text: Down on his luck again, Phil was in his study pacing, how he usually spent his nights. Having lost another investor, he knew this was the death of his beloved family business. He didn’t know what else he could do. He had already lost his wife, was on the verge of losing his business and eventually his house. He poured himself a drink and swigged it down quickly as he tried to think about what he could. It was a calm night. No rain, no breeze. Eerily quiet, but a beautiful moon to light the outside. He walked by the window and stopped, having seen what looked like a man standing underneath his tree. His eyes fixed, the figure remained motionless. They seemed to share a staring contest, before the figure raised his hand to Phil, motioning for him to come outside. He knew better, but was intrigued enough to begin walking downstairs and to the front door. Opening the front door, he was met by the figure. An average sized man, fit in a nice suit with a modest smile stretched across his face. “Good Evening, Mr. Hutton. How do you do?” Phil was obviously a little off-put by the late visit by the stranger who had no reason for knowing his name. “Little late for a vacuum salesman to be here huh?” The stranger gave a small chuckle to his quip. “Oh, Mr. Hutton. I’m here to offer you something much more valuable than a vacuum.” “Wait, how do you know my name?”, Phil replied. The stranger ignored him. “I’ve got quite the bargain for you. How would you, Mr. Hutton, like to have everything you have lost returned to you?” Phil is taken aback by this. “What?” “I can give you back everything you’ve lost. Your wife, your business, even help prevent you from losing your house.” “How did you know...” “Oh, I know a lot of things, Mr. Hutton. But all that is for another time. I’m on a tight schedule tonight, several other stops to make, none of which affect our business. I hope you understand that I’ll need an answer at this moment.” Phil stammered. He was skeptical, as he should be, but also greatly intrigued by the man. “I’d need some time to think on it, could you stop by tomorrow?” “Oh, Mr. Hutton, unfortunately this is a one-time offer. And since you don’t seem receptive, I’ll just be on my way.” The stranger turned to leave, but Phil wasn’t about to let that happen, no matter how implausible this all seemed. “Wait!” The stranger returned his gaze to Phil, who nodded fervently. The stranger now wore that same modest smile he began their conversation with a simply replied, “Splendid.” There was a second of mutual silence as the stranger dug through his suitcase. Phil was becoming uncomfortable. “So, what do you need from me?”, he asked the stranger. “Your soul.” Phil looked at him in shock, but the stranger just started laughing. “I’m joking, Mr. Hutton! People always think that’s what we want for these grand deals, but that’s not the case. Well, at least not always the case.” This didn’t ease Phil’s nerves. “We?” “Yes, Mr. Hutton. We. And what we need right now are homes.” “Oh, well I have plenty of rooms here. And it’s just me right now.” The stranger started to laugh again. “No, Mr. Hutton. I don’t think you understand.” Their eyes met, and Phil came to the realization of what the stranger meant. “I see...and exactly how many ‘homes’ do you need?” “Well, that depends on how the rest of my night goes, Mr. Hutton. But I think it’s fair to ask for yours and the missus.” Phil nodded. “And how long before you...come ‘home’?” “10 years is the standard deal, but when it comes to realty, we like to extend it to 20 years.” “That seems fair to me.” “Oh, believe me, Mr. Hutton. That’s a real bargain.” The stranger put a piece of paper in front of him and handed him a pen. Phil stopped short of signing it when something struck him. “One more question: what happens to us when you...you know?” “Ahh, fantastic question, Mr. Hutton. What would you like to happen?” “I’d like for me and my wife to go to heaven.” The stranger chuckled. “That can be arranged. But it’ll cost you ten years.” “Deal.” Phil signed the paper, handed the pen to the stranger and shook his hand. The stranger smiled. “Thank you, Mr. Hutton. You’ve done a great thing.” Phil went to speak, but found himself breathless. He was choking. He gasped for air, but to no avail. He fell on the ground, the stranger still wearing that same modest smile. “Oh, I’m sorry, Mr. Hutton. I forgot to mention that it costs you ten years...per home.” Phil tried to curse him, but failed to squeeze out any sound. The stranger watched as he struggled, before he finally died on his floor. “Don’t worry, Mr. Hutton. We’ll take good care of the missus.