The Human And The Satan

10.

"What were your jobs back on earth, Leah Summers?" Basilia asked me and I only raised my eyebrows in answer.

"Didn't you just go through the reports of my karma, Basilia?"

"Yes, I know what your karma has been, Leah Summers. I, however, skipped the chapters about your personal life. I didn't want to intrude. Especially now that I have a friend with me in hell," The red-skinned demon said and my heart curled inside my chest.

"You never had friends before, Basilia?" I asked her and she smiled at me, shrugging her broad shoulders. She was really strong. And then there's me. I suck in physical strength. Maybe I can learn a thing or two from her.

"If you haven't noticed it yet, Leah Summers, hell is not known for friendship. Demons are not......friendly creatures. Some have greed, some sell envy. Some are overconfident, while some are murderous in thoughts." Basilia said, and my eyebrows scrunched together in confusion.

"But you are a demon, Basilia. But we're friends. Sir Ajax also looked friendly to me." I said, and she laughed at me, shaking her head.

"Because you're a human, Leah Summers. Humans have greed, anger, envy, but they also have humanity, empathy, love. So, your emotions nullify the negative energy in us. That's the reason why Sir Ajax is friendly with you." She explained, and I blinked my eyes in surprise.

"You mean I control my emotions here? Is this the reason why Satan is very calm with me? Even after I ruined his sleep?" I asked my friend and she shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm not very sure about the Sire, Leah Summers. He is the strongest creature of all the ten realms," Basilia said. "He can control his emotions very well. With or without a human."

So, I am here to just feel the pain because I ruined his sleep. I ruined his sleep, so he'll be ruining my life. That's a brilliant revenge. We should all try it. I wanted to scream at the top of my lungs.

"Anyways, I used to work in a library in the morning and in the evening I used to work in a bakery shop. I can bake pretty good cakes and cookies." I said, and she looked at me with her shock-filled eyes.

"You used to do two jobs, Leah Summers? That must be tough." She said and I smiled at her. Tough? Living on earth was tough enough. And besides, two jobs made it easy for me to live. I can't imagine a life where I don't have anything to do. I'd die from depression. Those two jobs not only helped me to pay my bills, but also to forget about my depressed life.

"It was far easier than this job, Basilia. I'm not complaining. But earth has my heart. It will always have." I answered her with a small smile.

I placed my reports down and stretched my arms. Tough day. Who knew I would have to work even after my working hours? Hell was worse than corporate life on earth. Not that I have ever been a part of it. Uncle Mark used to complain a lot.

"Do you miss your family, Leah Summers?" Basilia asked after a while and I looked up at her. My hair falling on my face. I tied them up in a messy bun.

My muscles felt sore. How much I could enjoy a warm bath right now. And how much I can enjoy hours of sleep. But Satan's alarm would burn my body as soon as I fell asleep. Basilia was waiting for my answer. And for some reason she was looking nervous as she asked me about my family.

"I don't have a family to miss, Basilia. I do miss my house though. It has more comfort and peace than here. But hell is not as bad as people make it look. Other than technology, of course." I said with a chuckle and she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Isn't your Aunt your family, Leah Summers?"

"Family is the one that knows your pain, Basilia. Family is the one who understands your pain and supports you. Family is not the one who only comes into the picture when the world comes to see it. Anyways, why don't you eat food?" I asked her and she closed her eyes, as if trying to embrace my words.

Maybe I got too emotional. Or maybe hunger was messing up with me. I blamed none. Being emotional was something I saved for the lonely nights and empty room. I rarely spoke about my emotions in front of people. I never had anyone to talk to.

"That's a privilege or luxury only Sire has, Leah Summers! And since you require food, you're the next person who gets the food. But don't worry about me, Leah Summers, we don't even require food. We feed on negative energy. And these souls who are paying for their sins here give us enough energy to feed on. Straighten that crease on your forehead, Leah Summers."

Basilia said, rubbing her rough fingers against my forehead, and I was taken aback by how rough her fingers were. But then she was a fighter too. What else did I expect from her?

"But food shouldn't be a luxury or privilege, Basilia. Food is a basic requirement. It's a right. It shouldn't be kept away from the major population." I said, frowning, and she laughed in response.

"Okay, answer this, Leah Summers, food is the basic requirement and right of every individual, right?" She asked me and I nodded my head.

"What about desserts, Leah Summers? Food is a basic right. But trying every cuisine is not a basic right, correct? So, we are all feeding properly. Food is like a dessert for us. We won't die or feel weak without it. But it's definitely a temptation. And the other reason why demons are not allowed human food is because we have a huge appetite. If we like human food, humans won't be left with much food."

Her last statement made me close my mouth. That left me speechless. Imagine having no food to eat because demons liked human food. I shuddered at the thought. I shook my head almost immediately.

"You can just feed on our negative energies. Anyways, it's time for me to get down for dinner. Sir Ajax must have cooked the dinner. He's really a kind hearted person." I said, and she laughed, nodding her head.

"And the most dangerous person too. Sir Ajax is unpredictable. Nobody knows what will anger him and most importantly when," Basilia said, and I smiled, almost sadly. Snap out of it, Leah.

"Because he has too much pain hidden inside his heart. Anyways, I should leave now." I said and she nodded her head, looking at me weirdly.

I was still in my white dress, I wore to work. My hair was braided though, placed on my side. And my eyes looked tired. I was tired. And this time I wanted a damn bed to sleep on. My shoulders ached from sleeping on the rough floor. My skin is all red when I wake up, it hurts to even move my body in the morning. Or maybe I was just complaining a lot.

"Good evening, Sir Ajax." I said and the cook laughed, looking at me. He was serving the food. Just on time.

"Hell has no time, little human. But I'll take your greetings. A good evening to you too. I hope you enjoy the black beans." He said and I smiled at him, shaking my head.

"You cook everything delicious, Sir Ajax. And I realize that food should not be considered in varieties." I said, taking a seat far away from Satan.

Tonight he was dressed in a black cloak, tied around his waist, tightly this time. His hair was neither disheveled, nor was it combed back. Some of the strands were falling on his pale forehead, while some were still combed back. He looked handsome as always, of course.

"Good evening, Satan." I said, and he looked up at me from the magazine. His golden eyes looked at me and it took everything inside me to not break eye-contact. That's how intense his eyes were. After a while, I looked away from him at the food being kept in front of me.

He nodded his head at me before turning back to his own food and the red liquid in his glass. My eyes widened at the red liquid in his glass. Is it blood? I hope it's not.

The starting few minutes of the dinner went silently, uncomfortably. For some reason, sharing a kitchen alone with him was scary. It was making me nervous in ways that were scary. I shoved a spoonful of black beans inside my mouth, the urge to throw up was overpowering me, but I swallowed it down.

"Relax, human. You're taking it too hard on yourself." Satan said suddenly, taking me by surprise, and my fingers froze in the air. I stopped chewing for a while.

I looked up from my plate to see Satan peacefully eating his dinner. He wasn't even looking at me. And yet he knew I was stressed. But then, he was reading my thoughts. And they were literally everywhere. And then he looked at me, his golden eyes piercing down my soul, trying to unwrap me, he was trying to get my soul, trying to get my deepest secret out.

"What is stressing you out?" He asked me and I forgot how to breathe.

"Not being able to go home." I finally confessed and if my answer irritated him, he didn't show it to me. He only nodded his head.

"You contacted a different realm. You tried to mess with the portals. I may seem evil to you for keeping you hostage here, human. But the reality is once a mortal crosses the realms, he can't go back with the secret they know. It's the law. But I'm still trying my best to find a solution. But until then, you need to live here." He said to me.

I looked up at him, giving him a small smile as I chewed the beans.

"I am living here, Satan. It's just hard to live with a bunch of people when I am used to the void, all my life." I said, taking a spoonful of spicy rice in my mouth. Demons loved spices.

"Do you want me to arrange a psychologist too, human? I can always add that to the medical unit. One of them can train for the same." Satan added further, and my heart fluttered without permission. Why do our hearts have to be so naive? It starts to beat wildly for everyone who shows the slightest bit of concern?

I chuckled softly as I shook my head. I was feeling extremely sensitive today. I need a good sleep. Yes, good sleep. That's what I need.

"No, Satan. For the trouble I have given you, this hospitality is also too much," I said, and his fiery eyes met mine with intensity that left my lips parted. When Sir Ajax said that the Gods made him luring, he wasn't lying. He was beautiful. But the devil inside him begged to differ. He was dangerous. Beautifully dangerous.

"Do you still need to visit my room for night business, human?" Satan asked me and I nodded my head, taking a sip of water.

"I need to take a bath. It's too hot in hell." I said, and he nodded his head.

"It is." He agreed. Soon when we were done with our dinner, I washed the dishes, like I always did before retiring for the day. I walked to his washroom before using his bathroom. The cold water felt like a bliss in the cold. Earlier I needed hot water for my sore muscles but then the ice cold water only gave me the bliss.

Today I realized, Satan tames the evil. Satan is not evil.