"So What's Your Story?"

The man was feeding ducks with intense concentration.  He would shred the bread to uniform little crumbly bits then cast it in the water.  He would always make sure there was enough for each of the ducks who then would waggle their beaks like little jack hammers in the water till every atom of bread was accounted for.

He looked up at me with watery eyes. 

"I was the devil once," he said.  "I suppose that counts for something."

"You were cast from heaven?  You don't look the type."

He smiled and cast more bread upon the water.

"No no no, you are thinking of Lucifer.  The Devil, Satan, that's an office not a person.  Lucifer was the first Devil, but he's moved on.  Honestly, I heard his heart wasn't in it.  Still hangs around down below, so I hear.  But I also hear he has a condo in the Brazil.  Someone even told me he writes children books now."

"You will have to pardon me friend, but you still don't look like the devil type."

"Came as a surprise to me as well.  I was a manager of small store in strip mall in Indiana.  I was making some money, but you know it's never enough.  So I kept my ears open for opportunity.  Well one day in the paper there was this ad for a management position, but it didn't say where.  It did quote a salary, and that was enough to get me to the interviews.  Let me tell you, there was a quite a line."

"How does one get interviewed to be the Devil?"

"Well, it was pretty odd.   First I had to fill out all the forms and the usual style of interview.  Nothing strange except no one would identify themselves.  I was beginning to think it was some like spy thing.  Then things got weird.  They would show me fruit and ask me to make up stories about them.  Once they brought in a crying baby and a dog on a leash and left them in the room.  Well at one point I was being hung upside down and being quizzed on math and I was just about to say enough, when this fellow walked in.  He wore the best suit in the world and the worst smile.  He walked over to me and said, 'Congratulations, you are the new Devil.'"

"And that was that?"

"And that was that.  They took me down, and then really took me down.  The orientation felt like it lasted years, but it didn't.  By the end I thought I could handle pretty much anything.  That's when they gave me the best suit in the world and the office.  I was the Devil."

"How was it being the Devil?"

"Ok."

"Just ok?"
"Sorry confidentiality agreement.  I can say I enjoy retirement more."

With that he went back to feeding the ducks.