The Crossroads

It was late and dark. The moon lit the way as Bob walked out to the crossroads. He checked his watch. There was still five minutes until the appointed hour, assuming the gentleman in question was going to appear. Bob half hoped that he would not.
“You looking for me?” came a voice, “I assume you’re looking to make some kind of a trade?”
Bob swallowed, his throat suddenly dry, and nodded his head.
“Do you have the goods?” was the next question, and Bob offered up the merchandise for inspection. Held up to the moonlight, the goods were turned this way and that as the gentleman looked for flaws and imperfections.
“Hardly been used,” said Bob. “And I’ve kept it safe. I only ever take it out on Sundays to polish it up a bit.”
“What are you asking for it?”
Bob  swallowed and named his price.
“That’s a big ask for one of these.”
“So no deal then?” Bob was almost relieved.
“Wait hold on, I’m not saying I can’t make a deal. I’m just saying that it’s a high price. You know that business is good these days, at least in terms of quantity. I can get as many as I want and when I want. Why there’re folks practically giving the goods away for free. But. . . been a while since I seen a nice one like this. Sure there’s one or two flaws, there always is, at least at my end of the market, there is. I know there are other dealers that specialise in high-quality merchandise. Come to think of it why didn’t you take this to him?”
“I did,” said Bob. “But he wanted time to pay. I don’t pay now, he said, but by and by in my time you’ll get everything you want. Well, that weren’t no good.”
“Tell you what; it’s a deal; seems like you can fool the devil after all.”
The Gentleman offered his hand, but Bob knew better than that. Contracts were signed and exchanged. The gentleman retired back into the darkness again taking his new property with him.
When the bleeding stopped, Bob walked back down to his old shack at the bottom of the hill and entered. Bob picked up his guitar, plugged it in and played.
“I’ve done worse deals,” he thought.
The End

Also Published in DavidRae Stories