Hot air lapped at his face and dried out his eyes as he stood dumfounded, only beginning to process the reality of his situation. Emotionally he felt numb, detached and empty inside. Fields of fire and columns of smoke carried on onto the horizon, which was also fire. Flames licked his shoes through the coals and the smell of burning rubber floated into his nostrils. He was wearing a finely tailor suit that he had no memory of. It was soft and light but also let the heat of hell in. “How do you like it?” the devil asked. Amir opened his mouth instinctively to answer but was at a loss for words at the sight of the devil. He imagined a horned beast but instead he was handsome. His jaw was chiseled and his features perfect. Like a statue sculpted by Michelangelo come to life. His eyes pierced through Amir, seemingly observing at more than his current physical form. “What?” Amir asked. “Do you like it?” The devil repeated patiently. “Like what?” Amir asked timidly. The devil smiled perfect pearly whites. “Why the last suit you’ll ever wear of course.” Amir looked down at his suit, his shiny shoes were beginning to melt now. “I-I suppose.” “Well I hope so. It’s tailored and it only fits you. So wear it well.” He canted his head as a martini poofs into his hand. “Drink?” He asks, extending the perspiring glass. “No thank you, I don’t drink.” Amir replied. “I Know.” The devil replied before he drank the glass in one swig, tossing it away. Amir followed the empty glass through the air to the coals on the ground where it should have landed but it simply disappeared. “So tell me, who you are Amir?” “Um.” He stuttered. “My name is A-Amir and-“ “Amir, Amir Stop.” The devil interrupted. “I know who you are” he said making air quotes “I want to know who you really are though. I want to know the juicy details Amir. I am not God. I cannot be everywhere at once and don’t know everything about you. For this relationship to work there needs to be communication, m-kay?” “Okay…” Amir said. Utterly defeated. “But I didn’t do anything. How can I be in hell?” “Well...” The devil said softly and slowly put a comforting hand on Amir’s shoulder. “you must have done something to warrant a stay here my friend. And let me tell you it really is important because there are nine circles I need to fill here and by golly are you lucky to get first pickings. You get the best seat in the house!” He said enthusiastically. “Now.” He snapped back as a scroll appeared in his hands with a poof. It unraveled down to his feet and continued along the coals for a long time until it became hard to see on the horizon. Amir noticed the scroll wouldn’t burn on the coals but his shoes were sticky and hot. “What is that?” Amir asked. The devil did not respond. He continued to scrutinize the scroll with intense concentration. “I don’t deserve to be here.” Amir continued. “I go to church. I have a daughter. I have a wife. We’re God fearing people!” Amir raised his hands and looked toward the heavens, or at least where he thought the heavens should be. The fire above burned his eyes and seared his eyebrows. “Why have you forsaken me my lord, Jesus-“ The devil dropped the scroll and grit his teeth. The coals below shook and the fire became fierce and the coat became sizzled beneath him. “Do not. Say. That. Name.” A horrifyingly deep voice resonated from the devil. His smile turned to a frown and the sparkle in his eye replaced by fire. He loomed over Amir forebodingly, seemingly taller than before. For the first time Amir felt something other than emptiness. The horror stunned him still. The paralyzing effect of the Devil’s wrath sat upon his chest. He couldn’t breathe. Panic set in as the soles of his shoes burned through, letting hot coals blister his feet. But it only lasted seconds…. The heat subsided and the coals softened. A slightly cooler air numbed his lungs and put him at ease. The fires in the sky died down to harmless embers. Amir was on his knees now, crimpled from the anxiety that was already fleeing from his consciousness. He slumped on all fours, waiting for the rage of the Devil to continue. A rage he knew would be never-ending, but it did not continue. His anxiety was abating quickly and he mustered the courage to look up at the fallen angel. He slowly rose his head, expecting horns and hooves shrouded in fire but it was not so. The Devil still wore his suit and movie star quality figure but his stature and confidence were absent. Instead he was slumping and dejectedly looking toward the horizon. A figure approached from the distance rolling the scroll up as it approached. Amir watched intently as the figure drew nearer. It hobbled slowly toward them with an unbalanced gait, but steady none the less. “You must be lost.” The devil shouted across the distance between them. The dark figure said nothing and continued to collect the scroll as it approached. It drew closer but Amir’s anxiety was not returning with it. “If I would have known you were coming I would have set out the nice flatware.” The Devil continued, drunkly stumbling toward the approaching figure. “Hell, I would have tuned my fiddle if I knew you were coming.” He continued sarcastically. “Enough” a voce echoed and resonated from everywhere. The Devil stopped in his tracks before the figure, who was now. An elderly woman in simple garments hobbled toward them, still collecting the scroll as she approached. She had messy white hair and was a whole head shorter than the Devil, yet he hunched and cowered in her presence. The old woman rose the scroll she had been collecting and laid a bony finger to it. “Addendum 109D, section 3-16.” The woman said, pointing at a scrawl on the scroll. Her tone was authoritative yet calm. The Devil snatched the scroll from her and read, his lips moving with the words but he didn’t make a sound. He crinkled the scroll between his fingers as it turned to ash and floated to the ground.. The Devil shifted his fiery gaze upon Amir. “You fucking piece of shit.” He spat. “Your gay fucking father says you have to go home now.” His face twisted with hate as he showed his true from. He was not charming and he was no longer handsome but Amir was not afraid. The woman smiled and extended her hand. Amir rose to his feet and kicked off the burned shoes, no longer feeling the affliction of heat or the pain of his blistered feet and took the old woman’s hand. Her skin was soft as silk and as cool as an autumn breeze. In the old woman’s embrace he left behind the Devil’s hell and walked into a cool breeze that smelled of pine trees and rainwater. The sound of chirping birds and the rustle of leaves emanated ahead. “It’s not over!” The Devil shouted from a dimension away. “Your wife and your daughter sill have to pass my test. We will see if they prove worthy!” The Devil continued to shout. “Oh they will.” Amir whispered to himself. “For God gave his one and only and whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”