled and grabbed her hand with an overzealous shake; Lucia beamed at the girl, pulling her hand away from Katrina’s. 

“Katrina,” Lucia grabbed her purse, looking through it, “I tend to be a great help when it comes to making ends meet. Here’s my card if you need me. Think about it.” 

She handed the girl the black card with red cursive detailing and stood silently while the girl examined it. She looked up to thank her new acquaintance, but Lucia was already almost out the door, the cash and hefty tip left at her seat. She tilted her head, making a perplexed hum as she did so before she resumed her work. The card, now in her pocket, felt heavier than it should. 

Katrina was sitting alone in the booth, picking at her nails. She started when she noticed Lucia standing next to the booth; she appeared just as suddenly and swiftly as she had left the night prior. Her thin and tall frame towered over Katrina. She hesitantly pointed to the open seat across from her and Lucia sank into the booth, smoothing her black dress out. Lucia could almost feel the moral dilemma that was occurring inside the girl’s head. She watched her as they ordered their lunches, noting how her eyes flickered over to Lucia at the end of each action as if she was checking to make sure she never did anything wrong. 

“You called because you have some situation that you don’t think you can get out of,” Lucia stated rather than asked, breaking the silence. Katrina nodded.

“Like I told you last night, I don’t think I’m going to make rent this month. I just need a loan or something I’ll do anything!”

“I require nothing of the sort. I’ll help you with whatever you need but for a small fee. Before you ask though, I do not accept any monetary exchange.”

Katrina’s face twisted into confusion. She opened her mouth to inquire but Lucia cut her off.

“I will help you with whatever you need, but I offer things that only you can give me. For example, if I help you pay your rent this month, I’ll require,” she trailed off, pondering for a second before continuing, “I’ll require your sense of taste for three days.”

“My what?”

“If you want me to help you pay rent for longer than this month, then the amount of days shall go up, naturally.”

Katrina was silent for a minute, her brow still furrowed, as she contemplated the offer. She opened her mouth a couple of times to say something, but would quickly close it. Katrina looked at her skeptically, obviously spinning an idea around in her head.

“What would I get for a week of no taste?”

“I’d say three months of no rent.”

“It’s a deal,” Katrina said, not having to think more about it. She stuck her hand out to Lucia and she accepted it, twisting her arm over Katrina’s. Katrina’s eyes widened slightly as Lucia sent went felt like a current of electricity through her body. Lucia closed her eyes, reciting the Latin words she knew too well to herself, and then released Katrina’s hand. The girl grabbed it, clutching it to her chest. She examined it thoroughly and decided there was no damage and looked up to Lucia.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“I’m the devil herself,” Lucia replied, standing up while Katrina processed the information. She seemed overwhelmed, fully processing the deal she just made. Cautiously, Katrina took a bite out of a chip on her plate and the loss of taste was apparent when she looked up at Lucia with slight panic in her eyes. Lucia smiled slightly at the girl and she calmed. Lucia departed, leaving her payment and untouched meal on the table, knowing that she would hear from the girl again soon. 

It was six months before Lucia really heard from Katrina again. She had called once a month to tell the girl how excited she was that her rent came back fully paid until their agreement ended. Two months had passed with not a single word. She walked into the same restaurant they met at last time. There was no apprehension in Katrina’s posture; she was relaxed and greeted Lucia with a smile. They ordered their meals, slipping into an amicable conversation when Katrina started to hesitate and Lucia knew that her proposition was coming. 

“So, Lucia, I’ve been trying to find a better job, as you know, and I got offered this great opportunity and I’m pretty sure the job is all mine, but I still have to interview. I have a couple of other people I’m competing against, but I gotta get this job! I gotta make it to the top, you know this!”

Lucia smiled softly at her new friend. It was a soft and gentle gesture that calmed Katrina’s worries. 

“I was just wondering if there was anything you could do like turn up my charm or something so that I could succeed in this interview?”

Lucia nodded, “Yes of course I can. I can trade in a trait of yours for a charming and sociable trait that will help you. I’ll take your patience.”

Katrina quieted, biting her nails as she pondered. Lucia let her know that this request was a much larger one. Katrina looked up at her after a minute or two, uncertainty swirling in her features. Lucia grabbed her hand and the familiar hum of electricity shot through her body as she whispered an incantation. This time, Katrina left first, leaving behind a musing Lucia. 

This cycle repeated for months and months. Every time Katrina needed something, she and Lucia would meet and she would make her request and comply with every demand Lucia created. Katrina got the job, but it wasn’t enough. Each request didn’t satisfy the girl and Lucia’s exchanges with her became less like friendly meetings and more like business arrangements. A request for a successful interview turned into getting the promotion, to get the big deal for her company. Each time, Lucia complied, coming up with random payments that she knew Katrina would always agree to. Lucia didn’t realize how much she had corrupted the sweet girl until the fees for her help went from a simple loss of senses to forgetting an entire person, wiping them away from her life completely. After that agreement, after the deal was sealed with the handshake, Lucia sat for two hours after Katrina’s departure from that cafe. 

Lucia’s friend had become a shell, void of vital emotions and missing so much of herself that made her Katrina. Katrina had called Lucia that night, exclaiming that she had done it: she had shattered the glass ceiling. She invited her friend to her company’s party that month as her plus one, to come celebrate the enormous success that she had helped Katrina achieve. 

The end of the month finally came and Lucia showed up to the event as she promised. She walked into the hotel, taking in the grandeur of the building, and wasn’t happy. She had the finest of food and wasn’t satisfied. She talked to some of the best minds and most successful people in America and still felt like it was not enough. Funnily enough, her friend by her side didn’t seem to be any better off. The smiles she gave to people she met weren’t as wide or full as the ones Lucia first saw in that diner. Her laughter was forced and hollow. 

After the speeches and toasts were made, the roar of the crowd resumed and everyone’s conversations picked back up, but Katrina and Lucia stayed silent. They walked out to the balcony of the hotel, looking back at the smiling and laughing people.

“You have all of this,” Lucia mused, interrupting the silence, “But yet, you’re not happy.”

“Wow, is it that obvious?” Katrina tried to smile at her friend, but it wasn’t working, “For years, all I’ve wanted to do was succeed, to break that glass ceiling and shatter everyone’s expectations. I’ve wanted to be on top, but now that I’m here...It’s not what I thought it would be. I’m not happy at all. In fact, I’m miserable. Everyone loves me and looks up to me, but I am so alone. I don’t know if it was worth it, Lucia.”

Lucia gave a reassuring smile to her friend, resting her hand on her shoulder. 

“What would you do, if you were in my shoes? If I came to you and told you that you could have anything you ever wanted, what would you ask for?”

Lucia’s hand fell from her friend’s shoulder. The question was an honest shock; no one ever asked her what she wanted. Frankly, Katrina was the closest she had ever been to any of her arrangements; her life was a lonely road.

“I think...I think I would ask to be free of these responsibilities, to stop playing with fate.”

“I’ll take it then,” Katrina replied almost immediately. Lucia was awestruck.

“I’ll take your job and you can take my place. It’s a fair trade after everything. You need the fame and love you deserve and I can help people again.”

Lucia pondered for a moment and then gently extended her arm. Katrina took the pale hand into her grasp and flipped it over like Lucia had done that first time. Lucia muttered the incantation and the familiar zap of electricity surged through their clasped hands.