Monday, February 11, 2013

Crossroads

I met the devil in an alley while I was taking out the trash.

He was leaning against a street light next to a dumpster. He wore a black jump suit and a black ball cap which shadowed his face. I threw my trash away and was about to go back inside when he spoke "Got a light?" I did. I took a couple steps toward him while I was reaching for my lighter. He had an exclamation point on his cap and a name patch on his jumpsuit. "Garbage Man". He took something long and black from his pocket and put it between his lips. I flicked the lighter and brought the flame toward his face.

He was pale. With even diagonal scars going from the upper left side of his face down to the right. His eyes were blue-gray, the whites yellow, egg like, and runny. His teeth were the dirty pearl, some broken, all jagged. I lit his cigarette and put the lighter away. He took a deep drag and exhaled a cloud of blue smoke. It smelled like a shorted out circuit board. Scorched plastic and ozone. I stood there and watched him smoke feeling it impolite to leave.

We eyed each other.

I noticed his fingers. Impossibly long. Delicate.

Eventually he said "Git."

I got.

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