The+Devil+and+Gunnar+K.

Blake Stone English C 11/20/2007

__The Devil and Gunnar K.__

To work as a fireman is an awarding job. No word can describe the feeling when you save somebody’s something or someone that means the world to them. The job works in a unique way were you have a twenty four hour shifts with forty eight hour breaks in between. It never seems like it’s enough time though, or so says Gunnar.

In the twenty four hour shift, sleep is very scarce, and over years it becomes harder and harder to fight the fatigue. The job also doesn’t pay exactly what a man would wish; it’s hard to make it by for Gunnar just living in a two bedroom apartment with a dog. Life could be so much better, and Gunnar often finds himself asking the question “Why does it have to be this way for me”? Well he was given the chance to change his life; here is his story, __The Devil and Gunnar K.__

Gunnar just got off his shift and was planning on heading home, the train was late that night and he was left stranded in the brisk night of December the 3rd 2030. It was now 11:49 when another man came up behind him, the man was dressed in a pinstripe suit with a fire red tie that seem to play games with eyes that would glisten the color every once in a while. Something about the man brought chills to Gunnar’s spine.

This intimidating man came up to Gunnar and asked him a question of which he wouldn’t ever expect. He asked, “Are you a happy?” Now normally Gunnar is the type of man that would tell him to go catch the bus or something but this time he felt rather obligated to answer him though he didn’t know his name. Gunnar described his situation with his job and his question of “why does it have to be this way for me?” He simply replied that he could make it go all away if I just did one thing for him. Of course he didn’t believe him but Gunnar replied with, a shrug and said “sure” as if to go along with his game. He asked what he must do and he told him that when the time came he would make sure that he would know what it was. After that he walked by Gunnar and he felt the weird chill go down his back, but then Gunnar’s train came.

The next morning Gunnar woke up and laid there in his bed. When it came time to get up he commanded his legs to move but they gave him no response. He quickly threw the sheets from the bed and tried again but nothing. He thought it was all a bad dream, but he looked to his left and saw a wheel chair sitting there with a note. He grabbed the note with his now sweaty hands and glanced upon the perfectly composed cursive writing. It read, “Dear Gunnar, I hope you like the house, I left a present for you in the kitchen. Oh and the wheel chair, that’s on the house too, best regards, Satin. P.S. Meet me tonight at the train station 11:49 sharp, don’t be late.”

After reading the note he broke down into tears, everything was so fake but so real. After laying there for what seemed like hours he managed to get moving and worked himself into the wheel chair. He made it to the kitchen as quick as he could. When he made it around the corner he saw laying on the table a cube about four feet by four feet by four feet. Gunnar made it over to the table and unwrapped a corner of it to find what was on the inside. When he pealed back the pearl white paper he found the cube consisted of thousands of crisp one hundred dollar bills. For a surprise that would make a humble person faint Gunnar took it with anger as to be joke.

The rest of the day he spent wheeling back and forth through his house in anger not letting the idea of being paralyzed bog him down for he thought he could change everything back. The clocked neared ten and Gunnar made his way to the station not to be late. When he got there he found there was no way to make it up the stairs but by pulling himself and chair up by the shear strength of his arms. He made it up and back in his chair to only wait.

Gunnar watched his watch as it stroke to 11:49, He then looked up and saw the man who claims to be satin starring him in the face. Gunnar yelled with anger that he wanted his life back and doesn’t want to deal with him, before Satin had a chance to say anything. Satin sat there with a blank look on his face and told Gunnar maybe he should have been more thankful for the life he had. He said Gunnar was lucky, not many people get the chance he got to see two lives, to get the choice of having a life of wealth or living a life of fortune and being happy with what he was blessed. Because of one person Gunnar got the chance to go back. Because of his mother, her prayer for the lord to watch over him, Satin was left powerless to make permanent changes in his life without written consent. Gunnar sat their boggled staring him in the face and then he blacked out.

Gunnar later woke up as a train roared to a stop. He looked around and saw no wheel chair but only his backpack of cloths and empty food containers from work. His legs felt cold and the December air brought a chill down his spine that made his leg flinch. With that flinch Gunnar then realized he could walk again. He quickly ran in the train and pulled out his phone to examine the time. To his amazement it was only December the 3rd, 11:49P.M. He slid down into my chair and watched the terminal as the train pulled away and saw the man in the pinstripe suit standing there smiling off into the dark. It was from that moment on Gunnar never regretted anything, his life he was blessed with made him a happy man and a happy man makes a life good.