Faust Legend

A person’s choices are what make them who they are. The way someone turns out is not set up by a string of fate, but rather, it is determined by the actions they take with every situation that presents itself to them.

So what do I do?

Some people say that I’m a trickster; an evil creature that tricks humans into ruining their lives. People say that I cause some of the most horrible things imaginable. People say that I am the reason they fear death. And they’re probably right. Some of the worst events in this world and the next originate from myself.

But I am not the one who does those horrible things. I merely present a choice. Admittedly, the choice favors my own ideals, and I use every might t drive people down the road of my choosing. I do everything I can to light the road for them, disguise it, and make it seem like the best possible path. But I always tell them where it leads. I always let them know of the terrible darkness and evil that awaits them on the other side.

So when a person makes a deal with me, they are making a choice. A choice to be given the easiest, most wonderful path through life that there could possibly be for them. A choice that they fully know will lead them to their own destruction. But they always make the choice I want. They always go down my path.

You see, I have a talent. One talent that provides me everything I could ever need. I can read people like a book. I know them better than they know themselves, and with just one look, I can see what they fear most, and what they most long for. I know how to present myself, in both appearance and manner, so that I will have not only their full attention, but the ability to weave words, and convince them beyond a shadow of a doubt that my way is the best.

Each person is a new challenge, and each challenge is always a success. There are as many different kinds of people as there are opportunities in the world, and what people never seem to see is that what I offer is not something that is impossible to achieve on their own. Humans are so entirely gullible, and so entirely hopeless. They always choose the easiest way to get to where they want to go, and always take any shortcut that presents itself. Some people are more difficult to convince than others, and the more exigent the challenge, the more I enjoy watching my plans unfold. I recall one such individual that provided an immense amount of enjoyment for me. Her name was Amanda Lee Jorgensen.

It was a cold winter day in Michigan, and the snow was falling for the first time that year. The air was still, and eerily quiet, considering the myriad of children who were out and about playing in their yards, building snow forts and snow men and making snow angels.

She was sitting alone on a bench in a park, looking out over the frozen lake. She had a hood up, which covered her eyes, and made her appear to be just suspicious enough to ensure that no one would bother her. She was looking down at something, but I wasn’t close enough to see what. Curiosity getting the best of me, I crept closer until I saw what it was. Or, should I say, what they were. In the woman’s hands were a handful of IDs. Each of them showed a picture of her, but each contained a different name.

I grinned from ear to ear. A perfect challenge, I thought. I knew it would be tricky; it wouldn’t be easy to read the soul of someone who cons and fools people for a living. At that moment, I couldn’t help but see the irony in the situation. I would do to her what she appears to have done to so many people.

The woman sighed, and stuffed the IDs in her coat pocket. She removed her hood, revealing long, curly brown hair that slowly collected flakes of snow as they fell from the sky. I knew from that moment exactly what I would have to do to convince the woman to sell me her soul. But it would take a bit of preparation.

I watched the woman for weeks, observing the minor characteristics in her behavior, and seeing what drove her to continue lying to people, and playing them. She wanted the money, and she enjoyed the thrill. She seemed to revel in the knowledge that she was able to convince people that she was someone who was vastly different from that which she truly was. She was currently going by the name Katherine Hadley, and she was tricking a very wealthy man into believing that she was his daughter.

Katherine, or whatever her real name was, had done her research. She had learned everything she needed to make the con work, and it seemed to be. By the third day of her fraud, the man believed her, and he hadn’t even asked for a paternity test. I watched, almost impressed with the skills this woman had. But I knew the real her, and I knew what she wanted most. It was time.

I appeared in the apartment she was renting moments before she was to arrive. I waited until she came to the door and took out her key, and then I swung open the door. This was my favorite part; their initial reaction. She woman jumped, and then, upon seeing my horrible appearance, screamed.

I grinned, showing what I knew to be razor-sharp, blackened teeth.

“Hello Katherine,” I said in a low, raspy voice.

She turned to run, but I appeared in front of her. My glowing red skin emanated a radiating heat, similar to that of fire. My head was bald, and slightly distorted, and my eyes were sullen black, empty of any light or feeling.

“Going somewhere?”

I had her trapped, and she knew it. She shook with fear, but there was a sense of disbelief about her. Almost as if she couldn’t really believe what was happening before her very eyes.

“I just want to talk,” I said, keeping my low voice calm and steady.

“Who are you?” she asked.

“Oh, you know who I am. But I promise, no harm will come to you right now. I only want to talk. Please, do come in.”

I motioned through the open door, and Katherine entered reluctantly. It was at that very moment that I knew I had made the right choice in appearance. The woman was a wannabe actress, and so, naturally, I had to make everything over-the-top.

“Please, sit down,” I said, grinning once again, and pulling out a chair for her.

“What do you want with me?”

“Oh Katherine. Dear, dear Katherine. I have come to help you. Don’t you see?” I laughed, a gruff laugh that came out much louder than necessary. “I want to give you the opportunity of a lifetime.”

“I don’t want your money,” she said, trying to keep a bold tone to her voice, but I saw right through it.

“Oh, I know. I don’t want to give you money. No, that wouldn’t make you happy. And that’s all I want; to make you happy. You see Katherine, I’m not evil. Not really. I give people the best life they could possibly ask for, and I only ask for one thing in return. One tiny, little thing that doesn’t even truly matter.”

“There is nothing you can give me that will make me sell my soul to you,” the woman said, looking down at her fidgeting hands.

“Oh, Katherine,” I shook my head. “I’m disappointed. I haven’t even gotten to the best part.”

Her gaze stayed down.

“How would you like the opportunity to be a real Hollywood actress?”

Her eyes snapped up for a fraction of a second, but then returned to her hands. But not soon enough for me to miss it.

“And I don’t mean soap operas,” I explained. “I mean real Hollywood movies. You’d have a real audience for once, one that respects your talent and appreciates you for who you are. You would no longer be alone, and you’d have endless money coming at you. I am providing you the chance for a life of security, where you can live your dream without hesitation. You have a gift Katherine, and the world deserves to see it.”

Slowly, the woman’s eyes lifted to mine. The fear was disappearing, and she seemed hopeful.

“All I need is that one little thing in return. After a lifetime of happiness, and greatness, what does it matter what happens when you die? Isn’t life the most important thing?”

“I’ll do it.” Her voice was confident, and she even managed a smile.

I returned her grin, and said, “But just remember, when your life is over, there’s no turning back. There will be no second chances. When the time comes, you must give me your soul.”

She nodded. “I understand.”

My black eyes lit up, showing small white pupils. “Fantastic.”

I came to learn that the woman’s birth name was Amanda Lee Jorgensen. She was 25, and thanks to me, she would soon become the leading star in a new Hollywood movie. As soon as she was set up, I departed from her life, off in the search for another wondrous human soul to take. But after my success, I found myself returning to the life of young Amanda.

The time I visited her was at her premiere. She watched the movie gleefully after taking numerous pictures on the red carpet. With her newfound wealth, she was able to restyle her hair, and buy expensive makeup and clothing. She no longer looked anything like the Katherine I once watched.

After she returned to her large home, Amanda withdrew to her room. It was filled with illustrious furniture, and her vanity contained unimaginable jewels. She had a very large closet filled with what could only be designer dresses and jeans and shirts and shoes and everything. But what I noticed above all else was that she seemed happy.

Suddenly, a knock came at her bedroom door.

“What is it!” she snapped.

The door slowly opened, and an older woman walked in.

“What do you want Debbie?” Amanda asked tiredly.

“I came to let you know that I booked you for an interview with People magazine for tomorrow at noon.”

“Are you mad? I have my hair appointment at 11 tomorrow morning!”

“I’m sorry Amanda, but as your manager, I thought—”

“You thought?” she cut her off. “Well, stop, because that obviously isn’t working for you. Reschedule my hair appointment for after the interview.”

The manager, Debbie, nodded and left the room. Once she was gone, I revealed my presence.

“Hello Katherine,” I said.

Amanda turned around, her eyes bulging at the sight of me.

“Enjoying your life?”

“It isn’t over yet is it? I thought that you said I would have a lifetime of this! I can’t go now. I won’t let you take me!”

“Relax my dear Katherine, I’m not here to collect your soul. Not just yet. I was simply checking in on you. Making sure that you don’t forget our little agreement.”

“My name isn’t Katherine, it’s Amanda.”

“But you’ll always be Katherine to me,” I said. “Well, it’s time for me to go, but don’t you forget about our deal.”

With that, I disappeared.

It was years before I saw her again. By the time I returned, Amanda had starred in seven movies, as well as played significant roles in fourteen others. She was 40 years old, and had only grown more spoiled. She had married a fellow actor and divorced him less than a year later, taking from him his house and half of the money they had shared. It seemed that Amanda had become obsessed with the fame and fortune, and had forgotten the thrill she had once enjoyed in her not-so-innocent little cons. Her life had changed; it was no longer about the acting, but the recognition.

As I watched Amanda go about her day-to-day business, I saw that she was very unhappy. No matter what she was given, she always wanted more. She was never satisfied with anything she had.

This, of course, made me sad. It turned out that the path I had worked so hard to pave for Amanda had grown dark before its end. Which could mean only one thing; I had to bring it to a close sooner than planned.

Once more, I waited until Amanda was alone in her room to appear.

“Oh Katherine. Dear, sweet, sad Katherine. What have you done with your life?”

She turned around calmly, almost as if she’d been expecting me.

“I think you know what’s coming.”

Amanda shook her head.

“I promised you a lifetime of happiness. But that happiness has come to an end. You have managed to find a way to bring an end to our agreement, which means that I have come to collect your part in the bargain.”

“No, please!” she begged. “I will change, I will. I will try to be happier with my life. I have so much more than I can do!”

“Katherine, that doesn’t work on me. I see straight through your lies. I know you to be the deceptive young girl you once were, and your cons don’t work on me. One thing you should always remember; you can’t trick a trickster.” I laughed. “Unless you’re me of course.”

 “No, this isn’t what we agreed upon. I haven’t lived a lifetime yet!” she argued.

“A lifetime is only as long as the life that is lived. When a child dies, they may have only lived a handful of years, but that handful of years was their lifetime. And so this has been yours. And now it is time to come with me.”

“This is your fault, my unhappiness. If you had given me something more, something better, I wouldn’t have turned out this way.”

“Oh, but you know that isn’t true,” I said. “This is entirely your own doing, and so you must remember that whatever is to come, you have brought it upon yourself.”

And so Amanda Lee Jorgensen, the young con woman from Michigan, screamed for the last time as her life drained away. And I, with her spirit bound to me, returned to the fiery pits of Hell, where those who have led a life of sin and horror are taken. Amanda would become just another face amongst a sea of evil spirits.