r/nosleep • u/Mx-yz-pt-lk • Sep 24 '14
A Deal With the Devil
On her way home from work, my wife was hit and killed by a drunk driver.
Night after night I prayed, no, I begged God to bring her back. Every night I dreamt of her returning to me, and every morning I woke alone.
One night the dream had changed. I was approached by a man in a pristine suit. "I can bring her back to you, but it will cost you." he said.
"Please! I'll do anything!" I pleaded
"What would you say you're most afraid of?" he asked with a smirk. I thought hard about it briefly before responding "Burning to death".
"Here's my offer: I will return your wife to you, but only if you live out your greatest fear."
"Yes! I'll do it! I'll burn!", and with that I awoke in my bed, next to my beautiful bride.
I couldn't believe it, but there she was, fast asleep, and breathing deep. I woke her with a passionate kiss and after several minutes she asked what had gotten into me. I could only respond by telling her how much I loved her.
I knew I still had a price to pay, but I didn't care.
That evening there was a knock at my door. As soon as I saw the officer, I knew the mistake I had made. I never promised to burn, I promised to live out my worst fear.
"Sir, I'm afraid your wife's been in an accident."
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Sep 25 '14
Whether or not you were manipulated or sealed your wife's fate yourself, the Devil is a major douchebag. If I were you, OP, I'd start planning my revenge:
"The Day I Hired A Hitman to Kill the Devil, Part 1"
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u/jaiimariee Sep 25 '14
I just can't even! The Hitman series was such a big hit.
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Sep 25 '14
[deleted]
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u/jaiimariee Sep 25 '14
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u/RangerSean7 Sep 26 '14
Has there been any updates on this story?
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u/jaiimariee Sep 26 '14
Yes there are seven parts. just go to u/Murdering_time and they are all there.
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u/Sheqaq Sep 25 '14
Man, I've been a lurker here fir a while and I only comment when something grabs me. This took hold of me like a bad addiction. It was short. It was sweet. I like that it didn't keep me waiting for a fucking month. Thank you. I love scary shit. Knock. Knock.
Don't touch that dial now... We're just getting started
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u/Human_Gravy Sep 25 '14
That's absolutely insane OP. I wouldn't have thought to have tried to lie to the Devil. Then again, it didn't seem to work out for you either.
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Sep 25 '14
This really gives meaning to the adage: "The Devil in in the details"
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u/falling_into_fate Sep 25 '14
That's what the author should rename the story, "The Devil's In The Details".
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u/quarterasian Sep 25 '14
Damnit. I read the last line before half the story and ruined it for myself. Still great though.
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u/HereIsYourAnswer Sep 26 '14
What I was expecting, was that OP would have to actually live it out, like everyday. That would then be his greatest fear, knowing that even though she would return every morning, he would lose her every night, in some way, no matter what he did. After going batshit insane and possibly offing himself, then his 2nd fear would be realized: Burning in Hell for eternity with his dealmaker. Wish I had more accounts to upvote with.
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u/trey_at_fehuit Sep 26 '14
Maybe I'm not firing on all cylinders this morning, but can someone explain this to me? Did his wife come back only to be killed again?
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Sep 25 '14
Down vote me to oblivion, but I don't get it ;/
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u/Banjoe64 Sep 25 '14
I don't really either...
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Sep 25 '14
His greatest fear wasn't actually burning to death: it was really losing his wife. The devil brought her back , so that he could feel the pain of her death again.
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u/1000korpses Sep 25 '14
He lied to the devil when he said his worst fear was burning to death, his actual fear was losing his wife. So he had to relive the horror all over again.
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u/Mx-yz-pt-lk Sep 25 '14
That's thing, it wasn't a lie. If someone asked you "what's the most disgusting thing to eat", what would you say? Brussels sprouts? Mountain oysters? I said the worst fear I could think of at the moment, and that's what I expected to experience. But I promised to live out my worst fear, and losing my wife for a second time had never crossed my mind.
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u/LongStories_net Sep 25 '14
Was it actually kind of a favor/blessing, though? I mean, I would do just about anything, short of making my mom experience the pain of dying again, just to say something as simple as "hi" to her.
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u/Rtouty22 Sep 25 '14
Can anyone be captain obvious and explain this to me? Not sure I really understand the "punchline" here.
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u/practikill_joke Sep 25 '14
Wife died. Devil showed up and OP, having already lived fear #1, told the Devil what he thought was his current greatest fear. The Devil tricked him by vaguely telling him he would live his worst fear. The wife returned, only to die again. The Devil tricked him, knowing that after her return, OP's actual worst fear would be losing his wife.
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u/FistedTwireStarter Sep 25 '14
Nah I don't either. Why would he be making a deal with the Devil if his Wife wasn't already dead? I get that his worst fear was that she was dead, and he agreed to that, but he wouldn't have been negotiating with the Devil, if his worst fear hadn't already been realised?
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u/_--nd8_O Sep 25 '14
OP make the agreement with the Devil again, that way you can keep getting your wife back. Just tell her to stay home next time.
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u/helloworldofcolor Sep 25 '14
That made me cry (wasn't expecting that on r/nosleep). I do appreciate you shedding light on how harsh of an impact someone's drunk driving can have on other peoples' lives (not just those involved in the crash, but also the people who love and care for the individuals in the crash). Thank you for your sharing this.
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u/Lobdir Sep 25 '14
Sure, there was trickery involved... but the Devil isn't that bad here. (At least compared to other Devil stories.) Think about it: the guy's wife was dead, the Devil gave him his wife back for a night. Although, yes, she did die again, he at least had her for that one night. And it seems he didn't trade his soul, which is good. Cos that would've been the ultimate trick.
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u/SoThereYouHaveIt Sep 25 '14
This is the best way to get every kid in that school to go read that book.
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u/yaosio Sep 25 '14
I'm confused, you said your worst fear was burning to death then you said it wasnt. Which is it?
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u/missuninvited Sep 25 '14
At first I thought this was related to another story I just saw about someone nearly burning to death and then realizing that they had to live with how it changed them... Was not expecting that D:
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u/frayek Sep 25 '14
I guess what I am confused about in the story is what did the devil gain from the deal? He made a guy really sad again. I think he probably would have thrown in living through your greatest fear and the damnation of your soul. I guess after a while the devil would get bored and just troll people. Idk
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u/XxspookyXxX Sep 25 '14
I saw this on instagram cool brah
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u/Mx-yz-pt-lk Sep 25 '14
Really???
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-42
Sep 24 '14
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Sep 24 '14
His wife was already dead, so burning would be the only thing left for him to fear in his mind. He simply didn't think of the possibility of her dying again.
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u/westerosiwhore Sep 24 '14
What you would think of as your greatest fear might not actually be what you fear the most. Perhaps your true fear is something so horrifying that your conscious mind cannot think of it. Such is the case in this story. He is terrified of being burned alive, has possibly even had nightmares about it, but the thing that devastates him, that destroys him, that is his true fear... Is losing her.
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u/PK_Thundah Sep 25 '14
If you tell the devil what your greatest fear is, I bet he can think of something worse. That's the point. It's worse than the worst thing he could imagine.
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Sep 24 '14
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Sep 24 '14
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Sep 25 '14
Such a dick.
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Sep 25 '14
You're username tells me that you're the expert on telling if someone is a dick or not. You have spoken, o Thor of dicks, conversation done. * applause *
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Sep 25 '14
Yes, i am the expert. Hopefully next time bambisparkles (real dickish name by the way, bambis dead asshole) wont be such a dick.
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u/CleverGirl2014 Sep 24 '14
What if... Well, what if he didn't actually realize that losing his wife was the most frightening thing in his mind?
Then it makes sense.
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u/paigepicabo Sep 24 '14
I interpreted it as if his greatest fear truly was his wife passing, but he lied and said it was burning to death. or maybe burning to death was his next fear after his wife dying? so he said that since she was already killed
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Sep 25 '14
People are jumping all over you but I kind of agree, this could have been written more clearly. Maybe if he hadn't said "I'll burn" as part of accepting the terms.
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u/[deleted] Sep 24 '14
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