[ WP ] The Devil tries to sell his soul to you

After just shy of 13 years in sales, it was a well earned promotion I received last week to sales manager. Really, it feels good to be robotically ticking away my days 20 feet from where I did before ( for $ 5 more than before hourly ). It truly does. With an average wife, a public school attending daughter and a suburban home, what *do* I have to complain about? 
 
 So many things in this world interest the human mind, and create dreams of pursuing them. You read a fantastic book and think of the lush life of being an author. Or you see a suspenseful film, and think of the thrill being on screen. How you would love to be the next professional snowboarder, bulging up your pockets with an impossible dream you could n't possibly fulfill at this point in your life. 
 
 It all just becomes so routine. Repetition turns repulsive rapidly. The love of my wife and daughter is almost overpowering my desire for radical change. `` Almost'' being the key word here. I am not John the NFL Quarterback, John the Hip-Hop producer, John the Author or even John the Success. They call me John, the millionth John to sit endlessly spinning in an office chair for 9 hours a day. This is going to change. Not for mediocre Mary, not for my beautiful daughter Sophia. For my fucking sanity. 
 
 That George Clooney movie “ O Brother, Where Art Thou? ” is really beautiful. When the black boy sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for the fire fingers he used to cultivate his dreams, it really got me thinking. Not along the stupid Charlie Daniels concept of a musical duel over your soul, the Devil seems like a just businessman like myself. All that is needed is a little exhilaration to heave me from this rerun, day in and day out. Possibly I ’ ll become a songwriter for musicians. Not directly in the spotlight, but in spitting distance. Close enough to feel the heat. 
 
 Near 10 o ’ clock at night I departed from my less-than-ideal home in less-than-ideal Lubbock, Texas. My bags stuffed with... well, nothing. What could you possibly need to bring before an everlasting business deal? Only a couple streetlights lit the road where this supposed “ Devil ” was to make an eternal transaction. As I approached the crossroads, a man sat slouching on a bench directly under one of the sparse streetlights. Unlike my expectations, a Vincent Price doppelganger was not sitting there, nor Emperor Palpatine. Honestly, it was almost as if I was gazing into a mirror. 
 
 “ Listen, you got ta help me out here. ” Oddly enough, it wasn ’ t just me saying this. We spoke in sync like the Thriller dance performers. Are n't I selling *my* soul? This manifestation is looking almost as drained as myself. 
 
 “ I am just here to make a deal with you, everything in my life has become so- ” 
 “ I've heard it all before John, I really have. The boring cycle of a life eating at itself. You ’ re tired of basking in routine. You've lived the same day a thousand times over now. Now you have a slight taste of how I feel. ” 
 
 I decided to skip over the fact that he knew my name. Seeing as that is a textbook childish question to ask an immortal being how he knew my name and problems. He made it evident to me that everyone has problems of their own. Even the problem solvers have problems to be solved. 
 
 Slowly, I decided it was best for me to just take a seat next to this man. Figure if there was something I could do, as outrageous as it sounds. 
 
 “ So John, before you ask me anything, *I* want to make a deal with *you*. Trade lives with me. A soul for a soul if you will. ” 
 “ I ’ m not sure I follow you. Like, full on life swap? I have a family I ’ d be leaving behind. ” 
 “ No one would be left behind. It would just be me in your shoes. Living the unchangeable, broken record of a life you live. You John, would live forever. Meeting a countless array of people, with the power to give them a beautiful change. A beautiful change at a worthy price. ” 
 
 Why should n't I do this? All along it has been something new I've ached for. This is something outlandishly new. It's a fresh start, something new every day. Being presented with a buy-out for immediate change is an offer that I can not let slip beyond my grasp. 
 
 “ Alright, I do n't want to hear anymore. I'll do it. This sort of all fell into place at once, and I might as well play this out. I want change, and this is a sure as shit way to get some. ” 
 “ Fair enough, John. All we need to do is shake hands, then turn away from each other. All will be done but we are to never speak or even meet again. You will live forever, as the Devil selling souls as I carry out the life of ‘ John ’ until I am deceased. If you end up as you are now in your new position, just do what we are about to with another soul. ” 
 
 Without a question I stuck my hand out for the irreversible shake. Leaning towards his hand, the only thing on my mind was how many times has this happened before?
