When Demons Become Devils (: formerly published)

The first moments of the death of Kristin were the worst ones. Soon afterwards she got used to this new situation. Much later on she even came to enjoy it. At least now and then.
When she died it was a shock. She never would have believed that it could happen to her. Of course she knew that everyone has to die, but being dead she realized that she had never truly believed in this fact of life. Other people died, but not her - except that's what she did when the burglar in her home hit her over the head with the large ashtray she had bought her husband Stan for his birthday. Then she died in a stream of blood, but without any pain. It all happened so fast that she had no idea whatsoever of what was going on. Actually it stayed that way until some hours later when her younger sister, Becky, came to see her husband, or rather her widowed brother-in-law.  
At first she didn't understand what it meant that Becky flew into his arms and glued herself to him in kisses like had she been an octopus. Then she realized that being naive and blind to realities isn't the best way of staying alive. It's much better to be alert and prepared for the worst when one has a sister like Becky and a husband like Stan.
Right before her very eyes they went into an entangled love-knot on her bed. It filled her with such a rage that something unusual may have happened to her because as her rage accumulated she felt that she was being invested with strange, new powers. She already had learnt that her hands weren't able to grab, push or even touch anything, but all of a sudden they were able to discharge something that moved objects at a distance. As she pointed her clenched fist at the entangled couple the bed sort of tilted. Not much, but still enough to make them stop their activities and look quite frightened.
"What was that?" Becky said. "An earthquake?"
"I shall give you earthquakes like never before," Stan said, not heeding the strange incidence for long, but starting to kiss the worried Becky all over. That was when their deceased "hostess" struck again: She pointed at the romantic painting over the bed which she had bought herself at a happier moment and it simply flew off its hook and fell on him. That made him flinch, but it didn't hurt him as much as she had wanted to hurt both of them.
"What ...?!!" he exclaimed. "That's impossible!!!"
"Maybe it's Kristin?" Becky said, now with a tone of fright. "Maybe she is still here ..."
"No-no, she was taken away hours ago. Right now she is at the hospital for an autopsy."
"An autopsy? I sure hope they can't see ..."
"No, of course not, they don't know anything about us. Don't be afraid, darling."
That "darling" made her totally enraged and she pointed her fist at the bed once more. It tilted, this time much more than the first time, and Stan let out a gasp. Becky jumped out of the bed and started to shout that she NEVER-EVER would see that bed again. Stan too got up, obviously disappointed, but not reassured about the situation he didn't dare to stay. Both of them left the room and she was back, fuming with a rage that didn't grow less poignant as it suddenly dawned upon her what their conversation had revealed about her death: Becky had been afraid that the autopsy would reveal something about them and to her that was a clear indication that her real murderers were her husband and her sister, not the burglar who had felled her and who most likely was an accomplice.

At the funeral Becky cried hysterically and Stan looked sad in the special manly way, i.e. his eyes were moist, but not overflowing with tears. She, the dead one, almost laughed out at the sight of these hypocrites. Now they had free access to her fortune, the one which had earned her Stan and which she had inherited from my first husband, Danny. Becky must be beyond herself with happiness at this turn of fortune as she always had been poor. As to Stan then he wasn't poor only less rich than she had been. Being a good dentist he in many respects was a good catch both for herself and for her sister.
As she stood watching how her coffin was lowered into the ground she felt a chill down her spine. It made her shudder, but when the chill went into something resembling a pinch she jumped and turned around, very surprised to see a charming, boyish face right behind her.
"What ... how dare you?!" she sputtered with rage, surprise and also fright because it was obvious that he could see her which nobody else did. "Who are you and what are you doing?"
"Oh, hello," the young man said with a grin. "Well, that's not flattering. I've been your guardian angel almost all your life ..."
"Some guardian!" she exclaimed. "Look where your guardianship landed me."
He looked quite calmly at her and then said: "The problem is that you forgot our deal. Besides, that you die this way saves you from worse like e.g. cancer and a long, long time of sickness."
"What do you mean, "our deal", and what cancer, I'm fit as a fiddle."
"You have cancer of the uterus, only it hasn't been obvious yet. As to the deal," he coughed a little as if to gain more time, "we made the deal that you should use this your last life on Earth to develop your soul. Instead all you've thought of is your body and your belongings."
"That can't be. Otherwise I would remember the deal. Except that "developing my soul" sounds very strange to me."
"If you didn't do it you would meet someone you don't like ..."
"Who may that be?"
"Me!"
Kristin couldn't help laughing at him, he looked so serious, so concerned with something she didn't understand. However, when she laughed his face changed from boyish charm until something quite different. His forehead, which had been smooth and without any traces of wrinkles, puckered up and two small horns appeared. All his charm changed into something quite different as it grew from non-sexual boyishness into something dangerous and sensual. To her utter surprise she found him quite attractive, also when she saw the pointed tail he all of a sudden sprouted.
"You ..." she said, "you are the Devil ..."
"OK, so I am, and then what? Who do you think you are ...?"
"Me, I'm Kristin, married to the unfaithful and murderous Stan and the older sister of the also quite murderous Becky. An innocent victim, that is!"
He laughed and now his laughter was deep and masculine, sensual and full of many kinds of fascinating weirdnesses.
"Yes, in this life, but you also are the murderer of Danny, your former husband, and of a couple of others from your other lives."
She got a shock and quite by instinct she pointed her clenched fist at him. Everything shook, and she got quite worried about her dead body in the grave being hurt, but nothing of that kind happened. Instead he grabbed her and shook her, then he kissed her like she had never been kissed before.
"No, no," she exclaimed, "you are the Devil and I'm the vicim of murder. I'm innocent and I'm going to ..."
"Yes, where are you going? Paradise?"
"Of course, I was given absolution for helping Danny to die when he took ill. I'm innocent."
"That's rich!" he exclaimed. "Danny got ill because you gave him something that made him ill. He died because of you and you are a murderess. Our deal about your soul was because someone high up wanted to give you this last chance, even though you've behaved like a demon in several of your lives, otherwise you just come with me."
"High up? An angel? I knew it!"
"I'm an angel too, Lucifer, remember? Heaven and the Other-Place-You-Know still communicate now and then and I got this job because they don't want you with them, only you cheated your way to an absolution."
Kristin lifted her fist once more, but when she pointed it at him she was spun around like a top and once more landed in his arms.
"You and I belong together," he said and kissed her forehead which all of a sudden sprouted small horns like his own. "You will find that you will like my way of living and one thing is for sure: With me you may have the revenge over Stan and Becky that you dream of. It will come anyway as they are doomed because your dear sister will marry and murder your husband ..."
"Oh," she exclaimed, "she will? Then I shall not do anything about her, only watch ..."
He laughed and then grabbed her once more, but this time to lift her and carry her as easily as had she been a feather. To her dismay she felt how wonderful the feeling was to rest in these strong arms of the annoyingly sexy Devil himself.
- Like I always belonged there, she thought, not at all liking the idea, but still finding him much more attractive that she wanted to.

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