On this episode of Smirk, The Art of the Deal, Zack takes us down a dark path as his story unveils a deal with the devil. Which leads us to the obvious question: how much would you sell your soul for?
Welcome to Smirk. A podcast that covers society and culture through a storytelling lens. Part creative writing, part discussion, and always interesting. Each week our hosts brings a story to the show, a story they wrote themselves, which is immediately followed by discussion on the author’s moral or theme. These stories can cover any topic the host wants to discuss, it can be lighthearted or more serious. No one but the author knows if these tales are truth or fiction, and part of the fun is guessing while you’re listening before the reality is made clear. We want to hear from you! If you want to share YOUR story, join the conversation by writing in to mystory@smirkpodcast.com, and include your moral, or you can let us guess at it. This is the podcast that looks at truth, fiction, and reality. With a Smirk. Don’t forget to subscribe to Smirk and share the show with your friends!
Want to read Zack’s story “The Art of the Deal” in full? Think you can identify the moral or theme for this episode? Read it below, and then take a listen to the podcast.
The Art of the Deal
Paul was a guy who wanted to help. A stock broker of many, many years, Paul loved talking to people. Figuring out their finances, their family structure; generally getting to them as best he could. He loved finding the best deals.
It helped that the man was an unyielding expert in the field. He knew exactly where to put the money at the perfect opportunity. The ability bordered on the supernatural. Living this life of assisting people with their own money had provided Paul with more money that most mortals knew what to do with.
Mansions, yachts, exotic cars. He had it all. Paul had no family of his own, but that was well and good by him. He lived vicariously through his clients in this regard.
One day, a single woman entered Paul’s office. The woman was desperate to turn her life around. Foolish with money in her younger years, she was crippled by debt and bad credit. And sad as it is, she had no one. No husband, wife, son, daughter, etc. It sounded like she barely had any friends at all. This struck something within Paul. An opportunity. You see, some years ago Paul was on death’s door. But he had made a deal that changed his life, and now he could pay it forward.
When Paul, in his more selfish years of course, had been diagnosed with lung cancer, it was a complete stranger that had prolonged his life. He invited the woman to his private office. It was there, in the safe he hid behind a painting, where the secret lay. The woman was wide eyed with intrigue that her prospects might finally be turning around. She was eagerly standing behind Paul, desperate to sneak a glimpse into the safe.
Paul turned around from the safe quickly. The handheld scythe stored within raised high in the air. As he brought it down slashing across her torso, her body and soul disintegrated into the blade. One more soul for the reaper; one more week of life for Paul. It was the best deal he had ever gotten.