The devil was bored in hell nowadays. Absolutely nothing happened. The fire was burning high as usual but the heat was suddenly too dull. Somehow it was unbearable. The same fire every day and night, no change at all. Flames jumped up in the air and it was so hot. Sparks flew around and the wood crackled. The devil was alone and had nothing to do. Hell could really be hell sometimes. The devil knew that this place was his home and he had lived in there forever. The smell of sulphur was in the air and the lamenting of those poor souls was the same every day. Why did they not come up with new challenges? He could not stand the look of the scarlet-red and golden striped furniture in his chambers anymore. Surely these things were not modern anymore. When did he last have company and was not just lying lazily on his sofa? He was sluggish recently and not interested in anything. He had always been strong and tough but now he felt very weak. Could the devil actually have depression? He did not fancy change and adventures. He followed the advice of his personal physician and went to Earth to find out whether there was fun anywhere for him. The devil came to a town and there were a lot of issues with graffiti and carelessly thrown away litter everywhere. The people seemed to have slowly lost their sense for law and order. The devil liked it there but it was still boring in the long run. These crimes were not really severe enough to let the delinquents suffer in hell forever. He wandered around aimlessly and sat down in a corner and cried. It started raining immediately, heavy rain. His black garments fell into a puddle and sucked up all the wet mud. But the sun slowly came out again. ‘I don’t even manage thunder storms anymore,’ the devil thought helplessly. The devil felt let down by the dark forces. Suddenly, a creature in white stepped in front of him. It was wearing a rainbow-coloured crown that glittered in the sun. It was the almighty God who had watched the devil’s suffering from a cloud. ‘My friend, what’s wrong?’, God said. The devil looked confused and told him his issues. ‘Oh, I’m sad. Everything is boring.’ And God said: ‘You need innovation. The digital world is on your doorstep. Use it!’ The devil did not want to believe that at first and challenged God to a competition. ‘Show me what you can do! I wanna see it!’ the devil said with sparkly eyes. ‘Right. As you wish.’ A young man was just trying to snatch an old lady’s purse. Could God almighty stop him? Almighty God took control of the local public tannoy and also of the man’s mobile phone. He played a swift polka with full volume so that the window panes of the neighbouring houses rattled. The alleged thief suddenly had to dance and sing without stopping. He left the lady alone and she ran away, scared. The devil could not do anything about this all. Then, a fully complete aerobics exercise followed. The man’s hands moved up in the air just like a puppet and his legs bent. Then, he had to clap rhythmically for minutes. The potential delinquent was completely knackered and convulsed with pain. Sweat stood on his forehead and his face was as red as a tomato. In the end, almighty God played slow relaxation music and made the man perform simple yoga positions. For example, he had to stand on one leg for a while. Then, he got a harp in his hand and he had to play till his fingers were sore. The potential thief played the harp wonderfully. Finally, the man begged for mercy and almighty God ended the spectacle. The thief fell to the ground, completely exhausted. He wheezed. He had no breath left. It took all his strength to carry himself away and he would not rob good people anymore in the future. He would earn money by busking in the future using his harp. Perhaps he would be discovered for an orchestra in the future? God almighty’s capabilities and the good had won. ‘You need to move more and all the other people, too! Exercise keeps you fit!’ the almighty God said to the devil. ‘Music is best, it gives you a good mood. And until you are so exhausted that you feel great afterwards. Do this together with others and you will live again.’ God almighty made the devil try this himself and he loved it immediately. The devil heeded God’s advice and God was astonished. He was suddenly understanding and felt healed. ‘I thank you so much but I need to go back home again now.’ the devil said as a farewell and disappeared within a stinking cloud of smoke. Progress happened quickly in the underworld. Hell was fully digitalised now and technically completely up to date. Hell’s design experienced a refreshing makeover in natural blue and green tones, automatically adjustable according to the devil’s mood. From now on, he could choose daily between umpteen scents by the push of a button, for example breath-taking garlic and mercury steam. The devil could even choose a suitable music for this, classical guitar, clinking piano or smashing drum rhythms. Of course, everything was remote controlled and independent from the devil’s whereabouts. He had purchased numerous musical instruments and everyone in hell could sing their favourite song now. Completely new practices developed, for example, pandemonium and crazy dance. And the devil met remorseful sinners daily and amused himself splendidly during conversations and while making music and dancing and singing together so that there was no more boredom for him. The devil was happy again. And if humans are very quiet, they sometimes hear a muffled rumbling coming from the ground. That is the devil’s satisfied laughter when there is a wild party taking place in hell. About the author:
Antje Bothin loves writing and her poems have been published in several international anthologies and poetry magazines. She has authored an inspirational novel about a treasure hunt in Iceland featuring a character with Selective Mutism (SM) called 'Annika and the Treasure of Iceland'. When not being creative, she can be found doing voluntary work in nature or drinking tea.
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