[ wp ] Years ago , you made a deal with the Devil to be granted a single wish . All your memories of the deal were then wiped . Years later , your wish is fulfilled and you are about to find out what price your younger self was willing to pay to make it come true .

Dear John, 
 
 If you are reading this, it means you have finally become old enough to inherit what I have left for you. I'm sorry I was n't there for you, and I plead your forgiveness, if you would just listen. 
 
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 When the doorbell began to ring, I set down my coffee onto the table and abandoned my breakfast for the moment. Yawning, I opened the door and scratched my eyes. 
 
 `` Morning. What do you need?'' I announced to the stranger. 
 
 The man nodded and smiled. `` May I come in to discuss something with you? I'll only be ten minutes.'' 
 
 I sighed and checked my watch. 6:30 am, which meant I had only an hour to make it to work on time. `` Alright, but it better be under fifteen minutes.'' 
 
 The man nodded and I led him in. As he sat at the table quietly, and quite pleasantly, something just did n't seem right about this man. His tailored suit, fine cut hair and overall pleasantness was just unsettling. Putting my suspicions aside however, I offered him coffee. 
 
 He shook his head. `` Coffee is much to bitter for me, I could never handle the taste of it.'' 
 
 `` What will do then?'' I inquired, looking at my watch, 6:32. 
 
 `` Orange juice will do just fine. The toy firetruck on the floor tells me that you must have that.'' 
 
 I nodded and poured him a glass of orange juice, sitting down across from him afterwards. A few moments of awkward silence followed where he simply sat, sipping at the orange juice almost ponderously. 
 
 `` Introductions are always the hardest...'' he began, `` I'm what you call a debt collector. Except I only collect for very special debts. The kind someone very arrogant, stupid, or desperate would make.'' 
 
 Half insulted, half intrigued, I ventured: `` Which one am I?'' 
 
 He laughed with a sort of painful, morbid and hollow chuckle. `` I would say desperate. Ten years ago, faced with death before your time you offered your firstborn in exchange for extra time added onto your own. I guess you did n't realize at the time that these deals do exist, and you were chosen as a recipient.'' 
 
 Infuriated, I squeezed my end of the table, and demanded `` And just who are you to feed me these lies in my own home?!'' 
 
 The man sighed sadly, extended his arm and touched me, right after I slapped his hand. Immediately, long buried memories returned. 
 
 `` You were to die in a car accident as written here, in my book of death. You were driving home from a party and you were hit by a drunk driver. The only reason you lived to sign out of the hospital was because you signed over your firstborn son to Satan, my boss.'' 
 
 In painful memory, I recalled it all, and I looked to the small red firetruck that lay on its side in between us on the table. 
 
 `` Is n't there some other way?!'' I cried, taking the firetruck on the table. `` He's my son...'' 
 
 The demon frowned sadly, softly removing the red firetruck from my hand. `` I say this all the time... no. I am sorry. Lead me to him, otherwise the rules state I must take your soul, and those of your other family members as well.'' 
 
 Full of remorse and flagging hope, I lead the man to your crib. When we arrived, the water became a torrent of sobs that wanted to vanquish the fire of the hell ahead of you. I hugged your sleeping body, holding you close. 
 
 One last time, I begged: `` Is n't there another way?'' 
 
 `` The only way...'' he started, 
 
 I cut him off immediately `` I'll do it. Whatever it takes for my little boy.'' 
 
 The demon now drew tears. `` The only way... is soul for soul. You, as the recipient of the deal, must trade your own soul in exchange for your son's.'' 
 
 My eyes sank to the ground, my heart knowing the only decision that could be made. The demon too, let his eyes fall, and he handed me the firetruck. slowly, I placed you in your bed next to your beloved toy, and kissed you goodbye. 
 
 The demon mumbled in sorrow. `` Anything you need to do before I write you into the book of death?'' 
 
 I nodded, and retrieved a pen, my best envelope, and some paper. Frantically, sorrowfully, and sadly, I ran the pen across the letter.... 
 
'Dear John,' it read.
