Short Story – My Own Personal Hell

The year was 2093, and the shadow of the devil still lingered over the world like an unshakable curse. Fifty years earlier, he had made himself known. He appeared as a man, ordinary and unassuming, yet with eyes that seemed to pierce the soul. “I’m the devil,” he had said with an eerie grin, and no one believed him. Not at first.

It wasn’t until he began granting wishes that people took him seriously. At first, they seemed harmless: a struggling artist finding sudden fame, a destitute family acquiring unimaginable wealth, a young woman miraculously cured of a terminal illness. But these wishes came at a price, one no one understood until it was too late. Each wish signed away a soul—a silent transaction sealed with eternal damnation.

By the time the world realized the truth, it was too late. Panic gripped humanity. Millions had bargained their way into hell, and the devil had retreated, waiting for his harvest.

Out of this terror arose a company called MindSafe, headquartered in Seattle, Washington. Promising salvation for a steep price, they claimed to have found a way to cheat the devil. Using cutting-edge neuroscience and technology pioneered at UT Southwestern Medical Center, they had developed a method to isolate blood flow to the brain, preserving it in a state of perpetual stasis. By halting the moment of death, MindSafe argued, they could deny the devil his due.

Some called it salvation; others called it sacrilege. But as the decades passed, thousands—rich and poor, guilty and innocent—opted into the program. Death was no longer an inevitability but a choice deferred indefinitely. And still, controversy raged: Was it truly a loophole in the devil’s bargain, or just another cosmic trick?

Andy Wells was a 58-year-old high school history teacher. He had spent his life in quiet contentment, married to Lori, his high school sweetheart. She was his anchor, his better half, and, in recent years, his patient. Lori had been sick for years, and the doctors had finally given her months to live. Knowing her time was running out, she had made an unusual request: she wanted to be frozen by MindSafe.

Andy had balked at the idea. “You didn’t make a deal with him,” he said, his voice heavy with disbelief. “You don’t need this.”

But Lori was insistent. “Andy, it’s not just about that. It’s about… what comes after. I’m scared.”

Andy didn’t understand. They could barely afford the procedure, and it would wipe out their savings. But it was her dying wish, and how could he deny her that? Reluctantly, he signed the papers. In three weeks, Lori would be placed into stasis, ensuring she would never face death—or whatever lay beyond.

As the weeks passed, they said their goodbyes. Lori grew frailer by the day, and Andy did his best to hide his growing resentment. Why was she doing this to them? Why couldn’t she trust in the life they had built together? On the eve of the procedure, Lori broke down, tears streaming down her gaunt face.

“I lied to you,” she whispered.

Andy’s heart sank. “What do you mean?”

“I did make a deal,” she confessed. “It was so long ago. We were eighteen. You didn’t even know who I was. But I loved you, Andy. I wanted a life with you. The devil promised me forty years of your love. And he gave it to me.”

Andy stared at her, his world crumbling. “You… what?”

“It was selfish,” she sobbed. “I know it was. But I had to tell you. The deal ends very soon. Our 40th anniversary.”

Andy couldn’t process the revelation. Was their love even real? Had his entire life been orchestrated by something dark and unnatural? He thought of the dreams he had abandoned—his plans to be a scientist, to explore the stars. His acceptance into NASA. His bright future. All of it, discarded for a life he now questioned.

The day of the procedure arrived. Andy drove Lori to MindSafe, his emotions a tangled mess of anger, sadness, and love. She kissed him goodbye, tears in her eyes. “I hope you find peace,” she whispered.

He didn’t respond. He couldn’t.

The next morning, Andy received the final invoice for Lori’s procedure. The cost was staggering. Paying it would drain the last of their savings, leaving him to work for years to rebuild his life. He stared at the notice, a storm brewing in his mind. If he didn’t pay, MindSafe would terminate Lori’s stasis. She would die—and, as she feared, descend into eternal torment.

But did she deserve it? After all, she had robbed him of a life he might have chosen. The thought gnawed at him as he drank himself into oblivion over the next few days. Each morning, another invoice arrived, the urgency growing.

On the fourth day, he woke to silence. The invoices had stopped. Lori’s procedure had been terminated. She was dead.

Andy sat at the kitchen table, staring at the date on the calendar: July 12. The day after their 40th anniversary. The deal had expired. The devil’s influence was gone.

For the first time, Andy allowed himself to feel. He thought of Lori—her laugh, her kindness, the life they had shared. Tears welled in his eyes. His love for her surged, pure and untainted. It had always been real. It had always been true.

And now she was gone. Worse, she was in hell because of him.

A low, mocking laugh echoed through the house. Andy froze, his blood turning to ice. The sound grew louder, richer, filling the empty spaces of his home.

“You figured it out, didn’t you?” a voice sneered. Andy turned, and there he was—the devil, sitting in Lori’s chair, his grin as sharp as a knife. “True love, Andy. Isn’t it grand?”

Andy’s heart pounded. “You bastard.”

The devil chuckled. “Now, now. Don’t blame me. You had a choice. You could have saved her. But you let her go. And now, she’s mine.”

Andy lunged at him, but the devil vanished, his laughter lingering like a cruel melody. Andy fell to his knees, the weight of his guilt crushing him. He had condemned the love of his life to an eternity of suffering. And now, he was trapped in his own personal hell.

The devil had won again.