Tall Revenge

  1   I never liked the man anyway. I only put up with him be\
  2 cause I needed some way for me to keep my money with me a
  3 nd me only. I did not want to pay the rent all by myself,
  4  and the kid did not know any better. I kept him on even 
  5 after his breakdown after his father died due to a mining
  6  accident because, in his weakened state, I could sap eve
  7 n more cash out of him. His father was skewered in the ey
  8 e by a falling pole, and ever since then he was not right
  9  in the head. He was always a little odd anyway, wearing 
 10 the same clothes for multiple days and even missing some 
 11 article of clothing altogether. After his father died, he
 12  took a stark interest at my blue eye. He'd stare at it l
 13 ike it was blue gold. He'd always drill his gaze straight
 14  into my pupil as if he were looking inside of me for his
 15  father. What a wash out. He needed some adjustment anywa
 16 y. I could not take his unemployment and his unwillingnes
 17 s to do anything around the house.
 18   
 19   I thought about evicting him when he killed me. I suppo\
 20 se you can call it karma, but I do not give a hoot about 
 21 what you think. The fact of the matter is it happened. It
 22  happened just as I was about to evict him.
 23   
 24   I have to admit that the fellow was clever. He would ch\
 25 eck in my room every night for seven days to see if I was
 26  asleep. I was not of course, but I wanted to put him at 
 27 ease. I had no idea of what he was going to do, however. 
 28 I thought he was going to rob me of my treasures and make
 29  off with the riches. I did not think it odd that he kept
 30  looking at me for seven days running. He did not try to 
 31 take any of my riches and that was fine by me. If he did,
 32  I would have the perfect excuse to kill him.
 33   
 34   The eighth day was when he killed me. He actually took \
 35 a step into my room, making a small sound with his lanter
 36 n. I wanted to make this idiot well aware that I was awak
 37 e. With a determined firm voice, I rolled over and asked,
 38   
 39   "Who's there!" the silence was as loud as my granddaugh\
 40 ter crying. Instead of leaving, he lunged at me and we st
 41 ruggled on the bed. His quick agility was stunning consid
 42 ering that the idiot was as thin as a pipe. He was not go
 43 ing to take my treasures and I was not going to let him g
 44 et away without a fight. The odd thing was that looking a
 45 t my fake blue eye infuriated him. With every glance at i
 46 t, his strength increased. Soon I could not exert any for
 47 ce at all, and he overpowered me. With the speed of a rab
 48 bit, he shoved me to the ground and forced my bed on top 
 49 of me crushing me. All I could make as this was happening
 50  was a quick gasp. That looser was not going to get away 
 51 with this, however. I struggled underneath the weight of 
 52 the bright mahogany wood until, suddenly, I did not feel 
 53 the bed on top of me anymore. 
 54   
 55   The air around me seemed to swirl and collide with its \
 56 own existence, making me confused on what temperature it 
 57 actually was. I pondered in confusion. The fact that I wa
 58 s even outside was a mystery to me. Wasn't some young idi
 59 ot trying to kill me so that way he can take my possessio
 60 ns? I sprang up and ran down the oddly sunny street. The 
 61 sun, however, seemed to change colors as each of my steps
 62  thumped on the pavement. I then suddenly stopped and gaz
 63 ed up at the multi rivulets of light shining a path befor
 64 e me. I suddenly looked down at my own feet. I was slim a
 65 nd thin. What was more shocking was I was able to run, an
 66 d I hadn't done that in over 45 years. I looked at my han
 67 ds to discover that they were not wrinkled or chapped wit
 68 h age. It didn't take a genius to know that I was young a
 69 gain, but not that young because I still had my blue eye.
 70  Wanting a way back to my house, I ran down this straight
 71  kaleidoscope of shifting beams of light until I arrived 
 72 at a street corner with a small bench to my left. A big s
 73 ign ahead and above my head read BUS STOP. 
 74   
 75     Intrigued, I stopped to look around. I looked at the \
 76 bench. Words started to materialize there. I peered close
 77 r at the strange, blood red script.
 78   
 79   Wait for the bus. You already have your ticket. 
 80   
 81   I groaned and rolled my eye and waited on the bus. I wa\
 82 s shocked when two buses pulled up silently to the multic
 83 olored curb. One as white as snow and the other pitch bla
 84 ck with bright red script on the side. The engines both p
 85 uttered to a halt.
 86   
 87   A man stepped out from the white bus that said BENEVOLE\
 88 NCE on the side and greeted me with a cheery smile.
 89   
 90   "Well hello their sir! I see you're the new passenger t\
 91 oday. May I have your bus pass please? I have to check to
 92  see if you are eligible to ride with us."
 93   
 94   "I'm not giving you anything until you tell me what sto\
 95 p this is going to go to. Look, some no-good idiot is try
 96 ing to Rob me of my gems, and I need to get back to my ho
 97 use! I live on Barnes street, so can you shut your trap l
 98 ong enough to tell me, if I get on THIS bus, will it take
 99  me where I need to go?" the man stuttered for a bit befo
100 re answering.
101   
102   "I highly doubt that you're on THIS bus but yes. Both o\
103 f these will take you where you want to go." Inside the b
104 us, I could hear kids laughing and adults talking about t
105 he weather. 
106   
107   "Great." I started to get on the BENEVOLENCE bus when t\
108 he man gently grabbed my arm.
109   
110   "I'm sorry sir. You can't ride with us."
111   
112   "Don't make assumptions. You know what they say when pe\
113 ople do." I snapped.
114   
115   "Let me see your ticket." The driver said and I looked \
116 back at the bench because a newly formed message caught m
117 y attention.
118   
119   Check your pockets.
120   
121   When I patted my pockets, I felt something solid in one\
122  of them. It was a gold ticket.
123   
124   As I held it out to him, I marveled at how shiny it was\
125 . He handed me a sleek blue boarding pass, and I looked o
126 n the pass to display my seat number. Huffing, I stomped 
127 to the black bus and looked on the side. Big bold letters
128  spelled PURGATORY. The door opened and the sexiest woman
129  I've ever seen greeted me as I stepped on the bus.
130   
131   "Hello, and welcome to PURGATORY express. I'll be your \
132 driver today. Before we depart, I should let you know tha
133 t I'm here to serve you. It's even a custom to allow my b
134 ody for sin before we depart." After telling me this, she
135  ripped off her shirt somberly.
136   
137   "Would you like to commit sin on me before we leave?" D\
138 id I ever, but I just wanted to get back to my house and 
139 get my riches back safely in my hands.
140   
141   "No."
142   
143   "Okay, suit yourself." She said sadly. Once her gorgeou\
144 s smooth silkily slim body was hidden again, I walked int
145 o the bus past many full seats. I passed by older people,
146  children, middle-aged men and women, and even some babie
147 s sitting in highchairs at the front of the bus. I made m
148 y way to the back of the bus where a woman sat alone. I s
149 at next to her and sighed.
150   
151   "Hi." She said happily.
152   
153   "I just want to go home. Is that too much to ask?"
154   
155   "Oh my God." The woman gushed. "You will be home soon."
156   
157   "Are you sure? You don't look that bright," I snapped.
158   
159   "That's not nice behavior." She scolded as if I were he\
160 r child.
161   
162   "Look lady, I'm a grown man."
163   
164   "Oh sugar, I know that, but that wasn't nice." She gave\
165  me a small smile that looked cute. I sat back, fumed, an
166 d thought about where I was. The first thought that spran
167 g into my head was that I was dead. The second thought th
168 at came into my conscious thought was that I was on a bus
169 . I flashed back to the gay couple on the bench, the whit
170 e bus, and what this bus said on its side, the driver str
171 ipping, and suddenly I knew that I wasn't going home. I w
172 as on a bus going straight to Hell. With nothing else to 
173 do, I just sat back, enjoyed the ride, and chatted with t
174 he beautiful blonde country girl. Her name was Alexis.
175   
176   "So, what's your sin sugar?" she drawled. I couldn't he\
177 lp but gaze at her pink slightly bulgy face with bright e
178 yes. Her features were enhanced by her aureate carpet of 
179 hair trailing down the sides of her head.
180   
181   "Greed. I guess, but I don't care one bit."
182   
183   "I hear you doll." She gushed. After talking with her a\
184  bit more, I realized that I had absolutely no idea why s
185 he was even on this bus. She was a devoted woman married 
186 to her husband for 10 years when she was killed by saving
187  an animal in the street. She was a member of an animal r
188 ights group and she loved kissing butterflies.
189   
190   "So why are you even on THIS bus?" I asked her complete\
191 ly clueless. "Shouldn't you be on the other one?"
192   
193   "Well fiddly, I don't know." Now the bus lurched and ro\
194 cked. Alexis grabbed my arm tight as a vice and cried,
195   
196   "God! What was that about? Jesus Christ that scared the\
197  jeepers out of me. Holy Lord!" the bus then lurched to a
198  stop, and the driver turned to all of us as we stood up.
199   
200   "Thank you for riding the PURGATORY express. People, si\
201 nners of all ages, make sure all belongings are in your p
202 ossession, we have thieves on this trip today..." she str
203 ipped again before continuing.
204   
205   "I sure do hope that you all enjoy your stay in Hell..."
206   
207   "Oh my God," Alexis mumbled beside me.
208   
209   "...and I'm available for quick sin before people leave\
210  the bus. Again, please make sure all belongings are with
211  you. If you wish to commit sin on me, there will be an a
212 ge limit and a time limit. You get 12 minutes of sin time
213  with me here in the..." I walked past her and down the s
214 teps as she was finishing that sentence, so I didn't quit
215 e hear the rest of what kind of sins she would be willing
216  to experience. What landscape I stepped onto, again, sho
217 cked me. I thought I was going to have a heart attack and
218  die. We were stepping off a bus to what looked like your
219  generic hotel. The sign in the front read PURGATORY INN:
220  where pleasure is in the faintest of tremors 
221   
222     "God almighty!" Alexis said as we stepped into the el\
223 egant looking entrance hall adorned with pictures of fire
224 , and men facing some sort of an illness. One picture, se
225 t in a golden frame, had a pale looking man stretched out
226  on a bed. He looked like he was sleeping, except his fac
227 e wasn't peaceful, it was strained, as if he were having 
228 an intense pain course through him. I focused more on my 
229 immediate surroundings as I walked. As the white walls su
230 rrounded me, the bright hoary polished wood met my feet. 
231 We all stepped into an extremely elegant entrance lobby, 
232 with bright red countertops adorning the far space of the
233  expansive lobby. Black leather chairs were placed along 
234 both sides of a carpeted walkway leading to the counters.
235  The way was lit by a ceiling that was plastered with gol
236 den patches of balls that streamed light straight down on
237  the walkway, making it look like florescence lighting yo
238 u'd see at a school.
239   
240   "Jesus..." Alexis stared in utter awe. I have to admit,\
241  it captured my attention as well. I've owned many proper
242 ties and I've seen many houses and places, but this was a
243  magnitude compared to what I had seen when I was alive. 
244 A child went to the counter before Alexis and I did, and 
245 the woman behind the counter, with a black eye and a knif
246 e jabbed in the side of her face, issued them a bright re
247 d key.
248   
249   "Your room will be on floor 18, in room 22." She told t\
250 he child.
251   
252   When it came time for me to walk up there, Alexis was s\
253 haking with the fright of seeing a knife buried into her 
254 cheek.
255   
256   "Ah. You. You're the murdered rich person huh? Jason is\
257 n't it?" at that moment the phone rang, and she answered 
258 it, saying yes, and he's here, and okay. After she hung u
259 p, she looked towards me with pure shock.
260   
261   "The manager wishes to see you. He will be down here sh\
262 ortly. He never wishes to see anybody, so I'm wondering w
263 hat he wants with you."
264   
265   "Good God! I hope your little darlin' self will be okay\
266 !" Alexis squeaked.
267   
268   A few minutes later, I was standing face to face with T\
269 he Devil himself. The manager of the hotel arrived just a
270  few seconds after the knife woman called him on the phon
271 e. The floor heated up as the lights dimmed. Soon, a man 
272 that looked like Harrison Ford stepped into view behind t
273 he knife woman. The knife woman looked back, and slowly m
274 oved out of the way so that he could have a clear view of
275  me.
276   
277   "Jason." He uttered simply, making my whole body feel l\
278 ike I had a fever just by looking into his deep red eyes.
279  His smile was pleasant enough.
280   
281   "What do you want with me?" I snapped. I did not have t\
282 ime for these idiot games. Even though I knew that I was 
283 dead now, I wanted to find some way to go home and protec
284 t my treasures.
285   
286   "That's rude." The Devil said sounding as if he were hu\
287 rt.
288   
289   "You weren't really nice yourself buddy." I snapped.
290   
291   "See," The Devil, hissed. "I knew that this would be an\
292  interesting conversation. I do have to say first though,
293  that you're quite handsome." He laughed and as soon as h
294 e did so, people had melancholy faces and the lights kept
295  changing levels of dimness. The ground quickly shifted t
296 emperatures. I stood my ground and looked him directly in
297  his red eyes. He stared at my blue eye.
298   
299   "Hmm, quite interesting. Do you really believe he's goi\
300 ng to take your precious possessions?"
301   
302   "Cut the witticisms. I want to get something from you, \
303 and you're going to give it to me."
304   
305   "Oh? I am. You know the stories about me, that I can't \
306 keep deals right? You listen and listen closely. I will m
307 ake you a deal. I want to."
308   
309   "This deal better has positive consequences for me."
310   
311   "Oh, it will, depending on your idea of positive. I am \
312 a man of my word. Listen, I don't have much time. Someone
313  has already called the police about hearing you scream i
314 n the night, so they will be there any minute."
315   
316   "God, then have him arrested! Have that no-good twat ar\
317 rested for his sin!"
318   
319   "Why should I?" The Devil says with a smile that showed\
320  no teeth. "YOU were NEVER arrested for your sins, weren'
321 t you? Oh, man. That's just not... cool." At this, he sna
322 pped his fingers making me have small pains in my brain a
323 nd stomach. He smiled at me, and stepped closer to me, hi
324 s eyes flaming even brighter than before. He leered at me
325  making me feel like a rodent trapped in the jaws of a vi
326 cious cat.
327   
328   "You really are quite handsome you know..."
329   
330   "You don't have much time, remember?" I sneered.
331   
332   "Okay. Fine. I'll tell you... or at least, I want to te\
333 ll you why he actually killed you. In exchange for this i
334 nformation however, I want to get something from you in r
335 eturn. If you do what I ask, you will both learn why he c
336 hose to kill you, and you will get to choose how to punis
337 h him." He looked up and smiled at the flickering Demetri
338 ous lights overhead. The ground underneath my feet became
339  even hotter. Now it felt as if I was standing on extreme
340 ly hot asphalt.
341   
342   "And what if I refuse?" he laughed, and people clutched\
343  various parts of their body in pain. Alexis, beside me, 
344 was crying so hard her face looked like water itself.
345   
346   "Don't play with me. You won't refuse. I know you won't\
347 . You were always getting one up on someone, so this, abo
348 ut you refusing, is plain stupid. It's not true. Therefor
349 e, anyway, as I said, you will know why in fact he killed
350  you and you will have first pick at how to repay him. I 
351 swear I won't intervene at all! You will have my control 
352 over him and the world for just a few minutes. Now, we mu
353 st hurry. The cops are at the house." As if on cue, I cou
354 ld hear him welcoming the police officers into my home, t
355 aking them on an elaborate tour through the house, and sh
356 owing them my prize artifacts that I had collected
357   
358   "There have been reports of screaming coming from this \
359 house. Neighbors have been calling in complaining." 
360   
361   "Oh. Well that was me screaming into the night... not a\
362 nyone else but me..."
363   
364   "You'd better listen to me, even though you don't know \
365 what you'll have to live with afterwards. I bet you don't
366  care though." The Devil chuckled. His fiery eyes danced 
367 with pure malice, but his mouth and voice presented nothi
368 ng but kindness to me.
369   
370   "Yeah, so what? I don't care what the consequences will\
371  be."
372   
373   "I knew you wouldn't. Now... here's the reason why he k\
374 illed you." With one swift hot hand, he plucked out my ey
375 e and sat it in my hand where he left tiny burn marks on 
376 my palm. I didn't feel them, however. I stared down at my
377  blue eye in my burnt palm.
378   
379   "You mean that idiot killed me over my eye?"
380   
381   "Exactly!" The Devil hissed making the air fill with so\
382 ft screams inside of my head. I looked around at the othe
383 rs to see if they were affected by the voices. All of us 
384 were, but I was the least affected. Alexis and pretty muc
385 h the rest of them were writhing on the ground crying and
386  screaming. The voices went away long enough for him to s
387 peak.
388   
389   "You see my dear cutie. He couldn't handle his father's\
390  death, so what way to take revenge than on someone who l
391 ooked just like his father..." he looked down at my eye.
392   
393   "Including my missing eye?"
394   
395   "Yup. THAT'S why he killed you, because you remind him \
396 so much of his daddy." his hair began to catch fire as he
397  became more animated.
398   
399   "I bet you want to get revenge, no? I bet you do. You a\
400 lways did after all hate him." The Devil was right. I did
401  want to get back at him. With a curious nod, I sneered.
402   
403   "Let me at him!"
404   
405   "Ah but wait a minute.... Now it's time for you to do s\
406 omething for me. You have to kiss me." The place suddenly
407  went pitch black and the only thing I could see was a fl
408 oating white face with black pits for eyes and a bright o
409 range smile. The face smiled.
410   
411   "Do it. Kiss me, and I'll let you have your revenge!" I\
412  started to shake, and I felt like something was ripping 
413 my insides slowly. I looked at The Devil with small tears
414  in my eyes.
415   
416   "I don't want to be tortured."
417   
418   "You won't. It's just a kiss, what harm is that? You wi\
419 ll have consequences afterwards, but you won't be torture
420 d, at least, what you think of torture anyway. You'll get
421  what you want to get. Trust me." I sighed, and slowly ap
422 proached the floating patch of white. The lights dimmed b
423 ack on and people were on the ground not even moving at t
424 his point. Alexis was the only one still conscious, and s
425 he lay feebly on the ground with her clasped hands. She w
426 as crying for God, but this time it wasn't in vain. The D
427 evil slowly approached me, and we locked lips. Ice shot t
428 hrough me, and suddenly people were begging me not to "do
429  it" and "take my money": as the kiss continued, I saw ev
430 eryone in this room walking around with their heads chopp
431 ed off, their limbs bleeding and walking or moving away f
432 rom other flaking limbs. The floor soon became a river of
433  blood with human organs reaching out of the depths for h
434 elp. Fire soon burned the human organs, and then images f
435 lickered in my vision as if I were watching a montage. I 
436 saw babies with no pupils dying in hospitals, screaming a
437 s limbs ripped off of them and their organs oozed out of 
438 their bodies. I saw dogs chomp the heads off clown-faced 
439 rabbits, eating them in one bite. The floor around me soo
440 n had fish with babies' heads on them complete with fangs
441 , with one green eye and the other orange. They never tou
442 ched me though as I continued the kiss but visions like t
443 hat kept invading my mind, gradually balancing out to the
444  past sins of everyone within this room. My body was ice 
445 cold, and fiery hands cupped my face as the air around us
446  screamed forever tortured by this one man. The flame ins
447 ide of my sanity was slowly fading and I often heard my o
448 wn laughter when I was a child inside of my head. At firs
449 t, the laughter would start at a slower speed than normal
450  and then quicken into a chipmunk's cackle. When this hap
451 pened, the volume increased in the laughter, and before I
452  knew it, he was kissing me as I lay beside Alexis. He sl
453 owly pulled away after a while and smiled down at me.
454   
455   "I was right... you're a good kisser AND you're cute."
456   
457   "I want my revenge!" I cried tears streaming down my fa\
458 ce like a waterfall. The Devil knew that now he could jus
459 t let me suffer as much as these other people could, but 
460 for some reason he kept some kind of shield around me. Pe
461 rhaps he'd let it down once this was all over. I didn't c
462 are by this point. It wasn't as if I was going to die.
463   
464   "Fine." He said slowly and snapped his fingers. As soon\
465  as he did, I could hear and control my killer's thoughts
466 , as well as the cops.
467   
468   "We just want to make sure that everything is okay..." \
469 one cop was saying.
470   
471   "Okay," my killer says, "Let's sit down and have a chat\
472 , shall we?"
473   
474   "We'd like that." I also had the ability to float after\
475  them while all the while controlling my killer's senses.
476  After they sat down in my bedroom, I began to devise a p
477 lan. I wanted to drive him insane, but how could I do it?
478  I pondered as the men sat in my living room. I really wa
479 nted to make him pay for what he did to me. He had no jus
480 t cause to kill me, so now this bastard was going to pay.
481  Even though I wanted to make him pay, my heart didn't qu
482 ite want to do this... even though The Devil, I was sure,
483  wanted me to get revenge, a part of me didn't even want 
484 to see the idiot again.
485   
486   "Why not just leave him alone." My brain said in a low \
487 voice. I shook my head and concentrated on the seated men
488 . I was going to have my revenge, even if he didn't want 
489 to have my riches. I soon battled with myself on what to 
490 do. After deliberation, I decided that I was going to mak
491 e him hear a sound. I was going to pay him back for what 
492 he did to me, even if he didn't want to have my treasures
493 . I'd make him pay, and I'd do it so subtly the cops woul
494 dn't even notice a thing. As they chatted gaily about gen
495 eral happenings, I made my move. Drifting towards him, I 
496 placed my hand on the top of his head. The devil had said
497  I would be in control of his sense and my surroundings, 
498 so I wanted to test out that juncture. I thought of a low
499  heartbeat. I thought of it so vividly that I soon actual
500 ly began to hear the steady thump in my mind. I then made
501  the sound reverberating in my ears slither down my arm, 
502 through my hand and into his synapses. His face grew quit
503 e pale, and he soon fidgeted. I knew he heard it. His pal
504 e face was a testament to his newly developed detection. 
505 I writhed with pleasure and I soon began to make the soun
506 d louder within my own head. 
507   
508   Once the sound reached a volume to my satisfaction, I s\
509 hared this beautiful heartbeat with my killer. I could te
510 ll my transmission was working. He sat ridged; beads of s
511 mall trickles of sweat flew down his now waxy cheeks and 
512 past his rapid moving lips. His voice grew shrill and he 
513 talked as if he were on his last final stand on stage. Th
514 e words ricocheted off the air around us. I smiled, enjoy
515 ing hearing his bell sounding shrills. He then suddenly s
516 tood up, paced the floor, and swore. He heard the noise, 
517 and I saw his pain. I guffawed to myself, enjoying the si
518 ght of the fool swinging the chair around and swearing as
519  the cops smiled pleasantly at my rag doll. He then sudde
520 nly shot a glare towards the officers, his left eye focus
521 ed on them while his right eye rolled thunderously in its
522  socket. I thought it was quite fitting for him. I watche
523 d, with ecstasy, as his face became my trophy of torture.
524  With a booming shriek and a thunderous agonized cry, he 
525 tore up the boards beneath him. The cops gaped as he cack
526 led, his eyes rolled far back in his head. I smiled as he
527  uttered his confession.
528   
529   "Villains! Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! --tear \
530 up the planks! Here, here! --It is the beating of his hid
531 eous heart!" as my laughter rang in the night air, this w
532 orld was fading quickly. I was on my way back to Hell.
533   
534   Once I was back in the hotel, The Devil smiled down at \
535 me.
536   
537   "Did you do it?" Alexis crawled over to me.
538   
539   Oh God, please tell me you didn't do it. Tell me you di\
540 dn't do it!" she sobbed.
541   
542   "I did."
543   
544   "Perfect!" The Devil screeched with obvious ecstasy. "N\
545 ow you get to live with the consequence. You tortured him
546 , so now you get to be tortured with a story..." he bent 
547 down and looked me directly into my eyes.
548   
549   "I just love looking into your eyes. It's a shame what \
550 you're going to have to hear in an hour." With a pat on t
551 he head, he walked away. A few minutes after he left, we 
552 were all able to stand up and move around in a civilized 
553 manner. Alexis and I received our room keys and we depart
554 ed. I bid her goodnight and we went into our rooms. I lay
555  in bed thinking about what I had done. In the olden days
556 , didn't the eye for an eye system always backfire on peo
557 ple? Didn't it always have negative consequences? Didn't 
558 it cause lasting aftereffects? I was sure it did, but I h
559 ad played right into The Devils trap. I wondered what sto
560 ry I was going to hear.
561   
562   An hour later, the story arrived. It wasn't a story tha\
563 t I expected. It was my killer talking to someone. I didn
564 't know whom he was talking to, but I found the story qui
565 te interesting actually. After he finished the first tell
566 ing, however, he told it repeatedly, the volume growing s
567 teadily with each retelling. As if to taunt me, I too hea
568 rd the thunderous heartbeat he described. Eventually an e
569 ternity passed, and I still heard the story. One morning,
570  as he began the story about a century later, I'd thought
571  I'd tell it along with him. Standing in my bathroom look
572 ing in my mirror at my wrinkled and haggard face, promine
573 nt with my blue maniacal, I began the never-ending story 
574 with him, and I never stopped telling it to anyone. It ma
575 de it an easy answer to tell people what my biggest sin w
576 as.
577   
578   "TRUE! Nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had bee\
579 n and am; but why WILL you say that I am mad? The disease
580  had sharpened my senses, not destroyed, and not dulled t
581 hem..."
582   
583   
584   
585   
586   
587   End