“The Trick” / Memorable Fancies #4321

       “Yes,” the slim man with the small mustache said with a smile, “right here. Just sign right here, and you’ll never die.”

       And you said, “This isn’t some kind of devil’s bargain, is it? Some trick?”

       And he said, with a slight laugh, “Oh no – there used to be devils’ bargains, I suppose, but that was long ago – and we no longer identify as devils, anyway. That term – ‘devil’ is really offensive to those of us who’ve gone beyond that rather crude and obvious stage. But here; just sign here.”

       And you said, “There must be a price to be paid, or a trick, devil or not. There’s always a trick.”

       And he said, with another laugh and a slight shrug of his shoulders, “OK, smart guy, you win, you’re right. Here’s the deal: there is a trick, but you’ll never discover it, never know what it is. So, for you, there might as well be no trick at all. – Just sign here and you’ll never die.”

       So I sig…