Hello Satan!

Eric Blain stood at the corner of a busy street. A tall metal pole supported him as he rested his
heavy head. It was his first bus ride of the year and he dreaded it. He had been waiting there for near ten
minutes. He had a feeling the bus would be packed by its late coming. As usual he’ll be sitting next to some
strange person who wont stop going on about an insignificant part of their life.

Eric thought of himself as a normal person, by society’s standards. His hair was a sandy blond and
was cut not too short, his eyes were a baby blue, he had a slight tan, and he was in his mid twenties. He also
had a job that paid very well, despite the harsh names he received. For the past two years he was a lawyer.
Fighting for a person’s justice, even if the person it guilty.

Then Eric heard the familiar noise that knocked him out of his thoughts. The city bus rumbled
towards him, its yellow lights bathing him. Eric picked up his suitcase and began fishing for some change.
He hated to hold people up. He hated when people did that to him. Might as well be courteous.

The large bus came to a halt. It breathed heavily and the doors opened wide. A white man sat at
the driving wheel. He looked at Eric and smiled. A tooth was missing and gave the man a goofy look. The
man turned away and gazed back at the street.

Eric sighed and pulled himself into the mouth of the metal monster. He smiled at the bus driver
who flashed him another one himself. He paid his money and listened as the doors slid shut. Eric let out
another sigh and turned into the aisle. Everything was as he thought. The bus was packed.

The bus lurched forwards as it began to move. Eric scanned the crowded bus and came to a stop.
A man sat alone, gazing out the window. He was dressed in a black suit and looked like a businessman. His
dark hair was combed back, though was falling into his paled face.

‘Its better than sitting next to an apparent nut case,’ Eric thought.

Moving down the aisle, Eric muttered his ‘excuse me.’ The peopled moved their things, but didn’t
pay much attention. It was becoming a routine for them. If someone says ‘Excuse me’ or ‘Pardon me’
some of your stuff might be in the way. That’s the way of the city life.

Eric stopped at the seat with the businessman. He hadn’t moved. Eric put his hand on the seat so
he wouldn’t fall due to the lurches and bumps of the bus. The man seemed dead to the world, even with
Eric standing in such a close range.

“Excuse me, sir.” Eric said.

The man blinked and turned his head. He had gray eyes that seemed dulled by life.

“Yes?” He muttered.

Eric motioned to the empty spot. “Is this seat taken?”

A smile came over the man’s face. He seemed overly happy at the question. “No, it isn’t. Please,
take a seat!” He moved over slightly, though he couldn’t move much.

Eric smiled. “Thank you.” He put his suitcase down and took a seat. Eric glanced at the man. He
was looking out the window again, off in his own world. Eric shrugged and let out a sigh. The day had
been rough. He closed his eyes and rest chin on his chest.

“Hard day?”

The voice startled Eric. He opened his eyes and looked at the man next to him. The man was

looking at him. He seemed different. His gray eyes seemed livelier and his hair had been brushed.

Eric glanced at his watch. He hadn’t been on the bus for nearly five minuets. He paused, telling
himself he was tired and, maybe, a little delusional.

“Yes.” Eric said, finally. He glanced at the man. “It’s a hard life, but I’ve been able to manage.”

The man smiled slightly. “What do you do?”

Eric chuckled. “Well, I’m a lawyer.”

“Really?” the man said, raising an eyebrow. He moved slightly, obviously trying to get
comfortable. “That does sound like a tough line of work. I mean, doing research for cases and going to
court. I don’t think a lot of people could do that everyday.”

A smile came over Eric’s face. He was amazed at the man’s point of view. Every person he met
would make some joke about being a lawyer. This time, well, this time the man was giving credit to where it
was due.

“Thank you.” Eric said haughtily. “Being a lawyer is hard. I’m surprised I got this far. Most of
my classmates in collage dropped out. They said it was too difficult.”

The man cracked a smile. “And you didn’t?”

“Not at all! Sure, it seems hard that you have to learn a whole ass load of laws, but you get the
hang of it. I had to read a lot of things though. I now have a new found respect for authors who write
books on the subject of lawyers.”

The man laughed.

Eric sighed. “Well, I don’t want to bore you with every aspect of the job. What about you? What
do you do?”

“Well,” the man started. “I own a bookstore. I’m a self-employed worker with a group of young
college students as employees. To my surprise, they respect me.”

“Why would that surprise you?”

“I am only twenty. The people who work for me are, at least, two years older than I am. It’s hard
to get their respect, but I’ve managed to get it.”

“You’re only twenty?!”

The man nodded. “I look older than I am, I know. My employees thought so too, but they found
out otherwise when my birthday hit. You gotta hate those things.”

Eric smiled. He reached into his pocket and found a card he had placed there. For some reason he
always-kept one with him. He thought it was strange that other lawyers kept a stack of them in their
pockets. Sure, in their brief case was fine, but not one’s coat pocket.

“Well, if you ever need help,” Eric said, holding out his card. “here’s my card. I’m just a phone
call or a fax away.”

The man smiled back and took the card. He skimmed it. “Thank you.” He paused and put the
card in his pocket. “Eric Blain. That’s a nice name.”

“Thank you!”

“You still living at home?”

Eric paused, finding the question a little odd. He thought he should entertain the man. “No. I’m
married and own a nice home. I have a child on the way and with this job, I have enough money to raise the
little thing with ease.”

“Well! You’re married, have your own place, you have a full time job, and have a little child on the
way.” The man laughed softly. “Seems like you’re gonna have a busy life ahead of you.”

“Yeah, but its what I was given. God doesn’t ask any questions.”

The man paused. “God?”

Eric nodded.

The man eyed Eric for a moment. He moved around slightly so he was facing Eric. The man’s
eyes studied him for a moment.

“You don’t seem like a person who would be a firm believer in God.” the man commented.

Eric laughed. “I don’t think I would be called a ‘firm’ believer. I do believe he is out there and
watches over us.”

“You don’t go to church every Sunday?”

“Not every Sunday. I do it when I can. I mean, I am a lawyer and when a case calls I have to leave
some stuff behind.”

The man nodded. “I suppose that’s true.”

Eric let out a sigh. “And what about you? Do you go to church?”

“Yes! I go every Sunday, except for the first Sunday of the month. I have to get all the paychecks
in order that day. Doing that is a bitch.”

“Well, that’s what happens when you own your own business.”

“True, but one gets used to it. The place is doing extremely well. Why don’t you drop by
sometime. I have a wide range of books.” The man suddenly pulled out a black card. He held it out to me.
“The name and address is there. It’s kinda out of the way but it’s my own little chunk of the world.”

Eric took the card and looked at. The name was sprawled across it in red letters. ‘Enigma Void;
bookstore of all genre. Could be stranger I suppose,’ Eric thought. He shoved the card into his pocket.

“Sounds like a nice place.” Eric said.

The man smiled. “It took a few months to get it working, but it’s all I have.” He glanced out the
window and let out a sigh. “Well, here’s my stop.” His hand reached up and pulled down on a line of thin
rope. A small bell sounded. “It was nice talking to you.”

“Yeah.” Eric said, a little baffled by the sudden halt in the conversation. He stood letting the man
into the aisle. He sat back down and shifted over to the window.

The man began to walk off.

“Hey!” Eric called.

Slowly the man stopped and looked back at Eric.

“I didn’t catch your name.”

A twisted smile came across the man’s face. “You can call me Satan.” With that he turned and
slipped out of the bus.

Eric sat for a moment and tried to process what he had just heard. The young man he had been
with said to call him Satan. Was he just lying and adding some strange effect to the name of his little
bookstore? And would the actual Satan go to church?

“Excuse me sir. Is this seat taken?”

Eric blinked and came out of the tempest of questions. “Oh no! Please, take a seat.” he said, not
looking at the person. He moved his brief case to the floor. For a moment he sat, and let the man’s words
disappear into his memory.

“You seemed a little scared. Is everything all right?”

“Yeah. Everything is. . . .” Eric stopped in mid sentence as he looked at the person sitting next
to him. It was man of his mid twenties with dirty blond hair. He wore a white suit, neatly pressed, and
smiled brightly at Eric.

“Are you sure?” the man asked.

Eric nodded slowly. “Yes.” He held out his hand. “My name is Eric, and you are?”

The man took Eric’s hand a shook it. “My name’s Jehovah, but you can call me God.”