Hartford Casino Four Winds Michigan Casino Near Me

Section Zero: Background
Hello all, happy hoildays! I stumbled upon this subreddit not long ago and have enjoyed the commentary and experiences everyone's shared. Wanted to add another perspective from a mid-30s first-gen American. I've had some missteps regarding careers and finances, but I feel like I'm in a slightly better place now. I tried YNAB in the past but I wasn't consistent enough with it. These days I use Mint to monitor my finances and have a "Finance Friday" each month to review all my accounts and spending. I currently live with my partner TJ and his dog RR. We do not combine finances, but he has been unemployed since March. I have helped him with some bills and basic necessities here and there until he finds his next job or career.
My current financial goals are to just maintain a status quo and not get any debt until pandemic times are over. Then I will focus on a house remodeling fund and savings for taking care of my parents.
Growing up, what kind of conversations did you have about money? Did your parent/guardian(s) educate you about finances? My parents taught us about money from a frugal perspective. They are immigrants who worked in food service/factories. There was always this “save save save” mentality. Even when they started their own small business, we saved like there was no tomorrow. In high school, my calculus teacher bought us all “The Millionaire Next Door” book and had us read it as an assignment - that was my first structured introduction to finances.
Did you worry about money growing up? No, there was always food on the table and a roof over our heads. I knew that our extended family would support us if needed.
Was there an expectation for you to attend higher education? Did you participate in any form of higher education? If yes, how did you pay for it? Yes. My dad didn’t finish the high school-equivalent in their country, while my mom did finish high school, but no college. My older and younger siblings took a different path in life after high school. I am the first and only in my family to graduate from college. My parents covered all tuition for my two bachelor degrees with the agreement that I support them fully during their retirement and send them gifts/extra money whenever I can. I feel very lucky and privileged that they were able to provide that education for me.
At what age did you become financially responsible for yourself and do you have a financial safety net? 24 when I went on a work holiday abroad. My family was always available to help when needed, but the experience abroad helped me stand on my own feet. As an adult, I also inherited that “save” mentality and put a lot of my earnings towards savings. I didn’t date until my 30s, lived frugally, didn’t go out to eat/hangout with people, shopped thrift stores, and had very few hobbies. I am starting to “live a little” now though.
Do you or have you ever received passive or inherited income? Aside from the tuition, my parents have helped with a down payment for my first house and living costs during periods of unemployment.

Section One: Assets and Debt
Retirement Balance
If the place I was working at offered a 401k, I would always contribute up to the company match. I started my IRA in my mid-20s and would try to contribute the yearly max. I've stopped that the past 2-3 years though. My Other Brokerage is some play money, but I got tired of staring it and switched to index funds. I haven't contributed anything to it in a few years.

401k: $34,127 (5% company match on contributions)
Brokerage: $22,421 ESPP
Roth IRA: $40,615 VTIVX
Rollover IRA: $15,760 VTTHX
Other Brokerage: $7,235 VTI
Coinbase: $1,286 ETH (mostly just playing around with it)

Equity if you're a homeowner
Purchased my first home for $382,000 with 20% down, right before lockdown earlier this year. Perfect timing, right?? I plan to live here until my retirement. My parents contributed $15k while I used most of my savings for the rest.

Current Equity: $80,371

Savings account balance: $3,073
Checking account balance: $7,800
Credit card debt: I charge everything on my credit card for the points, then pay it off each month using my checking account balance.
Student loan debt: Traditionally no student loan debt as mentioned in Section Zero.

Section Two: Income
Income Progression (listed as gross income with cost of living area):
High School

$11/hour MCOL - Helped with small family business.

College and first “career” job

$12-19/hour MCOL - I did events/banquet serving after classes and had an internship doing software administration.
$22/hour MCOL - Junior web developer. I realized after a year that programming was not my calling.

Mental health break

$12/hour LCOL - Work holiday abroad. I got a steady banquet server job for that whole time. It was enough to live minimally in a hostel, do weekend trips, WOOF and figure my life out.

College (again) and second “career” job

$12-15/hour LCOL - Decided to go back to school for a different bachelor's degree. While pursuing that degree, I worked at hotels and events as a banquet server again. I also did “search engine evaluation” whenever there were tasks available.
$36,000/year salary LCOL - Software administrator at a casino after graduation.
$39,000/year salary LCOL - Systems analyst at same casino. I left after 2 years, feeling disillusioned with the casino industry. I moved back home with my parents until I could get back on my feet again.

Third “career” jobs

$20/hour HCOL - Entry level advertising role. I was applying to all types of office jobs and that was my only bite.
$45/hour MCOL - Cold-called from a global company who needed someone with my software administrator experience from the casino job. It was an 8 month contract. Although I was starting to love my advertising job, the increase in pay was no question.
$65,000/year salary MCOL - After the contract ended and a few months of unemployment, I landed my current job at the same company. It is an “early career” role according to their job levels.
$66,900/year salary MCOL - Cost of living and merit increases after 2 years on the job. Pre-COVID we got a $5000 bonus each year. They have now stopped bonuses as well as all COL and merit increases.

Main Job Monthly Take Home:
Monthly Net (paid bi-weekly): $2,758
Deductions:

Taxes: $1214
(Pre-Tax) Insurance (Medical, Dental, Vision, Life) + HSA: $822
(5% Pre-Tax) 401k: $256
(10% Post-Tax) ESPP: $514

Side Gig Monthly Take Home:
No side gigs at the moment, but I am thinking of signing up on Upwork.com and doing Excel/data entry projects to help pay the mortgage.
Other Income: TJ’s friend will be staying with us for a month in January, who will pay rent of $800 including utilities. Depending on how that goes, we may take on a roommate in the spare bedroom long-term.

Section Three: Expenses
Mortgage - when I bought the house, the plan was that I would charge TJ a portion of the mortgage costs as “rent”, but since his unemployment I am now covering it all myself.
Regular Monthly Payment: $1677.57

Principal: $501.31
Interest: $849.74
Taxes & Home Insurance: $326.52

HOA: $30/year
Retirement contribution: Nothing additional than what's been mentioned.
Savings contribution: I used to do $50-100/month, but since COVID I’ve stopped contributing to my savings account.
Investment contribution: None at this time.
Debt payments: $100/month towards TJ's credit card balance of $2,307.
Donations: $10-20/month, usually towards Omaze or Planned Parenthood.
Utilities:

Electric: $45-65/month
Water: $60-90/month
Sewer: $30/month
Garbage: $26/month
Natural Gas: $30-80/month
Xfinity internet: $60/month

Cellphone: On my parents plan.
Subscriptions:

LinkedIn: $29.99/month for TJ’s job search - he’s found it very useful.
Amazon/Netflix/Hulu: We piggyback off family and friends’ accounts.
Nintendo Switch Online: 19.99/year
Costco: $60/year

Gym membership: Pre-COVID I did Orangetheory for a year. I started to pick up free exercise equipment from Craigslist this year, so we have a small garage gym now and utilize YouTube exercise videos instead.
Pet expenses: $10/month. TJ has stockpiled some Costco canned dog food before unemployment, but once that runs out I will likely cover the costs. We also started to make homemade dog food to help supplement.
Car insurance: $460 every 6 months. Car is paid off.
Regular therapy: I will start in the new year. Not sure what the costs are yet, but I will use my HSA to pay.
Vitamins/Medications: $20/month
Groceries & household items: $75/month
Miscellaneous (eating out, house purchases, gifts, etc): $100/month

Section Four: Money Diary
Monday
6:30am Neighbor starts up their truck. We joke that it's our natural alarm clock. They idle for about 15 minutes before heading off. I go back to bed.
9am My real alarm goes off. I put the electric kettle on for some morning tea. While it's boiling, I do my morning routine: drink glass of water, take synthroid, use bathroom, brush teeth, quick shower. I then make tea - Jasmine Pearl English Breakfast with dark forest mix. I started ordering loose leaf tea in large amounts back in March instead of small bags or single serving packets. Seems more economical since I drink it daily. I let the dog out into the backyard so he can do his morning routine.
9:30am I go through my daily tasks for work. They entail checking processes and reports to make sure they ran successfully overnight. I then answer some emails and catch-up on Slack channels.
12pm Lunch is leftover roast chicken and quinoa from Saturday. I heat it up in the instant pot. Love that thing! Almost every meal of ours involves the instant pot. We hardly use the stovetop. We then walk the dog to the business park across from our neighborhood. There's a very short trail that runs along a drainage creek by the business park. It's quite muddy, but has a nice woodsy feeling. Over the summer, we saw sumac trees there as well. Free sumac spice!
1:30pm Department meeting on Zoom. Our director announces his resignation on the call. Everyone is shocked! Layoffs were announced for next year but this was not a part of it. I think it's a good move for him and he doesn't have to have this worry of layoffs over his head.
3pm I meet with an engineer from another team and talk about a data source they are in charge of. He helps me out in understanding it and we identify most of the fields that I need for a project I’m starting.
5:30pm I check in with my partner. He's been watching LinkedIn tutorials on internal recruiting, job coaching and general computeoffice skills. It's a career change that he wants to make - something where he can talk to and help people. He doesn't have a bachelor's, only an associates, and hopes these tutorials will get him a leg up in the job search. I sent him some entry level HR admin roles the other day and remind him to apply. I then heat up leftovers: homemade chana masala and rice. I add some butter and coconut milk to thin it out, so there's enough for both of us.
10:30pm I take some magnesium, vitamin D and Airborne. I say goodnight to the dog who sleeps in the office. Then I say goodnight to TJ. He sleeps in the spare bedroom on weeknights due to his snoring keeping me up. I'm a light sleeper while he is a pretty deep sleeper.
Daily total: $0
Tuesday
9am I check Reddit Secret Santa. My match seems like a really good person. Not sure what to get, but most likely will purchase something off their wishlist. I wish I was more creative with my gift giving.
11am Meeting with business stakeholder. She submitted a few changes to an existing data process about a month ago. I make the change while on the call and have her test. Success! Marking it off the todo list. I love when we can finish things directly on a call.
12:30pm I come out of my office to make lunch. I notice my partner is not home. I check my messages and see that he's stepped out to pick up a few things. I ask for celery, carrots, and kombucha. $17. I make a quick charcuterie board for lunch: Costco salami, cheese, homemade hummus and Triscuits. It's a simple, fast meal that’s always in our rotation.
2pm My partner is back and we take the dog out for a walk and quick round of disc golf at a nearby park. We mask up and play only a few holes. Disc golf is a pretty frugal activity, you only need 2-3 discs to get started. TJ remarks that my throws are getting better, but then again they weren't great to start with. We talk about Christmas/Birthday gifts on the way back home since he was born on New Years Day. He mentioned snowshoeing but asked to not spend that much. I'll do some research!
5pm I think about personal career projects. Should I put up a portfolio of projects somewhere? I decide to try and pull some Yelp data. There’s not a lot of data points that I was interested in. Regardless, I tinker with it for an hour. TJ asks if I'm hungry. I said not so much, but felt thirsty. Maybe some ginger soup tonight?
7:30pm Dinner is served - ginger carrot soup made in the instant pot. We eat some rice crackers with it. Lately I feel like we've been eating more vegetarian dinners. It definitely helps stretch our food budget. We end the evening by finishing Fargo season 3 on Hulu.
Daily total: $17
Wednesday
1:30am I'm woken up by the dog. He's been sneezing a lot and wheezes at random intervals. TJ doesn't have the money for a vet visit but I've offered to pay as long as he calls to make the appointment. I give the dog some coconut oil, rub his belly until he seems better and go back to bed.
7am Garbage day. We usually put it out the night before but I forgot. I get up to go, but TJ handles it. I think, at least. I'm too sleepy to pay attention and go back to bed.
9am I wake up and rinse some dishes that have piled up and put them into the dishwasher. We both grew up in households that had a home dishwasher, but forbade from using it. It was drilled into us that hand washing saves more water, unless you had a restaurant/industrial dishwasher. I think with modern home dishwashers, that's changed, so I wanted to try it out with our dishwasher and monitor the water bill. Don't have any dishwashing pods or powder, so I put some OxiClean in it.
12:30pm I overhear TJ on a call with a recruiting agency. It seems to be going well, lots of laughing. I heat up some taco lasagna that I freezer meal-prepped last month.
2pm Collaborate on a project at work with an engineer. My manager put me on this project since I was asking for an assignment on a more technical team. I'm learning tidbits here and there, but I don't feel like it's structured enough.
5pm I do an Orangetheory-At-Home workout and try to break a sweat. It's not the same as going to their studio.
6pm Charcuterie for dinner. Our fridge is full of store-bought and homemade pickles that go super well on a charcuterie board.
Daily total: $0
Thursday
7am I wake up tired. The house has been feeling more cold, which woke me up a few times. We keep the temp at 72F during the day, at night around 68F since we thought the bedrooms keep the heat in pretty well. My mistake!
9am I do my usual morning routine and login to work. My team mostly spends the morning sending each other emojis.
11:30am Lunch today is mini quiche, frozen chicken and veggie entree, and hot dogs. Not the most cohesive meal, but it fills the belly.
12:30pm TJ heads out to his mailbox that's 30 minutes away. He is still waiting on his tax return and a 401k withdrawal. His taxes had to be filed by mail for some reason, then the IRS office shut down due to COVID. So he wanted to see if it arrived yet at the mailbox. He also takes the dog to the vet's urgent care on his way. They didn't have any regular openings available until the end of the year, and the dog seemed to be getting worse. I give TJ $40 to mail a gift package to a friend in France and also reiterate that I'll cover the vet bill when he gets it.
4:30pm I pay some bills, my favorite activity (not)! Sewer bill: $59.44 (billed every 2 months). Geico bill: $459.60 billed every 6 months. Then I follow up with my mortgage officer over email. I had sent her some documents for a refinance quote last week, but haven't heard back. Rates keep dropping, so I'm told, but what does that really mean? I do some research on realestate.
5pm TJ messages me and says he'll be back for dinner. I ask him to pick up some Popeyes via drive thru since we both don't feel like cooking today. Popeyes is currently our fancy “going out to eat” food. $24.17 for a 4pc dinner meal and a 2pc dinner meal.
Daily total: $583.21
Friday
8:30am Busy morning at work. My phone is buzzing with emails and Slack messages. I try to answer them while I make tea.
10am Zoom Department happy hour. We reminisce about our director and then play those Jackbox party games. Some of them are hard!
11am TJ asks if he can make me anything for lunch. He suggests savory oatmeal, quick and easy. I tell him that I really appreciate him making meals/doing chores/etc without me prompting. We've been having conversations about "house project management" and mental load because I did most of the chores or I had to continually remind/tell him to do it. I'm really happy to see us progress on this front. I decide to work through my lunch break so I can end the day early. I don't often do that, but I'm ready to get the weekend started.
2pm I check on TJ in the spare bedroom and ask if the dog has been fed yet, since he was nipping at my feet. I notice something off about TJ and ask how he is doing. TJ is depressed about his personal life, career, finances. He doesn't know what to do, spends half the day meditating and reflecting on past trauma. I've been prodding him to get a therapist but he is confused about his insurance. He makes an appointment with a primary care doctor first. I feed the dog some homemade dog-friendly beef stew.
4pm My mom swings by the house (but doesn't enter). She currently works at a school who distributes free USDA food boxes since March. There's often many boxes leftover that would go to waste, so she will grab a box for us. Onions, potatoes, beets, turnips, eggs, cheese, butter, frozen veggies and frozen chicken. She also brought her vintage pasta maker. I asked last week if she ever used it these days and her reply was “no, feel free to have it”. I love pasta and noodles and figure it would be great to make it ourselves as a frugal hobby.
8pm We catch up on Mandalorian and watch silly Youtube videos before heading off to bed.
Daily total: $0
Saturday
9am I open up my web browser and look at Craigslist and NextDoor for free stuff. I've been scouring for free landscape rocks, pegboards, and wood for house projects. I had this grand ambition to redesign our backyard. It faces our neighbor and currently the fence is pretty low. They can see into our kitchen and bedroom and we can see them. But y'know, COVID and going from dual income house to single income means it all has to be put on hold. So I've been looking for free items in the meantime. Over the past months, I've gotten planter pots, plant cuttings, a raised bed, stepping stones, all from free listings. I don't see anything worthwhile so I go and make some tea.
11am I look at Amazon and make some purchases for Reddit Secret Santa. A foodie kit, DVD of their favorite movie, and some cute pens for their writing hobby. $54. I hope they like it!
12pm TJ heats up leftover stir-fry for lunch for us. I put on some Binging with Babish and we watch how to make pasta. We have a plan - TJ makes the pasta, I make the sauce. Perfect date night activity at home. We watch some more videos on pasta and noodles to educate ourselves.
4pm I start prepping veggies. Big batch of onions, canned tomatoes, ground beef and butter in the instant pot. Meanwhile, TJ works on the pasta by following Babish's instructions.
7pm We gorge on fresh made pasta and bolognese sauce. It's so good! We end up watching Fargo.
11pm Usually I'll be in bed by now, but it's a Saturday and not tired yet (probably because of all that pasta). We play some Kirby's Dream Course on the Switch.
Daily total: $54
Sunday
10am Quick walk around the neighborhood with the dog. He's on a new routine now with the medicine he's taking. It seems to be helping his breathing issues.
11am The pasta maker and flour is still out since we didn't clean up yesterday. There's some old pie crust in the fridge so I roll it out with the pasta machine for mini quiches. (Sally's Baking Addiction blog is my go-to place for her all-butter crust and quiche recipes btw). TJ helps by mixing up the eggs.
3pm I play some Genshin Impact (GI) on my phone while TJ plays Starcraft in the office. I don't usually play gacha games, but the Zelda BotW-style of GI appealed to me. A gacha game is a game with randomized characteitem boxes that you use real-money to purchase a “pull” or to spin the wheel. I know the gacha parts of the game can be a real money sink if you get addicted to them, it’s almost like gambling. My main team is Fischl, Bennett, Barbara and Noelle. I level up to AR 22 and look up free-to-play tutorials for the game.
6pm There's some leftover pasta from yesterday, enough for both of us. I throw in some roasted beets to round out the meal. We watch more Fargo while eating. Almost done with Season 3!
10pm I find a tour operator who offers a small, socially-distant snowshoeing tour up on the mountain. I reserve for two people - this will be TJ's Christmas/birthday gift. $75. Off to bed for another workday.
Daily total: $75
Weekly Total: $689.79

Food + Drink: $41.17
Fun / Entertainment: $75
Home + Health: $59.44
Clothes + Beauty: $0
Transport: $459.60
Other: $54.00

Section Five: Reflections
Aside from the car insurance bill, this was a typical week for me, COVID or not. We make the majority of our meals at home and usually splurge on drive-thru/delivery once every other week. I may have overspent on the Secret Santa gift, but I don't often give gifts out to friends. It's not something our family does either. For TJ’s Christmas/birthday gift, we usually talk upfront about costs. I’ve gifted him fancy restaurant experiences the past 2 years, since we can share that experience, but obviously can’t do that now. Snowshoeing is a nice change of pace.
The conversations with TJ this week have given me thought on how to approach him differently about finances and working together in a relationship. I’m still unsure about the future financially, particularly as my parents near retirement age and that TJ has pulled out his 401k to pay his debts. I don't know if I can support both my parents and TJ together, so I am finding ways to upskill and/or side hustles without becoming a workaholic or bogged down by stress.
Writing this money diary was also the first time where I really paid attention to my past income and current income. I might be contributing too much into ESPP that could go towards the 401k or mortgage instead? I also seem to have been underpaid for what I did in past jobs, even in a LCOL area.

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If you don’t follow my main sub or just aren’t familiar - the end-of-life for all of my stories like this is publication as a novel on Amazon, and I’ve got six out to date :D This week, I did a relaunch on my space opera/scifi series! If that interests you, check out this thread for more information!
When we left off, Terra and Alice had just left Heracles behind in the alley. Despite attacking Terra, he seems oddly conflicted about her war with Gaia. With him fading into the distance, they set their sights toward Fortune and Fate.
I sighed. My hand stroked back and forth across the skin of my neck, trying to work some feeling back into it. Or to work some feeling into it besides pain, rather. I was feeling that just fine.
Alice hurried along at my side, clutching her clipboard and pen. One of her braids had fallen loose of its pins during the commotion of my encounter with Heracles. It dangled along her face, bouncing with every step. “You’re sure you’re all right, mistress?”
“I’m fine.”
“We could stop, return to Avani for a spell. You could rest. Heal your-”
“I’m fine, Alice,” I said, biting back something sharper. “We need to keep moving.”
Besides, the looming white glory of Fortune’s home was right there in front of us. Right there. If I had to turn around and leave it behind me, I might scream from the frustration.
I froze, my eyes widening. Something was close - something small, something marked by the tiny scritch-scratching of claws on stone. Something like-
Alice yelped as the tiny white shape shot from around a corner. Her hands pulled up, shielding her face from the new threat.
I laughed, steeling myself. Claws dug into my legs a second later.
And then the fox sat perched on my shoulder, its face a thin inch in front of mine.
You survived.
“Surprised?” I said, forcing myself to relax one muscle at a time.
We are. But Master is amused. He laughs.
“I’m glad to know I’m entertaining, at least.”
Alice shrank back, still looking decidedly unsure about our new companion. “Is that thing...coming with us?”
“If it wants,” I said, turning back for the building. “I’m assuming Inari’s going to show up at some point?”
Likely.
“Wonderful,” I muttered, screwing up my face at the thought of the god poking his nose into my business again.
More than just him, probably. Fortune seemed to be popular - or if not popular, at least needed. From what they’d told me back when I first signed Toby on, I needed the approval of Fortune and Fate to meddle in mortal lives. Or at least, their understanding.
They were aspects, anyway. Avani and Ebb had sequestered me away to keep me from interacting with other gods. Fortune probably wouldn’t do the same.
“Mistress?” Alice’s carefully measured voice slipped across the edge of my awareness. I’d stopped walking. Apparently, she’d finally noticed.
I kept twisting, ignoring her while I inspected the outfit Toby had devised for me. “I’m too conspicuous. I look like- like I just escaped from a-”
“Somehow, I suspect whatever you’re about to say will be wildly inappropriate for someone of your status,” Alice said, straightening her glasses.
I snorted. “Never stopped me before.”
“You never wanted favors from Fortune and Fate before.”
“I guess. I’m not going to stop being me, though.”
She sighed, wrinkling her nose and looking away. “You might try.”
“What was that?”
“Simply remember your manners, mistress,” Alice said. “I presume someone at least began teaching you those, before realizing it was an exercise in futility.”
“Fuck off,” I mumbled, turning my eyes back to my clothing. If we were going to be around other gods...this was a bit of a problem. I stuck out like a sore thumb, thanks to Toby’s creative tailoring.
I pursed my lips, holding my hands up ever so slightly. Everyone else seemed to have some level of control over themselves. Fortune was running around changing from man to woman, dammit. I wasn’t asking for much. It wasn’t like I wanted to eliminate all his hard work. Just...disguise it.
I breathed in slowly, still burning at the motion. Heracles really fucked me up. I’d have to find a way to get back at him for that. But for the time being, I put that aside, holding the image of myself in my mind. A cloak would be nice. But, at the same time, with everyone here taking on some sort of semblance of modern clothing…
A whisper of air danced against my skin. Fabric brushed my cheek, my hair. I opened my eyes.
Alice stood a few paces away, her eyes on me - and an amused, smug smile on her face.
Elation shot through me as I moved, feeling something move with me. There was a new addition to my wardrobe. If this had truly been some sort of fantasy realm, I’d have called it a ‘cowl’. Given that everyone was dressing closer to normal humans, ‘poncho’ was about as good as I could do. It draped across my shoulders, falling from neck to waist in drab brown waves that hid most of my cleavage and midsection.
“Better,” I said, satisfied, and reached up to pull the hood over my head. The fox squeaked in my ear, sliding under the fabric and slinging itself around my neck as usual. Part of me wondered how it had stayed put while another layer was added. Part of me didn’t really give a shit. The no-fucks-given part won handily.
“Feeling better?” Alice said, holding a hand out as I stumbled forward again.
These fucking feet. They were going to be the death of me. “I’m fine,” I said, waving her off. “We’re right here.”
The fact I’d already lengthened my feet helped, too. I didn’t have metal to work with, but ‘wood’ was a broad category. It had only been a few changes so far, but already, my steps were more sure, more confident. All I had to do was find the right mix, and maybe I’d be walking like a normal human being instead of an arthritic, amputee grandmother.
Alice let her hand fall as I passed, falling in alongside me.
The golden spire of Fortune’s home rose taller and taller, filling the sky until at last I turned a corner. Just like that, the alley opened up, stretching from side to side into a courtyard wrapping the building in cobblestone paths.
There were other gods here, too. Fucking wonderful. None of them were paying me the slightest mind, which probably had something to do with the fact that my tits weren’t hanging out anymore. So that was a plus. I crept forward, wishing I had a decent pair of pants to go along with the new shirt. The rest of me was normal enough, but the legs were weird.
“Slow and steady,” I whispered, trying to ignore the sweat rolling down the small of my back.
“Relax, mistress,” Alice said, leaning forward to smile at me. “You’re like...a dryad, really. It’s not all that unusual. The children of the forest dwell around some of the Earthmother’s lands.”
“A dryad? Well, that’s just great,” I muttered, hurrying my steps along. “How many dryads trip over their own feet?”
Alice didn’t reply. And even if I was sassing her, it did make me feel a little better to know I wasn’t a total oddity. Taking another deep breath, I forced my limbs to relax, my legs to stretch out more naturally.
Maybe it worked. Maybe I was just kidding myself. But no one stopped me as I slipped through the grand doors into Fortune’s temple and-
Stopped.
My eyes wide and round, I looked from side to side, drinking it all in. Her domain had been normal enough before. Gaudy, yes. Ostentatious, yes. But normal. This?
This was like a gambling addict’s dream, the physical embodiment of foolishness and greed. Lights hung from the ceiling in multicolored, garish waves. A bar pressed against one wall, the backstop covered in multicolored glass bottles and neon signs. The rest of the room was filled with machines pressed side by side, close enough a person would struggle to walk through them. A blackjack table sat in the corner, a deck of cards still waiting on the corner.
The only thing that seemed truly out of place was the chess board set up in the very center part of the room. Everything else looked like it’d been ripped straight out of a Hollywood casino set. That? No. That was different - even before you saw the rows of chairs set up reverently around it. But, well, these were the gods.
And this was why I was here. Maybe Fortune had known. Maybe this was all intentional. It seemed like the aspect’s style to toy with me.
“Back so soon?” With my scan of the room complete, I wasn’t surprised in the least to hear the voice cut across my senses - smooth, and female, and as rich as I’d ever heard. Fortune sauntered out from behind a slot machine, her hammered-brass eyes locked on mine and a grin plastered across her cherry-red lips. “I heard you died, darling.” She winked at me, her grin widening. “Oh, I knew better.”
“Yeah,” I mumbled, feeling a blush spread across my cheeks as she stepped past. “Uh. Gaia really tried, but...it didn’t stick.”
“No, it did not,” Fortune said, taking a seat at the bar and leaning on one elbow. Her chin came to rest on her outstretched palm, her fingers tapping against her face. With a start, I realized that Fate stood in the shadows behind the counter. He just...waited, as somber and rigid as ever.
A pair of fingers snapped. I flinched, looking back to Fortune. She chuckled, low and soft. “Pay attention now, dear.” She tilted her head to one side, inspecting me. “I didn’t expect to see you so soon. I presumed you’d hide, rather than pay your debts.”
My bemusement at her appearance and the state of her temple vanished in an instant. “My debts? I don’t owe you, Fortune.”
“You toyed with the life of a mortal, minutes after awakening,” Fate said. His voice rolled across the gaudy room like the tolling of a bell. “There are consequences.”
“I picked a prophet,” I snapped. “That’s allowed. It has to be. It’s bullshit otherwise. Besides, Toby is mine now. How big of a deal can it possibly be that I needed to get his attention?”
Again, Alice quivered at my side, silent. I turned away, exasperated. She was perfectly happy to nitpick and meddle when it was me sitting around. Put her in front of any of the aspects, though, and she turned into a sniveling puddle of obedience. She was my arbiter, wasn’t she? Assigned to help me? Shouldn’t she actually make that a priority, instead of kowtowing to the arrogant asses?
“Yes, I’m sure you meant no harm,” Fortune said, watching me from across the room. “All the same.” She shrugged. “If you weren’t here for that, well. What can Fate and I help you with, Mistress Terra?”
I almost winced. Almost. I caught myself at the last moment, wrangling my face back to a neutral expression. There was a lot of weight in that name - and in the title she’d attached to it. A lot of obligation, and a lot of derision. It was all her way of letting me know she had the upper hand, I was sure.
So be it. I folded my hands in front of me, tucking the edge of my cowl against my palm and pulling it straight. “I’m here for your help, ma’am.” God, the word burned on my tongue. But beside me, Alice gave a tiny, approving nod. I turned slightly, pushing her from my field of view. “I know...we didn’t start off on the best of terms. But I’d like to make it up, and, well.” I shrugged. “I can’t do that if I’m dead.”
“I suppose you’re not incorrect,” Fortune said, raising one carefully sculpted eyebrow.
In other words, I was right. She could just say it. My fingernails dug into my palms, carving white lines against my flesh. “Helping me helps you,” I said instead, locking eyes and doing my best to stare her down. It...wasn’t really working. She hadn’t even blinked.
Inari’s fox whuffed gently in my ear, then scurried free of my hood. It leapt to the floor, dashing across the tile toward Fortune - and climbed straight up her dress.
She...smiled. Her expression softened a hair, and she held a hand out for the fox to climb onto. Idly, she scratched at its ears with her free hand, pulling it closer against herself. The damn thing whickered.
Traitor.
Its golden eyes glanced back to me, though, and I knew better. It was Inari’s, and that meant it was probably just as manipulative as Inari was. I was still expecting him to come strolling through the door at any second, ears pricked and ready to meddle. Maybe this was his way of apologizing for letting me get tortured nearly to death. In his own twisted mind, maybe this was just how he repaid that debt. The thought of trying to untangle what he was after was simply too much for my tired mind to process.
But Fortune was smiling. And I couldn’t waste the opportunity Inari had bought me.
“I want to deal,” I said. I stepped forward, steadier than I’d been since waking up, and let my hands fall to my sides. I held Fortune’s gaze with my own, setting my jaw stubbornly.
“I have a proposition for you.”
Part 29

Alexander sits in the breakroom staring at the TV in waiting. It’s been a few weeks since he’s met Charlie, Vaggie and Angel Dust, and he’s quite amazed how much Angel has improved in these few weeks, for the most part anyway, he still flirts with him and still does some inappropriate things that the girls don’t approve of, but it’s Angel Dust, you can’t expect him to go completely clean. And just after the extermination, it’s just what they need.
He’s also learnt a little more about what Charlie and Vaggie want to do, and he finds it kind of honourable. Hey, he doesn’t want to die in an extermination, and as naïve as it is, it’s a good second option. Why die when you could just better yourself to go to heaven? It’s a good plan.
Of course it’s near impossible, but since when is the impossible actually impossible? This is Hell.
But then again, their plan is kind of… loose. No physical interactions, no harmful mischievous acts, no problematic language. Sure, he sees how it can help, but he doubts it could actually work. You can’t expect demons to just… drop their old habits. Isn’t it a process? Like rehab?
Also, no “Satanic” or “Crude” music, no sex before Marriage, and all that good Christian stuff. He finds this problematic.
Yeah, sure, it’s for the greater cause, but how does Music affect your chances getting redeemed? Is music even mentioned in the Bible? Being the Hotel’s gardener is only a side job, after all, he has a role for where he is now, so he’s not in the program… yet, as Charlie puts it.

Alexander feels a weight on his antlers and he smiles hearing quiet chatter and ruffling of feathers. Oli. Oli the Raven, Alexander’s very own animal companion.
Oli is an odd little fellow. Hell’s variety of animals is limited, very limited, so it was a surprise when Alexander first found him.

It was a normal day a few months back, Alexander was tasked with gardening the Tavern’s special garden, and when he finished he was allowed to tend his own. His garden had more variety, more flowers and herbs. Overall, more colourful, and he can make so many different bouquets.
The thing was, when he entered his garden, he heard flapping noises and quiet squawks. It was strange, and there had been idiots that tried to steal produce before, so Alexander grabbed the shovel before slowly advancing to where he heard the sound.
At the other side of the garden.
His steps were more cautious the closer he got to the sound. He eventually locates it in the Multiflora Rose. He used the shovel to lift the bottom on the bush, and he was ready to beat the ever living shit out of the intruder, but he didn’t.
In the bush was a small black feathered creature. It’s wing was caught in the bush and it doesn’t look too good either… Alexander saw small blue eyes looking at him, and the little bird thing flapped its wings letting out strangled squawks, it was still tangled in the bush so it wasn’t going anywhere.
Alexander watched as it tired itself out before he reached in, the Bird thing squawked again and Alexander felt it bite his fingers and he pulled back.
“Ouch! You little bugger…” Alexander reached in again and pulled the bird out quick. It shrieked and Alexander’s poor ears had to get accustomed to it. At lease he could see what type of bird it was, it was not every day you see a raven.
Alexander had placed the raven down so he could quickly do his gardening, placing it on the dirt and occasionally checking up on it each time he watered a different plant.
It calmed down, but the instant Alexander heard flapping he finished everything up quickly to grab the raven. Immediately, it began shrieking again.

Later that day, he managed to make is a little cardboard box nest for it. He figured out it was sick, and he felt a little bad for it. It must had been all the smoke and stuff Hell had to make it so ill. It had stopped shrieking for now and it was swaddled up in some spare hand towels, and the silence was rewarding.
For two weeks, Alexander had cared for the raven and named it Oli so he could talk to it whenever he wanted. And Oli had calmed down tremendously with the assistance of minced meat and water, and he chattered whenever Alexander was seen. It was cute.
But then came the time Oli had to be released. He had made it known that he could fly when he flew around Alexander’s room creating chaos for the Buck.
So, the moment Alexander had caught Oli, he had carefully taken him outside. Into his garden, he had flattened his hands to let the raven fly off.
Except, he didn’t. Oli stayed perched on his hands.
Alexander tried to throw him up but Oli stayed seated and chattered softly as Alexander tried to get him to fly off.
When he had given up, Oli began whistling. Alexander had given him a soft glare, but he smiled. This bird wanted to stay.
“You want to stay?” Alexander asks, and Oli had continued whistling but he had stood up to hop on Alexander’s hands. How was Alexander going to explain to his boss that he now had a pet? Or, at the very least, a raven that did not want to leave? Oh well, he grew a little affectionate to him too. “Fine, you can stay.”
Upon hearing Alexander’s agreement to “adopt” him, Oli stopped whistling and chattered while walking up Alexander’s arm. Alexander’s smile widened only slightly when he tried to get Oli to step up on his hand, but instead the raven flew up. Alexander yelped but looked around not seeing Oli.
He heard the chatter and he glanced up seeing Oli’s blue eyes staring back at him. He was on his antlers.

“Hey Oli.” Alexander reaches up and the Raven hops on his fingers. He hops back on his antlers and roosts, letting out smaller crows and whistles.
“Alex, you coming out?” Alexander looks over seeing Jackson and Oli chatters again when he sees the Spider. He doesn’t look pleased; he looks a little annoyed despite his smile.
“Nah, a mate of mine’s on the Telly.” Alexander smiles and Jackson sighs dramatically.
“I have to cover your shift again?”
“I’ll cover the late shift.”
“Fine.” Jackson groans exasperated and looks to the screen seeing the 666 News “Your mate better be damn important.”
“Oh, she’s important alright…” Alexander mumbles and looks back to the television. He hears the door close and wonders how long he has until he’s found out again.
The News gives its own little introduction and Hell’s most favoured News Broadcaster rolls up. “Good afternoon! I’m Katie Killjoy.”
“And I’m Tom Trench.” Her cohost introduced himself and they go right into it even pulling up photos of the offenders. “Chaos at Pentagram city today as a turf war is raging on the west side between notable king Sir Pentious and self-proclaimed spunky powerhouse Cherri Bomb.”
“That’s right Tom! After the recent extermination, many areas are now up for grabs!” There’s a cut scene to the battle field between the Snake and Cyclops. It’s near brutal if it doesn’t look funny “demons all over Hell are already duking it out to gain new territory!”
“Those two seem to really be going at it, huh?”
“Looks like they’re fighting tooth and nail for that hot spot!” Alexander shivers seeing her swallow the literal tooth and nail she popped out of nowhere. What is this Lady made of?
“And I’d sure like to nail her hot spot!” Tom gives a short chuckle at his joke.
“You are a limp dick jackass, Tom. Or should I say-” Katy giggles and splashes her coffee on Tom’s lap. He lets out a squeaked grunt and Alexander closes his legs slightly almost feeling his pain “No dick!”
“-Not again!”
Alexander can’t believe these two half the time. Such behaviour would never reach the News when he was alive.
“Coming up next, we have an exclusive interview with the daughter of Hell’s own head honcho, who’s here to discuss her brand-new passion project!” A photo of Charlie pops up and Alexander sits up to pay attention. Oli flaps his wings to balance himself as a result.
Alexander ignores Tom’s pained wincing and whimpers to smile. Finally, Charlie gets her spotlight.
“All that and more, after the break!” Katy breaks her mug and growls at her cohost “Suck it up you little bi-”
Wow…

Alexander waits for the commercial to finish. It should be a few minutes, and hopefully Charlie can perform well.
Speaking of perform…
Their next performance is soon, and they haven’t decided what songs to play.
Jackson has been working on doing some complicated percussion techniques, and honestly, Alexander is impressed. Having four arms help with the whole ordeal, yeah, but it’s still impressive.
Hector and Sam had been working together to improve their strumming and overall play their guitars. And playing along with the speakers. Alexander’s starting to think that they’re messing around instead.
Brandon and him are currently going over songs to perform. All of them know how to play each song they know, but they need to spice it up with songs they haven’t played yet.

The sound of the intro snaps Alexander back in line.
“Welcome back!” Alexander holds his neck seeing Katy’s snap like that. What is she made off? What the Fuck is wrong with her? Katy turns to Charlie who is seated next to her and Alexander settles down a little seeing his friend appear on the screen. All he can think of is one thing; please don’t sing. “So, Charlotte.”
“It’s Charlie.” Charlie corrects and Katy blows her off.
“Whatever.” Katy then intenses every word she says with a click of a pen “Tell us about this new passion project you’ve been insistently pestering our news station about!”
“Well…” Charlie appears nervous and she’s looking off screen, probably at Vaggie. She clears her throat and breathes out to calm down “As most of you know, I was born here in Hell, and growing up, I always tried to see the good in everything around me.”
Alexander sees Katy stab a bug and the blood spatters on Charlie’s cheek. Disgusting.
“Hell is my home, and you are my people.” Charlie wipes her cheek and “We- we just went through another extermination. We lost so many souls, and it breaks my heart to see my people being slaughtered every year.”
She stands up at the desk, all the meanwhile Katy Killjoy dozes off. How professional…
“No one is even given a chance!” Charlie slams her fist on the desk and Katy jolts awake, “I can’t stand idly by while the place I live is subjected to such violence!”
She’s walking into the crowd; the camera follows as she interacts with the weirded out demons.
“So, I’ve been thinking. Isn’t there a more humane way to hinder overpopulation here in Hell? Perhaps we can create an alternative way to change souls through… redemption?” Charlie asks.
There’s a brief moment of silence before Charlie wraps an arm around a red demon.
“Well I think yes. So that’s what this project aims to achieve!” Charlie walks out to the audience and the cameras follow, she interacts with them in a calm manner. She moves back to the desk and sits down. “Ladies and gentlemen, I’m opening the first of its kind! A hotel that rehabilitates sinners!”
There’s an uncomfortable silence on the Television.
“Y’know? ‘Cause hotels are for people passing through… temporarily.” Charlie’s losing it.
“Come on Charlie, don’t lose focus…” Alexander leans forward
“I figure it would serve a purpose… a place work towards redemption!” Charlie sinks down slightly in her seat as she utters out a weak “Yay…”
No… Charlie don’t lose it, you were doing so well…
“Look, every single one of you has something good deep down inside. I know you do.” Alexander sees a small smile. Oh no. No. No, no, no. Don’t do it. Charlie, don’t do it. “Maybe I’m not getting through to you.”
“Oh no.” Alexander groans and falls back covering his face, Oli flaps his wings to balance himself while Alexander peaks through his fingers at the screen. Charlie snaps her fingers and she’s suddenly sitting on the piano that somehow manifested on the desk.
“I have a dream I’m here to tell.” Charlie begins singing and her little goats, Rzzle and Dazzle, play the piano in the background.
Alexander groans again hiding his face “No…”

Alexander hears it all end and he sighs. Finally!
He sits up and he feels Oli adjust himself too. The Raven curled and shrunk to drown out the singing. Animals can only tolerate so much cringe.
Charlie is seen panting on the screen arms out, the studio is silent. Alexander leans forward slightly in anticipation. The Song wasn’t that bad, but…
“Wow! That was shit!”
The studio laughs uncontrollably and Alexander holds his cheek feeling a little bad for Charlie. Poor girl put her heart and soul into this project.
“What in the nine circles makes you think a single denizen of Hell would give two shits about becoming a better person?” Katy laughs and further embarrasses the girl. Bitch. “You have no proof that this little experiment even works! You want people to be good just… because?”
The audience continues to laugh with her.
“Well, we have a patron already who believes in our cause, and he’s shown incredible progress!” Charlie speaks up, her confidence is showing again. That’s a good sign. Angel has made progress! This is good. God, if you’re real, please, for the love of all that is good, please, please, please! Do not let Charlie get humiliated any further!
“Oh? And who might that be?” Katy asks smiling but narrowing her eyes.
“Oh, just someone named… Angel Dust.” Charlie is checking her nails and looking even more confident. She has a right to.
“The porn star?” Tom pipes up to ask. Is that a zipper Alexander hears?
“You fucking would, Tom.” Katy turns to him scratching her nails on the desk, Tom looks away intimidated by her. Katy then turns back to Charlie, totally dismissing her. “In any case, that’s not even an accomplishment. I’m sure you can get that hooker to do anything with enough booger sugar and lube.”
Bitch.
“Oh, I beg to differ.” Charlie faces her and counts her fingers all that Angel has done “He’s been behaved, clean, and out of trouble for 2 weeks now.”
Katy holds a finger to her ear and pushes Charlie away with a crash “Breaking news!”
“We are receiving word that a new player has entered the ongoing turf war! Let’s go to the live feed!” Katy informs then turns to the screen beside her.
Alexander leans forward eyes widen and jaw agape in disbelief. On the screen is Angel. That fucking idiot! He’s in the turf war?!
“Oh shit.” Charlie has the same expression as him. Alexander groans and hears a faint “I’m a baaaad person!” from the news, it sounds like Angel but he’s far too disappointed to care.
“Oh shit indeed! It looks like the one who just joined the battle is none other than-” Katy gives a fake gasp “-porn actor Angel Dust! What a juicy coincidence!”
Bitch.
“You must feel really stupid right now.” Katy directs to Charlie and she laughs with her cohost “Ratings!”
Charlie gasps and attempts to hide the screen “Don’t look at this!”
“Well, it sure looks like your little project is dead on arrival.” Katy looms over Charlie and Alexander has just about enough of this bugger. “Tell us, how does it feel to be such a total failure?”
Katy proceeds to laugh and the rest of the studio joins her. Alexander holds his nose and sighs. It’s not going to end well…
“Yeah? Well- how does it feel that I got your pen, huh?” He hears Charlie ask. I she trying to start a fight? It’s not a good starter. He can think of a better way to piss someone off. “Bitch?!”
Never mind, that seemed to set Katy off.
Charlie laughs nervously while putting the pen down “Oops.”
Katy proceeds to loom over the princess in her true demon form. Redder eyes, more arms, claws, the works. It’s only intimidating because she’s tall and has a temper that has its own reputation. Alexander sees Tom whistle and run away. Wise man.
Alexander looks away as the two proceed to fight. He reaches for the remote that minute Tom is seen on fire.

He shuts off the Television holding his face… this is so bad…
“Alex!”
“Yeah, I’m coming!” Alexander stands up and Oli flies off to his perch and bowls of food and water. Alexander waves at him “Don’t worry, Oli, I’ll fix things later.”

Alexander’s shift finally ends and he’s hurries to get things packed up from the Break Room and his room. Oli is on his antlers and chattering as he bustles around.
Alexander manages to organise two bouquets in his room from the rainforest of a garden he has. Calla Lilies and White Irises seem appropriate; he would have used blue Irises but Hell only has so many flowers. He might as well make a small one for Angel too. Yes, a small bouquet of Ranunculus seems appropriate.
Oli hops on his Antlers and crows when he’s stepped up on Alexander’s fingers and put on his perch next to the Buck’s bed. Alexander smiles at his whining companion “I’m sorry, but I’m in a hurry.”
With that, he runs out.

Alexander doesn’t question the giant crater as he trots to the Hotel’s entrance way. He holds the bouquets up so not to damage it and he ducks under some draping before noticing that the door’s gone. It’s all the way on the other side of the lobby.
How?
“Charlie? Vaggie?” Alexander enters the hotel and he is taken aback at the new area in the lobby, like it can straight from a casino. The Fire place is cleaner… hell, everything is cleaner. Albeit, the place is still cluttered in some areas but it’s cleaner. The Floorboards are redone, the walls look less grimy, the ghost fabrics are hidden, overall the place looks decent now. If only they had food.
Alexander hears some steps and static. He looks around again before seeing a red figure walking closer. He pales realising who is it…
Alastor.
The Fucking Radio Demon.
And Charlie is next to him! Talking and happy? What is going on?!
“Oh! Alexander!” Charlie prances over and Alastor doesn’t give him a glance as he walks off to entertain himself. Alexander side eyes him while offering Charlie the bouquet “Oh, they’re so pretty! Thank you!”
“It’s nothing, love.” Alexander glancing behind her seeing Vaggie and Angel coming out now too, both bickering quietly before they see him. Both come over and he offers them their bouquet. Vaggie takes hers with a while Angel gives him a cheeky kiss to the cheek. Angel winks at him and takes his leave to lounge on a couch while Vaggie stands next to Charlie with a concerned smile. Alexander holds a smile before leaning down and, in a hushed whisper, asks “Why the fuck is the fucking Radio Demon here?”
“He agreed to help out!” Charlie informs happily while Vaggie looks to the side nervous. She must know what he’s thinking. What the fuck?
Alexander pauses. He stares at the two with an expressionless face as he can practically hear the loading windows 90-something edition load in his mind. Charlie powers down and she nervously looks at Vaggie who is looking at her equally nervous. Both stare at him waiting as he processes what has been said.
He stays silent before finally saying, in a deep dark voice "What?"
“He agreed to-”
"No. I heard you, love." He holds his hands to his face and sighs out a growl. He lowers his hands and tenses them in front of him as he looks Charlie in the eye "You made a deal with the fucking Radio Demon?"
Charlie laughs nervously while holding her bouquet, Vaggie rubs her arms deciding to stay quiet for now "W-Well...not technically but… yeah?"
Alexander is silent again, his eye twitches once. Both Charlie and Vaggie look at each other nervous. Then he finally says "Are you insane?"
"Well come on he seems like he could be a big help" Charlie insists and holds her bouquet close to her face to hide herself from him, but she’s brave enough to keep eye contact.
"He also looks like he's going to kill me in my sleep, Charlie." Alexander groans and pulls his hair and pulling it in front of his face, irritated and goddamn frustrated. What is this girl thinking?! "And how do you know he's not going to burn the hotel to the ground?"
"Well I couldn't just turn him away." Charlie replies a little exasperated.
"Charlie..." Alexander whines out a groan and he hides his face with his hair. "Why...?"
Charlie then confidently and hearteningly replies with "It would go against everything I'm trying to achieve here and everyone deserves a chance at redemption."
"And what makes you think he can be redeemed?" Alexander peeks at her and he slowly lowers his arms to cross them. "Love, I understand what you're trying to do, but you need to understand that demons like him aren't at all like you."
“That’s what I tried to tell her…” Vaggie mumbles quietly and Alexander manages to hear it.
Then Charlie pipes up again saying "But he can really help. He sounded so sincere when he said he wanted to help run the hotel! And we need everything we can get our hands onto to get our cause up and running! What else could I have done? He's our best shot."
"Charlie, Love, you have to-" Then he notices it. The Garden. The Shapes through the window are off. He goes silent in a scary way before his voice goes dark yet again, but deeper as he sounds infuriated "What happened to the garden?"
“Well…” Charlie starts off unsure of how to proceed. Alexander is scary when plants are involved. “After Alastor came, the Kingpin from the News came along and shot a missile at the Hotel and-”
"I beg your pardon, Charlie, he shot a fucking what at the hotel?"
Charlie then responds with "Uhhhh… missile?”
"A missile...?" Alexander hums and clenches his fists. He looks to the Garden again and his eyes go wide fearing the worst "It didn't hit the garden, did it? It didn't blow up the flowers and shrubbery? The trees? Please tell me it didn't Charlie."
Instead of saying anything Charlie just nervously looks away. Vaggie holds her hand and doesn’t look Alexander in the eye.
Alexander’s face drops seeing their lack of response and he hurries to the garden.
Vaggie and Charlie stand there waiting. There’s silence. Pure, agonising silence. For a second they believe he’s taking it well before they hear his yell of anger… followed by the most sorrowful cry they've ever heard him make.
Charlie and Vaggie had fully expected seeing him rush back inside and stand in front of them. He looks calm but they know better.
“Who was it again?” Alexander is holding Charlie and Vaggie’s shoulders. Both smile nervously.
“My, my! What a set of lungs!” Alexander straightens up hearing that voice and he looks over to see Alastor close. He moves away slightly from the other deer and Alastor doesn’t seem to be offended from his lack of coming forward, in fact, he’s more intrigued. “Ah! Who may this be?”
“Alastor, this is Alexander, he’s our gardener.” Charlie introduces the Black Deer and Alexander rubs his arm nervously in front of the Red Deer. Fuck, this isn’t good, not at all.
“It’s a pleasure!” Alastor puts out a hand and Alexander hesitantly puts his out to shake hands with him. He smiles amused at how wary the taller deer is acting.
“Pleasure’s mine…” Alexander replies timidly and he takes his hand back.
“Oh, where are my manners? I must introduce my associates.” Alastor clicks his hands and there’s a red flame behind him. Alexander watches as it goes out and two more demons show up. A cat and a… little cyclops. She looking fucking adorable. “Wouldn’t want you all to spook each other, now would we?”
“Who the fuck are you?” The Cat asks as he’s crossing his arms while the cyclops zooms over.
“Finally! A man! Sorry, that’s rude. Hi, I’m Niffty! Let me get a look at you!” The Little Cyclops zooms around Alexander and he’s having trouble keeping up with her. Why is she so fast? And what was that she said about “Finally?” She’s so full of energy…
“Umm, Pardon me, Niffty dear, what are you…?” Alexander hands on the question as he follows Niffty’s movements. How is he meant to talk to someone that’s not stopping?
“Oh, I like a man with clean ink!” Alexander’s suddenly on his knees and he yelps before his arms are caressed, Niffty seems fascinated by his tattoos. He laughs nervously before cheeks are held. He looks into Niffty’s eye “So where have you been pretty boy?”
“Umm... work?” Alexander answers awkwardly and pulls back.
“Really?” Niffty leans forward and Alexander continues to lean back.
"Yes! Work." Alexander stands up and he sees Niffty pout. He puts a loose strand of hair back and looks to Charlie who is just as confused as he is. Then to Vaggie who didn’t look any better. He holds in a sigh, deciding to give the last guy a go. Alexander looks to the Cat who appears like he doesn’t give a shit.
It seems like Alastor didn’t like this so he’s walking up to the Cat and he wraps an arm around his shoulders “Come now, my friend! Introduce yourself to our co-worker!”
“I couldn’t give a fuck if I wanted.” The Cat growls and Alastor manifests a bottle of beer in his palm in front of him. How he did that is beyond Alexander’s comprehension. The Cat takes the bottle with a grumble “The Name’s Husk.”
“Alexander, nice to meet you.” Alexander tugs some of his hair. This is so strange.
“Yeah, whatever.” The Cat walks off to the couch where Angel is. The Spider attempts to Flirt but Husk goes right by him to the bar. Brutal.
“So, Alexander, tell me…” Alastor comes closer and Alexander glances to Charlie in worry who is giving him a thumbs up. Alexander holds his hands behind his back when the Red Deer is closer than he’d like “Why is it now that you have arrived?”
“Gardening is my second job.” Alexander answers nervously “I work at The Note String’s Club.”
“Interesting.” Alastor is seriously more terrifying in person… and he’s getting closer. Alexander and Alastor stare into each other’s eyes, and Alexander can practically feel the Red Deer reading him like a book. He laughs nervously and glances to Charlie who is trying to give him a supportive thumbs up.
“Um, Charlie, I think it’s a good idea that I leave now.” Alexander nervously announces and the Princess looks a little disappointed.
“Really?” Vaggie asks raising an eyebrow “You didn’t let Angel hug you yet.”
“I’d rather head back; my mates are going to wonder where I am. I said I’d do the late shift.” Alexander gives a wave and heads to the door “I’ll see you all tomorrow. Bye Angel!”
“What?! You’re leaving already?!”
Alexander walks out of the building ignoring the Spider’s yells.
Oh, the many things he wanted to say but couldn’t. For one, what the fuck just happened? For two, Why the fuck did that happen? Why did Charlie make an arrangement with the Radio Demon of all demons? He’ll twist everything to his liking, he’ll make a mockery of the hotel, and he’ll kill them all! What was Charlie thinking? Doesn’t she see the foreseeable future?
Alexander stops walking and looks back. He’s pretty far away now, he can hardly see the hotel’s sign. Now he thinks… who was that demon on the news again? Sir Pentious, was it?

Alexander is standing over the cobra in front of him, he’s on the ground battered and bruised and his hat was discarded elsewhere. Tracking him down was surprisingly more easy than he originally thought; it only took two hours. Then all he had to do was corner him in an alleyway and have a lovely chat with him.
“Hopefully now you understand not to launch a missile to my garden.” Alexander sighs and dusts off his shirt. The Snake groans in response as Alexander hears his ringtone go off. He walks out of the alleyway into the light so he can read the text better.
The Text is from Jackson, Mate, where the bloody hell are you? It’s nearly midnight! We need to plan our next concert.
Alexander texts back, I had to do one last thing before I had to come back.

Here are two facts you should probably know:
Fact the first: When a human being is driven into a corner, you should never underestimate the levels of stupid and dangerous they will resort to in order to escape.
Fact the second: If a deal seems too good to be true, it is.
Normally, I wouldn't be the kind of guy you should be taking advice from. If I wrote an autobiography, it'd be called "Jesus Wept." But in this very specific instance, I have some valuable experience. It started, as most tragic stories tend to, with a series of short-sighted mistakes.
About a decade or so back, I was a few years out of college and trying to build a life for myself. I was single, educated, and driven - all the qualities someone needs to succeed in life. Well, not the "single" part, but you get the idea. I had prospects, some real potential - but, like Oscar Wilde once said, I can resist anything except temptation.
Yeah. I was an English major.
I didn't get hooked on meth or porn or anything like that. No, my vice was the thrill of chance. Gambling was the greatest rush I'd ever experienced - just giving up control, letting the gods of probability and randomness decide your fate. I got hooked, kept going to those damn casinos night after night. Looking back, I was naive, I was foolish. It'd take an idiot, blinded by a lust for sensation, to not realise another crucial fact: the house always - I repeat, always - wins.
To make a long, painful story short, at the tender age of 24 the local pit bosses had taken me for all I was worth and then some. As a result, I was indebted to some unsavoury characters who were not all that keen on giving me some leeway on the money I owed them. I managed to pull together just shy of a hundred dollars in a week doing odd jobs, but that was a fraction of a fraction of what I was in for.
At the time, it seemed like a better idea to just piss away what money I had at a local bar rather than carrying on my sad little exercise in futility. So that's exactly what I did, and by virtue of a few gallons of the cheapest spirits you can possibly imagine, I can't remember a great deal of what happened after that.
Next thing I know, I'm waking up in a puddle behind the bar, having been turfed out for making an ass of myself. The electric buzz of the neon signs above my head felt like I was taking a power drill to the frontal lobe, while the cold, filthy water below my face helped to sober me up a smidgen. Just enough to make me aware.
It was right then, in my lowest possible moment, that I met him.
"Hey there, buddy," He said, his voice pleasantly cheerful and melodic, "You look like you need a helping hand. Thankfully, I've got two."
There was a gentle tug on both of my shoulders, pulling me upright. He leaned me against a wall; I could finally take a better look at him.
To begin with, I wondered if I was hallucinating. He seemed so strange, so out of place.
My Good Samaritan was about six and a half feet tall, but he was built like a pack of uncooked spaghetti. A long, lean, string bean of a man. That being said, the black-and-white pinstripe suit he was wearing still somehow managed to be form-fitting, like it was just painted directly onto a featureless body. Above his collar - fastened to the top button and held in place by a large and ugly bow-tie - sat a pale, grinning head with black hair parted in the middle.
Truth be told, my initial thought after properly taking in the sight of him was as follows: holy shit, I died in that puddle, and this is death himself come to collect my pathetic soul. Sadly, that was not the case, I was, in fact, still alive.
"There we are, pal, that's a lot better, isn't it?" He said, kneeling down on his long, rail-thin legs to look me in the eye, "We'll have you feeling like a million bucks in no time. Never fear!"
While back then I just assumed that it was my drunken mind playing tricks on me, I remember his eyes seeming strangely...yellowish. They had a kind of jaundiced sheen to them, like sclera and iris just melted together into a single, formless mass. Eyes like goddamn egg yolks.
"It's always such a shame to catch folks in a pickle, such a shame," He said, largely to himself, I think, "Whatever happened to helping people out, you know? It's a good feeling."
"Who are you?" I managed to choke out.
The kind stranger smiled and turned his sulphuric eyes towards me.
"You're asking the wrong person there, amigo, I'd tell you if I knew. Honest!" He replied with a laugh, "What's your name, though?"
"Nate," I said, wondering if I was about to vomit or not, "Nate Wilson."
"Oh my god, that's such an awesome name!" The stranger said, as the sudden explosion of interest on his face told me that he wasn't faking his misplaced enthusiasm, "Nate Wilson. It has a ring to it, don't you think? God, what a great name. You're a lucky guy, Nate. Lucky to have such a great name."
"Uhh, thanks, I guess."
There was a long, awkward silence after that. I sure as hell didn't know what to say, and the stranger seemed more than content to just stand there and stare at me, grinning like a freak. It felt like it was my responsibility to break that irritating silence.
"Look, I really appreciate you helping me, buddy..." I began.
"Wait, you consider us buddies?" He asked. His tone was, at that stage, ambiguous.
"I mean, you saved me from breathing alley-water, so I guess so, yeah."
This might seem hard to believe, because I definitely didn't believe it at the time, but the stranger literally jumped up into the air and whooped loudly. A grown man, behind a dive bar, doing that. It was like something out of a strange dream that your one boring friend always wants to tell you about.
"This is fantastic!" He said, grinning ear to ear like he'd just won the fucking lottery, "It's so wonderful to make new friends!"
He extended a spindly arm towards me, his hand open and his spidery fingers outstretched.
"Put her there, friendo." He said.
And because that night wasn't weird enough already, you better believe I did.
"That's what I'm talking about," He said with another childish cackle, pulling me to my feet with disarming levels of strength, "Through the power of friendship, anything is possible."
Sure, he may have spoken like his only experience with the outside world was watching Saturday morning cartoons, but he seemed innocent enough. A benign weirdo, just trying to help people along his way. Though I must admit, the fact he was reluctant to tell me his name was somewhat of a red flag for me.
"Now, I'm going to be completely honest with you, Nate," He began, his amber gaze turned downwards in what might have been embarrassment, "There was a reason I followed you out here. It wasn't just a stroke of good luck."
My heart immediately sank. I knew he was too good to be true - this was when he stabbed me, cut me up, wore my skin as a suit and turned the rest of me into a makeshift lasagna. Nobody was ever that happy at that hour of the night if they had all their psychological ducks in a row.
"Well, if you're being honest," I said, swaying on my feet, still too drunk to defend myself, "Would that reason happen to be my murder?"
He seemed shocked at first, then began to laugh.
"Do you think a murderer would be this friendly?" He asked.
"Molestation, then?"
"Jesus, no way, Nate. You're a good-looking guy, don't get me wrong, but you're not really my type."
"Then what does a guy like you have to do with a guy like me?" I asked, the needle on my internal emotive scale creeping from 'curious' to 'irritated.'
"Well..."
He paused again, as though searching for the proper words. He was looking at everything but me.
"The bar," He finally said, "How much of what happened in there do you remember?"
"Somewhere in the margin of nothing, I think." I said, now leaning against the wall for support.
"You were talking to the bartender. Loudly," He said, bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet, "I wasn't eavesdropping, not at all, I just happened to overhear. You were talking about some kind of...money troubles."
I'd almost forgotten about them myself, but the second he said it, all the memories came barreling into me like some nauseating tidal wave. I'd ranted and raved, screamed at the top of my lungs. Debt. Debt. Debt. I got belligerent when I felt they weren't showing me enough sympathy, and when I got belligerent, I was rightly thrown out on my inebriated ass.
"Oh, don't worry about those," I said, my cheeks reddening with shame, "That's not your problem. I'll deal with it."
"But Nate, you didn't sound like you could deal with it."
"What the hell is it to you?" I snapped back.
The stranger stopped talking, and began reaching into his jacket. I got a sudden flash of paranoia that he worked for one of the casinos, and he was going to put a bullet between my eyes.
"You're my best friend, Nate," He said, "And friends are meant to help each other out of sticky situations, aren't they?"
He produced a stack of bills from a pocket inside his suit, and passed it over to me.
"Will this be enough?" He asked.
It was at this point that I was most open to the idea of this all being some crazy dream. With the ferocity of a madman, I quickly counted the money this total stranger, calling me his best friend, had handed to me.
Twenty-fucking-grand. It could bail me out, and then some.
"Holy shit," I said, though I can't remember if it was out loud or in my head, "I...I can't possibly accept this."
"Please do," He said with another ear-to-ear grin, "You need it an awful lot more than I do."
A sober me might have been too proud to indulge him, but - funnily enough - drunk me had a far more realistic take on my level of desperation. I was a desperate, desperate man, trapped in a corner.
Fact the first: When a human being is driven into a corner, you should never underestimate the levels of stupid and dangerous they will resort to in order to escape.
"But why?" Was the only question I could summon.
He smiled and shrugged.
"Because I like you," He said, "And I like helping people."
"But you've only just met me."
"So what? A friend is a friend is a friend. Why overthink it?"
I collapsed back against the wall, holding the stranger's twenty grand. It was a way out of my dire situation.
"I'll pay you back. Every penny, with fucking interest, I swear to god." I said.
The stranger laughed.
"No need. I've got no shortage of money. Just take it and bail yourself out, okay? Then promise me you'll stop gambling."
There were big, swollen tears running down my burning cheeks. The stranger's kindness was baffling, but it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever experienced. He was a true Saint in flesh and blood.
"I'll never gamble another penny." I said.
Without another word, I lunged forward and hugged him. A long, warm, tight embrace. By the end, I could feel his emaciated limbs wrapped across my back.
"Thank you so much." I whispered, my tears dripping onto the shoulder of his suit.
"What are friends for, right?"
When I finally prized myself off of him, I just couldn't stop laughing - it was nerves, probably. The stranger watched me, a kind of eccentric joy burning in his big, yellow eyes. He seemed to like just observing.
"Oh, one more thing," He said, reaching into his jacket again, "A little something I wrote up in the bar, just to help you out."
He passed me a piece of paper, folded into the size of a pamphlet. I didn't even think to check it at the time, I just shoved it into the pocket of my filthy coat and carried on thanking him. I needed that money, lord knows I did, but I couldn't just take it without giving something in return.
"There must be something you want, man," I pleaded, palms open in deference to his generosity, "Anything. I owe you my life, man, you just name your price. I can't thank you enough."
The stranger grinned and stroked his narrow chin in contemplation.
"Now that's an irresistible offer," He said, almost jokingly, "You drive a hard bargain, Mr. Wilson. Leave it with me, okay? I'm sure I'll think of something."
He began walking away after that, whistling - of all things - "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" as he did so.
Now I was laughing again. Half out of giddiness, half in acknowledgement of the sheer strangeness of the events transpiring around me. Right then, as I sat outside a shitty bar, covered in dirty water, my own tears, and more than a little puke, I was the luckiest human being on the planet,
"What do you give to the man who has everything?" I said aloud.
The stranger looked over his shoulder at me one more time, his odd eyes meeting mine.
"Almost everything, Nate," He corrected, "Almost everything."
And just like that, the stranger was gone. Almost funny, isn't it? How someone like that can have such a profound impact on your life, then just up and disappear just as quickly. Like a comet, just trailing past. You only catch its light for a brief instant, then it's dark again.
Using the stranger's money, I paid off my gambling debts in full, and still had a little left over. I swore to stick to my promise, for my own sake and his. In the ten years that've passed since that day, I haven't gambled a cent.
Once I was all square with the house, I finally took a moment to check the piece of paper that he'd left me with. At first I only sort of skimmed it, and it didn't make a great deal of sense to me: just a list of dates from 2007 to 2017, each accompanied by a sentence fragment. It was only when I sat down and took a long, hard look at what those fragments actually were that I realised the stranger couldn't possibly have been human.
No, he was so much more than that.
It was a list of instructions, specific down to the days, minutes, hours, and seconds. Where to be and what to do in order to maximise success at that given moment. He'd left stock tips for companies that didn't exist, but would come into existence exactly when he'd predicted they would. He'd left exact instructions on which house to buy, and how to get it at the best price. Clothes to wear, jobs to take, friends to make.
Fifth of October, 2009. Go to Starbucks in town. Meet Jessie O'Brien. 3:51:17 PM.
Two years later, Jessie O'Brien became Jessie Wilson. The stranger had even engineered me meeting the love of my goddamn life, precise to the exact second we'd first make eye contact.
I invested in the right stocks and pulled out of the wrong ones, avoiding company deaths and market crashes like some financial Houdini. My capital skyrocketed and my personal wealth just grew greater and greater.
Eighth of June, 2011. Buy House 10 Aspen Way. Don't Rent. 6:14:43 PM.
And so I did. Jessie and I moved into that big, gorgeous house once our honeymoon was over. We were wealthy, healthy, and deeply in love - but something was missing, something the stranger had accounted for, too.
Seventeenth of August, 2012. Conceive child with Jessie. 8:31:19 PM.
Our little girl is called April. The stranger picked it, not me. She's four now, and I love her with all my heart.
The stranger, a man who I'd known for less than an hour, had steered the entire course of my life in the best possible direction, out of nothing more than the kindness of his heart. He'd saved me, he'd saved all of us. Even though it'd been ten years since that day and I was drunk out of my mind at the time, I remember every detail vividly.
That's why, as I was walking down the street this morning - my arms full of grocery bags - when I heard someone singing "Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows" a few feet behind me, I recognised the voice instantly.
"Sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows, everything that's wonderful is what I feel when we're together!" His melodic voice sang, his tone screaming joviality, "Brighter than a lucky penny, when you're near the rain just disappears, dear, and I feel so fine!"
Without a moment's hesitation, I turned to face him. It looked like that strange, strange man hadn't aged a day in an entire decade. He even wore that same pinstriped suit that he had on the first night I met him.
"Just to know that you are mine." He finished the verse with a smile, and threw open his arms.
"Jesus Christ," I said, my face cracking into a smile impossible to hide, "It's actually you."
"The one and only, baby," He said with a laugh and a grandiose hand gesture, "How's Jessie, by the way?"
I opened my mouth to answer, but he raised a hand, as though to politely silence me.
"I'm sorry to drop in after - gosh, has it really been ten years? Jeez Louise, time really does tend to get away from me," He said, "Anyway, the reason I'm here is because I finally figured out what I wanted from you."
"Beg your pardon?"
"Ten years ago, you said you owed me something, anything," He replied, though I almost heard it back in my own voice as he said it, "I couldn't decide at the time, but I think I know now."
"Oh, of course! That's wonderful to hear, man," I said, my heart filled with a sudden trepidation, "So, uh, what is it you want?"
The stranger gave that same ear-to-ear grin that he was wearing back behind the dive bar in 2007.
"Well, I've thought about it for a long time, amigo, and I've finally made my decision," He said, "I know what I want from you, Nate."
He paused to take a step closer to me. His eyes were just as golden in the daylight.
"I want your name, Nate."
I almost laughed to begin with, but I soon realised he wasn't joking. He was deadly serious.
"My name?"
"Yes, Nate, I've always loved your name, it's so wonderful," He said, wringing his hands with glee, "See, I've never had a name myself, and it's always left me feeling a little left out, you know? I've wanted a name for so long, and I decided just recently that the name I want is yours. I think it'll fit me just right."
This man had given me my entire life. He saved me from getting killed by casino sharks back in '07, and every wonderful success I'd had since I owed entirely to his decade-long itinerary. With all this in mind, who was I to turn him down this last batshit crazy request?
If he wanted to go around calling himself Nate Wilson too, what right did I have to stop him?
"Sure thing, buddy." I said with a smile.
He leaned forward and embraced me, almost crushing the groceries against my chest.
"You have no idea how happy you've made me."
"It's the least I can do after all you've done for me." I replied.
The stranger - or rather, Nate Wilson - extended another spidery hand towards me.
"Let's shake on it." He said, his voice elated.
And I did.
We went our separate ways after that. I walked home, and he ran off into the city, singing and cackling with mirth. It brought me some peace of mind to know that my debt to him was finally repaid, and that some simple token gesture was all that I needed to do it.
When I arrived back at 10 Aspen Way, I saw April playing around with her toy lawnmower in the front yard. I smiled and called to her, but she didn't respond. She was too wrapped up in her fictitious duties.
I made my way inside with the groceries. Jessie was in the kitchen, cutting up carrots. Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows blasted out of the radio. Today just kept getting weirder and weirder.
"Hey, babe," I called to her, putting the groceries on the kitchen table, "You'll never guess who I ran into this morning."
Jessie didn't respond. She just carried on chopping, and hummed to the tune.
"Babe? Everything okay?" I asked.
Still no response. At this point, I was beginning to get a little...worried.
With a peculiar heaviness to my every movement, I walked over to Jessie, and placed a tentative hand on her shoulder.
It just went straight through. Straight though her goddamn body - like she was a hologram, or I was. I recoiled with a short, sharp yelp, and fell against the kitchen table. Again, no response from Jessie.
What the hell had happened?
"Honey, I'm home!" I heard a familiar voice call from the hallway outside.
Jessie suddenly perked up, turning her head towards the noise.
"Hi, sweetie," She said, "You were a while out there. I was beginning to get worried."
The stranger walked into the kitchen, a smile stretched across his waxen face.
"Sorry about that, honey-bunny," He said, "I met an old friend in town. We had a little catch-up."
As he said that last part, he threw me a sickening wink with one of his piss-yellow peepers.
"Huh," Jessie said, "Anyone I know?"
She leaned forward and gave the stranger a kiss. The kind of kiss she always gave me.
"Nah," The stranger said with a chuckle, "I don't think you've ever met him."
I felt like my mind was going to implode. Nothing going on was making any kind of goddamn sense. The whole world had gone crazy.
April called from outside, something about the grass.
"You mind taking over the carrots for a sec, babe?" Jessie said to the stranger, "I better go check on April."
"No problem, honey." He said, taking the knife from her hand and giving her another kiss.
Jessie left the room, leaving just me and the stranger, all alone. I quietly fumed, and he chopped carrots.
"What the fuck is going on?" I finally asked him, when I'd gained the modicum of composure required to do so, "What have you done, you crazy fucking weirdo?"
He carried on chopping the carrots. His eyes never left the chopping board.
"My name is Nate, stranger," He said, "I'd really appreciate it if you called me by it."
In my state of fury, I tried to grab him by the shoulder and turn him to face me. I could actually touch him, but he wouldn't budge. It was like trying to move a mountain.
"That's my name. This is my house. And that's my wife," I said to him, rage and confusion rendering my voice a crackly mess, "I want you out of here and out my life."
The stranger chuckled.
"See, that's where you're wrong, slick. All that changed hands," He said, "This is Nate Wilson's house. Jessie is Nate Wilson's wife, and this is Nate Wilson's life. And, by the terms of our recent deal, I'm Nate Wilson. And you, good buddy? You're nobody."
"I won't accept that." I yelled, slamming my hand down onto the kitchen countertop.
Without another word, Nate Wilson rammed the knife through my hand. There was no pain, no blood. It just phased through, as though I no longer even existed.
"Word to the wise, stranger, reality marches on regardless of whether you accept it," He said, as I pulled my hand away from the knife, "Everything you have, everything you've tricked yourself into believing you earned, you got from my instructions. You never owned this life, stranger, you just rented it from me, piece by piece. Now, it's mine, and there's not a thing you can do about it."
He stuck the knife into the chopping board and turned around to me.
"Except, of course, leave, and let me, my wife, and my daughter get on with our lives. Do you understand, stranger?"
I stood in crushing silence for a minute or two.
"But can I see them again?"
"Sure you can, you can see them any time you like, but only I can see you. Just like, up until around an hour ago, only you could see me. It doesn't feel good, does it? Being nobody. Being nameless."
The gravity of it all was finally closing in. I fell onto my ass and began to cry.
"God, I was so fucking stupid," I said, "How did I fall for all this?"
Nate Wilson shrugged and ate a piece of carrot.
"Don't blame yourself, buddy," He said, "I was waiting for centuries before I found someone who I could interact with. It isn't your fault you happened to be that person, or that you had such an awesome name at the time."
"My name..."
"You were only going to waste it, friendo. If I wasn't there that night, a heavy would have broken your legs the next day, you'd have gotten into painkillers, and OD'd a few months later. Nate Wilson becomes gravestone fodder. What a waste that would have been, huh?"
"But what do I do now?"
"What I did, stranger," Nate Wilson said, eating another piece of carrot with undue relish, "Ask around, find someone you can talk to. Might be this afternoon, who knows? Sure, could be a week, month, year, decade, century, but I'm an eternal optimist."
"A century?" I said, trying to ebb the stream of tears flowing out of me, "I can't wait that long."
"You'd be surprised, pal. Patience is something you'll learn, being nameless. When you finally do manage to wrangle yourself a name, you'll appreciate it a little more this time. You'll make something of yourself."
Fact the second: If a deal seems too good to be true, it is.
"So is that it?" I asked, "Is that all you have for me?"
Nate Wilson nodded.
"I'm afraid so, good buddy," He said, "But you seem like a nice enough guy. I'm sure you'll figure something out. You can always depend on the kindness of strangers, don't you know."
As the man who had just stolen my entire existence carried on hacking up vegetables, I left the room, walking out of the kitchen, through the hallway, then out of the house entirely. I stole one last look at Jessie and April, my - no, his - family, playing on the lawn, totally carefree. All smiles. They'd never even know that I was gone.
Perhaps it was better that way, no heartache.
I whispered a goodbye that they'd never hear, and closed my eyes in a pointless attempt to shut off the tears I knew would be coming either way. I set off into the city after that, walking alone, in search of something - hell, anything - to call myself.
And that was that. The story of my un-naming. Perhaps Nate was right, perhaps it was his life all along. Maybe he'll live it better, live it kinder. He might be a better father, a better husband, a better Nate.
I don't feel so attached to that name anymore.
But, if you know all this now, that means one good thing: you can read what I'm writing. If you can read my words, perhaps you can hear them? And if you can hear them, perhaps you can reply.
If so, I hope to hear from you soon. We have a lot to talk about, you and I, a lot to discuss. I think I can do some great things for you, dear reader, dear friend. I'll help you out of any bind you need, and I'll barely ask for anything in return.
Barely anything at all...
X

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[Spark of Divinity] Part 28

Every Rose Has Its Thorns, Chapter 2

Every Rose Has Its Thorns, Chapter 2

Every Rose Has Its Thorns, Chapter 2

Two Facts You Should Probably Know

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