A short story by B. Lorenzo Buckinchere
Aug 4, 2024
Vince was at the end of the road. As he laid alone in a hospital bed, he looked back on his life. He thought about all that it had encompassed. The highs and lows, all his achievements and failures, his strengths and weaknesses. The things he could have done differently. He thought about all his children, and how much he loved them.
Then he thought about his regrets. He thought about his dead wife, and the stormy night she was brutally raped and murdered by a lone madman. The thought that he wasn’t there to save her made him very angry. Yet a bittersweet smile crept across his aged face at the thought that he will finally be able to see her again. He closed his eyes, and then transcends into the vast unknown.
…
He awakens to find himself in a house somewhere. It is not his house, and he has no idea where he is. But somehow, everything feels so familiar. He climbs out of bed, puts on his robe as if it were a daily routine, and goes downstairs, where he sees a man he instantly recognizes.
“Finally awake, I see!” The man says, wearing a ‘kiss the cook’ apron. “You must be hungry, let’s get some grub in you,” he continues with a love thy neighbor smile on his face. Vince looks perplexed.
“I made bacon and hashbrowns, I hope you like it,” The man continues, pouring Vince a glass of orange juice from a glass pitcher. “They’re freshly squeezed! Handpicked them this morning from the garden. I hope you find it to your liking.” The man places a plate of bacon and hashbrowns with the glass of orange juice in front of Vince, who is now seated at the dining table.
Vince looks down at his plate, then up at the man who is smiling from ear to ear the entire time. “What’s the matter? You haven’t said a word.” “I know… I know you,” Vince says, shaking with emotions, “I know who you are.” The man continues to smile.
“What’s the matter, don’t you recognize me?” Vince asks. “I understand that you are probably confused, and that you must have a lot of questions on your…” “… why are you being so nice to me?” Vince confrontationally gets up from around the dining table. “Is this some kind of trick, or something? Don’t you remember what you did?”
Just then, a woman enters the room. “It smells mighty good in here. What are you…” Tears well up in her eyes the moment she lays eyes on Vince. “Vince!” “Claudette!” They both tearfully embrace each other rather intensely, then they both pull from each other. “Claudette, it’s you! It’s really you!” He takes her in thoroughly. They tearfully kiss and embrace yet again. The man stands there smiling the entire time.
They break from their embrace, and Vince looks at the man. “Claudette, what are you doing here with this man after all he has done?” “I don’t understand! All he has done was to help me make breakfast.” “No, that’s not all he has done. Don’t you remember?” “Vince, honey! I know you must have a lot on your…” “…why does everyone keep thinking I’m confused, or something? Did this man hurt you?”
“No, he didn’t!” “Is he holding us both here against our will?” “Vince, baby! All he has done was that he offered to come over to help me prepare for your arrival.” “My arrival?” “Yes Vince, your arrival.” “Do you know where you are man?” The man asks. “I remember waking up in this house that feels strangely familiar to me. But I’ve never been here before.”
Claudette and the man stand silently by.
“I don’t really remember much before that. But if you are both here, and I know that you are both dead, then I must also be dead. That’s got to be it. I must be dead, and this is some kind of an afterlife. An afterlife, or perhaps it is some kind of purgatory if that man is here with us after everything he has done. Claudette, we are good people, right? I mean, we worked hard all our lives, only to end up getting the crappy end of the stick. What did we do to end up in hell with this monster?”
“Does this really feel like any of us are in hell?” Claudette asks. She pulls back the drapes to reveal a man mowing their lawn. “Haiyya neighbors!” The man smiles and waves at them as she waves back. “Are you kidding me? Don’t you know who that is?” Vince asks. “That’s your brother, Steve,” Claudette replies.
“That no good brother of mine told a lie to get me in trouble back when we were kids. I ended up missing the school dance because I was grounded for a week. And as if that wasn’t enough, he stole my sports memorabilia when we were in our twenties. It was a collector’s item. I was never truly able to get over the hurt of his betrayal. If I wasn’t sure before, now I know. We are definitely in hell.”
“Vince, you’ve got it all wrong,” Claudette tries pleading with him, “Both men have been nothing but helpful in preparing for your arrival. Steve offered to help mow the lawn, and Eddy offered to help make breakfast.” “Really? Eddy? Are you going by first names now, or something?” “Vince, please!” “Do you need me to spell it out for you?”
“Eddy broke into our house one dark, stormy night. Eddy raped you at gunpoint. Eddy murdered you in cold blood as you begged for your life. Eddy had no remorse as he was pulling the trigger. All your begging and pleading probably only helped him get his rocks off like the sadistic son of a bitch he really is. Can’t you see that this is all just an act to get us to drop our guard. This food could be poisoned for all we know.”
Vince angrily smashes his uneaten breakfast plate into the wall before running out into the yard, still wearing his robe. Claudette and Eddy run out after him. They find him sitting on a tree stump in the backyard. Claudia put her arms around him from behind, stroking the side of his face.
“Don’t worry about the plate Vince, I’ll fix you another. It’s impossible to waste food in heaven, so vast is the abundance.” He gazes confusingly into her eyes.
“Look, what happened to me took place on earth a long time ago. Yes, I was hurt and confused when Eddy first arrived into heaven. It brought back a lot of bad memories about the night he killed me. But after a while, I learned to forgive. I had to learn to get those pesky little cobwebs out of my head if I wanted to be happy.”
“I just don’t understand any of this. How could he have gotten into heaven? How could you think to forgive this monster after the way he ruined our lives?”
“I don’t really know why I chose to forgive him, come to think of it. I probably just figured that only good people come to heaven. And that if he was able to make it here, then somehow he must have done something good to make up for all the bad that he has done during his life on earth.”
“But how could this low life have made it into heav…” “…I heard raised voices,” Steve says, running over to them, “Is everything ok?” “Steve, what are you doing here? I haven’t seen you in over 60 years. Don’t you remember what you did to me?”
“I understand that you are probably upset with me, brother, and I honestly can’t say that I blame you. But what happened on earth took place a long time ago.” “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him, Steve…” “…you stay out of this, asshole. No one’s talking to you.”
“Vince, please!” Claudette interrupts before she continues, “Eddy apologized to me over 40 years ago when he first arrived, and he would like to extend you the same courtesy, so does your brother. Look, I didn’t ask them to come over. They volunteered, knowing how difficult it would be. Your parents wanted to come too, but they couldn’t make it. They wanted to apologize for kicking you out the house when you turned 18. They were hoping they could see you tomorrow, so you all could talk about it.”
“I haven’t thought about that in such a long time,” tears welling up. “I had nowhere to go, so I ended up on the street during the worst winter of my discontent. Then my girlfriend wrote me a letter saying that she was pregnant. I didn’t want to be a deadbeat, so I had to figure it out. The fastest decision I could make at the time was to enlist in the service. Even though I really didn’t want to join, I did it anyway. I did it for my kid.”
Vince continues, “I came back home with a bunch of shell shock and recurring nightmares about my buddies getting maimed and killed in battle. Nightmares about the time I got captured by the Viet-cong. I was held and tortured as a POW for six months until I was found and rescued by allied forces. Once home, I became a violent drunk. I was of no use to myself, let alone my kid, and I didn’t want him to see me in such a despicable state. Sure enough, my first marriage didn’t last much longer.”
“I remember you telling me about it when we first got married. You were in a great deal of pain. I’m really sorry that you took that pain with you into death,” Claudette says.
Silence fills the air.
“Vince, I’m really sorry for what I put you and Claudette through,” Eddy says, “I had no right to ruin your lives like I did.” “Vince, I’m sorry for all the things I put you through, bro. You have been nothing but good to me and my wife, and I see now that my ego wasn’t worth losing a brother like you over,” Steve says.
“How come you are only sorry now? Why weren’t you sorry back on earth?” “I really don’t know what to tell you there Vince,” Steve answers. “Oh, you don’t know? Well you know what? You, Eddy and my folks can all take your fake apologies and go fuck yourselves with it.” “Vince, we’re only trying to help you for your own good. Try to understand.” Claudette pleads with him.
“To answer your initial question, Vince. The reason why I think we didn’t have an incentive to apologize back on earth is because we were living in the flesh, and the flesh is full of pride and ego.”
“Eddy is right! Once we shed our flesh, we also shed our ego, which makes it easier for things like apologies and forgiveness.” “I think the boys are on to something, Vince. But in your case, your ego must be especially strong. Because you have shed your flesh, but your ego is still intact.”
“I have never seen anything like it. Someone whose ego remains intact after dying,” Eddy says, “And I have been here 40 years already.” “Vince, you’ve always been pretty darn stubborn, ever since we were kids. But I never counted on you being able to keep your ego intact after dying. I just don’t know how you do it bro.”
“How soon after dying before most people shed their ego?” Vince asks. “Usually right at the point of death, or in the days leading up to death. Either way, they shed their ego before they are able to reach heaven,” Steve says. “Your case must be a rare exception. Truly unprecedented!” Eddy says.
“Perhaps it just takes longer for Vince to shed his ego, than it does for other folks to shed theirs. Obviously he made it into heaven somehow,” Steve says. “I’ll have you fine gentlemen know that my man is a good one, thank you kindly. He’s just a bit stubborn at times, that’s all,” Claudette says.
“Give it some time Vince, everything will be alright. I know you’ll grow to like it here in time, and you and I can make up for lost times.”
“I would love that very much.”
He ponders on that thought for a moment.
“Ok Claudette, I’ll do it. I’ll try and shed my ego for your sake.” “It’s a deal!” Eddy says as he reaches to shake Vince’s hand, who reciprocates rather reluctantly. “Well alrighty then, I guess it’s settled,” Claudette says as she embraces him. “Now let’s all get back inside the house and eat breakfast.”
As time goes by, Vince and Claudette rekindle their lives together. Vince and Eddy become really good friends and neighbors, as they work together on many community projects. From painting, to drain cleaning to barbecues to butter churning. He even manages to make amends with his parents for any unresolved feelings of betrayal and neglect that he may have been holding onto all his life.
As Vince learns to forgive, his ego starts fading away slowly but surely. He takes on a more youthful appearance, and his personality becomes more playful. Vince, Claudette and Eddy grow really close over time, and are often seen playfully running through the water sprinklers as if they were kids again. All is right with the world. Then one day, it happens.
“I can’t take another day of this.” Vince smashes his uneaten breakfast plate into the wall again. “I’ve barely spent a month living in this lousy dump, and I’m damn near out of my mind already.” “Vince honey, what’s wrong? You were doing so well.” “Yeah buddy! Tell us what’s wrong,” Eddy says. “Your dumb ass is what’s wrong, and I’m not your buddy,” he yells, pointing his finger at Eddy.
“There’s something awfully screwy about this whole operation. I tell ya, this isn’t right.” “But look how much younger you’ve gotten, and your ego is almost completely gone. Why would you want to go back to living in a way that has made you so unhappy for most of your life?” Claudette asks.
“I don’t know! Maybe it’s because it’s the only thing I’ve known all my life. Maybe it’s because this whole thing feels so unnatural to me. I don’t know! Whatever it is, I don’t like people messing with my free will.”
“But if that free will came from your ego, doesn’t that make it a bad thing?” Claudette asks. “Bad as it may be, it can’t be worse than messing with your free will,” Vince replies. “Does your free will matter more to you than your happiness?” Eddy asks. “Stay out of this asshole, I’m talking to my wife.” Vince yells, pointing his finger at Eddy.
“I don’t know how everybody else in this godforsaken shithole does it, but it is not my free will to forgive my wife’s attacker. Let alone be friends with the guy. Perhaps I was mistaken, but I see now clear as day that heaven is not paradise for me. If this place is going to manipulate me into betraying my free will, then heaven for me is actually hell.”
“Do you think you would be much happier going to the other place then?” Eddy asks. “I don’t know! Probably so!” Vince stares at Eddy rather curiously.
“You know, you still haven’t answered my question.”
“What question?”
“How did you make it into this so-called heaven after everything you have done back on earth? You’re not a true believer, or anything like that are you?”
“Do you really want the truth, man?”
“Yes, I do!”
“Do you remember my execution?”
“How could I forget, I was there. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”
“Do you remember my final words before they pulled the lever that fried my brain?”
“You said that you accepted Jesus Christ as your lord and savior. That’s all you said.”
“That’s all I had to say. After that, it was a done deal, my salvation was secure. The moment they pulled that lever, I knew I would wake up in eternal paradise.”
“Did you really mean what you said, or were you just taking advantage of someone who died on the cross two thousand years ago?”
“Obviously I made it into heaven somehow, so you tell me.”
“I’m asking you.”
“It doesn’t really matter.”
“It matters to me.”
“What does it matter if I shed my ego at the point of death? As long as we’re all here, and I’ve made amends, that’s all that matters.”
“To you, maybe!”
Vince turns to Claudette.
“Can you believe this fucking guy? He somehow managed to make it into heaven without truly repenting. All he had to do was recite some kind of sinner’s prayer, or something. Which he waited until he was certain he would die before doing. Yet there are good people back on earth who lived their whole lives wondering if they are worthy of entering heaven. How insulting?”
“He never told me how he made it into heaven. I just assumed that he was a good person who made some mistakes, and genuinely repented,” Claudette says. “You always try to see the good in people, and it ended up being your undoing.”
He then turns to Eddy.
“It wasn’t enough that you raped her once? You had to track her down the moment you arrived in heaven to take advantage of her a second time. It’s just never enough for you, is it? What’s your problem with my wife, man? What did she ever do to you?” Vince shoves Eddy up against a wall.
“Stop it, both of you. I can’t take this anymore with the two of you always at each other’s throats. Why can’t we all just get along?” “How do you expect us to get along if there are two mortal enemies in the same room? Do you honestly still believe that this place is heaven?” “I don’t know what to think anymore.”
“Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to move on after you died? You know how much pain I went through to deny my nature just to atone for my mistakes, in hopes of having a shot of making it into heaven just so I could see you again? And all this motherfucker had to do was recite some phony sinner’s prayer. What a waste of effort on my part?”
“But your nature is still intact, so what have you really accomplished?” Eddy asks. “I don’t know! The only thing I do know is that I really don’t want to be here anymore.” “You can’t be serious!” Claudette exclaimes. “No, I’m serious. I’m done!” “Why don’t you give it some more time? Think things through?” “Because there’s really nothing to think about.”
“Would you rather risk losing eternal abundance in favor of going to the shadow realm? That, from what we heard, is far worse than the temporary readjustment period that you are going through here.” Claudette asks. “As long as there is no agenda to manipulate my free will, then it’s worth a shot. What have I got to lose?” “Everything, if you don’t come to your senses,” Claudette says.
“Vince, listen to your wife for once. Here, we have everything. We literally don’t have to work, or do anything but hang out all day.” “I really don’t need to be taking no advice from a rapist and murderer. Plus, I’m not lazy like you. I don’t mind working for it, and figuring things out on my own. So long as my free will remains intact.”
“Vince, please! Listen to reason. You don’t know what you are saying, it’s horrible down there. The fire never dies, and there is no water to quench thirst.” “Look, my mind is made up, ok. Now who can I talk to about this?”
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. None can come to The Father, except through The Son.” “Jesus fucking Christ, who the hell is this dude supposed to be? “They call him, The Son.” Claudette replies. “And how did you get in here?”
“I literally manifested out of thin air just now,” The Son replies. “Whoa, that was fast. I didn’t think he’d get here so soon,” Eddy says. “Thank God you’re here. Maybe you can talk some sense into my husband. He’s been talking like a crazy person.” “And yet I’ve never felt better.”
“Ok, let me try to understand this. So you would rather spend eternity in the shadow realm because you feel like there’s some kind of conspiracy to manipulate your free will here in heaven. Right?”
“The whole thing just seems so unnatural. Ever since I got here, I have felt an unusual urge to forgive the people I despise. And it took every ounce of strength in me, just to keep a clear mind. But now, I’ve had it.”
“Is that all you have to say?”
“No, that’s not all. I also think it’s rather hypocritical of you, that there are good people in hell right now whose only crime is that they don’t believe in you. Yet a wretched despicable murderer like Eddy can make it into heaven, simply by reciting the sinner’s prayer. And you just accept it as proof that he believes in you. Has it ever occurred to you that he recited the sinner’s prayer, just as a ‘get out of hell’ free card?”
“The people in hell who you think are so good, deserve to go to hell because they are atheists.”
“Atheism is not a measure of morality, or the lack thereof. Unless you truly don’t give a damn about morality.”
“I do, but believing in me is important, too.”
“How could you be so petty? I don’t respect you, sir.”
“Why would you punish someone for choosing to use their free will to believe whatever they want? It’s their choice whether or not they want to believe in you, but they shouldn’t be punished for it. They should only be punished if they did something wrong that warrants them being punished. The first amendment of the American constitution places a much greater emphasis on freedom than you do.”
“Look, I understand that you are upset, but rules are rules, and you just have to follow them.”
“Yeah, that’s what I thought. Look, if that’s all you have to say, then all I have left is that I just want to be free. Cost it what it will.”
“But it’s horrible down there.”
“So I keep hearing. But perhaps freedom is the sinner’s paradise. The right to choose for themselves. The right to be who they want to be.”
“You should know that once you get there, you can never come back. You will be stuck down there for eternity. Is that really what you want?” “Whatever man, I’ll take my chances.”
“I guess there’s no point in keeping you here if doing so would make you unhappy, but Claudette stays here with us.”
“Why are you so controlling? Why don’t you let the lady speak for herself?”
“Alright then, I will!”
Vince turns to Claudette, but before he could utter a word, she says, “I want to stay here in this abundant, familiar space surrounded by the people I love.”
“Even if it means being neighbors with the man who raped you?”
“Yes, but you can go if you feel it will make you truly happy. I love you, and I will miss you dearly, but if your freedom and happiness is more important to you, then I want you to be happy.”
Vince and Claudette intensely stare into each other’s eyes before tearfully embracing one last time. “Go be happy bro, you deserve it.” Eddy pats Vince on the shoulder. Vince holds Claudette by the cheeks, and wipes away her tears. “Thank you for being so understanding. I will love you till the end of time.” She cries harder upon hearing that.
They embrace, and hold each other’s hands.
“I will never forget this.”
“I love you,” she tearfully whispers softly as he pulls away from her and walks away. She runs after Vince as both he and The Son disappear together. Devastated and heartbroken, she cries really hard on Eddy’s shoulder as he consoles her.
…
At the entrance to a nightclub, the muffled sound of really fast Techno music can be heard playing from outside the venue. A horned bouncer with glowing red eyes can be seen unhooking the extension cord to let patrons inside the event. Vince, who was waiting in line, is about to be next.
When he gets to the front, the bouncer says to him in a low, coarse voice, “welcome to Club Hades. May all your dreams come true.” “Thank you!” Vince replies, “It’s an honor to be here.” The bouncer places a vip wristband around Vince’s wrist, and smiles at him as he lets him into the club.
Inside the venue, the music is much louder, and the dance floor is moderately packed. Some patrons can be seen dancing the night away, rubbing up against each other. Some are drinking at the bar, while others are passed out from having too much to drink. As Vince is walking around the venue, he notices a voluptuous seductress with demon horns and glowing red eyes seductively smirking at him.
Vince decides to order a drink. He goes over to the bar, and orders a bloody mary. The bartender checks Vince’s wristband with his flashlight, then says to him. “Oh, the man of the hour. I see that you are the owner’s special guest. He’s waiting for you over in the vip section.” As Vince goes upstairs to vip, he notices an old acquaintance waiting for him at the top.
“Well if it isn’t my man, Vince.” “Rick old friend, so good to see you again.” The two do their special handshake. Vince and Rick walk over to the lounge, where they sit in one of the booths.
“Are you comfortable?”
“Sure am!”
“When I heard that you were here, I had to come see for myself. You are the last person I would expect to find here.”
“After living a life of hell on earth, I figured the real thing couldn’t be any much worse than that. So I had to come see for myself.”
A moment of silence fills the air.
“Believe it or not, I was actually in the other place first.”
“Really!”
“Yeah! Then I found it wasn’t quite to my liking, so I asked to come here instead.”
“That’s incredible, I didn’t know you could switch sides so easily. After dying, I mean.”
“Well apparently I did.”
“Well it’s no wonder the owner wants to see you. He should be here any minute now.”
“You remember Eddy?”
“Who? You mean the maniac who killed Claudette?”
“The one and the same.”
“Yeah! What about him?”
“They wanted to erase my will, and force me to forgive him. Worse than that, they actually expected us to act like we are pals.”
“Wait, you actually saw him while you were up there?”
“Sure did!”
“How did he make it into heaven?”
“Well supposedly he repented right before he was executed.”
“And they just let him right on in there? Just like that?”
“Yup!”
“What kind of screwball place is that anyway?”
“I know, that’s what I said.”
They both laughed.
“Everybody else was under some kind of weird spell, except me. The worst part about all of that was that Claudette would rather stay up there and be friends with her rapist than to come down here with me.”
“Imagine that!”
“I know! They may have gotten to her somehow, but they didn’t get me.”
“That’s probably why they kicked you out of heaven.”
“Probably! Or it could just be that they made an exception in my case. Whatever it is, I sure am glad that’s over.”
Just then, a tall, shadowy figure with glowing red eyes approached the booth. “Vince, I’ve heard a lot of promising things about you,” he says in a low, thunderous voice. As he steps out into the light, it is revealed that he is wearing a dark suit, and has the horns of a ram goat.
He possesses a powerful aura. More powerful than anyone else in the room. Just as the two men were about to stand to shake his hand, the man insisted, “No, no, no, please don’t stand on my account.”
“My name is Natas, I’m the owner of Club Hades,” he gestures for a handshake. “Did you say your name is Nathan?” Vince asks as he reciprocates the handshake across the table while seated. “No, I said Natas, The Goat. Because I am the Greatest Of All Time.”
“That’s a peculiar name.”
“I get that a lot.”
“But a nice name, though.”
“Flattery gets you nowhere with me,” he jokes while smiling at Vince.
“You must be tired from your trip.” A waitress appears by the mere snap of Natas’ finger. “Three bloody marys if you would be so kind.” “Right away, sir!” She disappears, and reappears with the order instantaneously. She smiles at Vince before disappearing again.
“Vince, you look tired from your trip.” Vince has been wearing the same clothes he left heaven with. But by the snap of Natas’ mighty finger, he was now clean shaven with a cool new haircut, and wearing a suit. They all raise their glasses, “a toast to my new friend Vince, and his arrival at our club.” “May friendships last forever,” Vince smiles. “CHEERS!”
“Vince was just telling me that he would much rather be here if it meant having his freedom,” Rick says. “Yeah, so I heard. This place gets a pretty bad rap. So I think it’s actually really commendable that anyone would be willing to brave the trip, regardless of what they might have heard. I guess that’s why he gets the vip treatment,” Natas says. “Oh yes, well deserved,” Rick replies.
“So Vince, how does it feel to be a chartered member of Club Hades?” Natas asks. “For a place that is said to be the pit of eternal punishment, everybody here seems to be having a really great time so far,” Vince says while taking a sip of his bloody mary. “The only pit here is a barbecue pit,” Rick jokes. “Let the good times roll.” “I know that’s right.” They all drink and laugh together.
“You know, I think this booth could use a bit of a woman’s touch,” Natas says as he claps his hands twice. Almost immediately thereafter, two really hot seductresses levitated over to their table. “Slimthicc, just the way I like ‘em,” Vince says.
“Pick one!” Natas says. “It’s kinda hard to choose, they’re both really hot,” Vince replies. “Well in that case, have ‘em both,” Natas smiles. “Hey, what gives?” Rick protests, but then he cannot help but to laugh.
They both sit next to Vince, one on each arm. They introduce themselves as Mindy and Jada. Then they start rubbing down his chest while smiling seductively at him. “You are the talk of the town,” Mindy says. “Yeah! Everyone heard about the way you stood up for what you believe in,” Jada says.
“We think that men who take risks and make sacrifices for what they want are like really hot,” Mindy says. Vince and Mindy lustfully gaze into each other’s eyes before making out profusely while Jada aggressively grabs his junk.
A third girl has joined as Rick’s date, and the party of six are all laughing and drinking together. “Look at that! Everyone’s laughing and having a good time,” Rick says, drinking and smiling. “Boss man takes care of his people,” Jada says, smirking at Natas.
“Well, I try!” Natas replies while staring at Vince. “Look, I like ya, kid. It takes balls to do what you did,” He continues, staring at Vince with admiration in his eyes. “Can I ask you something?” “Sure!” “Do you think I’m a bad guy?”
“From what I’ve seen so far, you seem really chill and laid back.” “Thank you, that’s what I’ve been saying.” “Well what do you mean?” “Look, can I tell you something?” Natas asks anxiously.
“They paint the image of me like I’m this bad fucking guy, Right? Well if that was true, I’d have all of you shoveling coal into my furnace round the clock, without taking any breaks. But instead, here we are drinking and laughing and having a great fucking time.”
“Well obviously you’re cool and all, but why did they portray you in such a negative light?” “Ahh, ancient history kid. But basically what it is, is that the old man made a bunch of mistakes with the human design, and wanted me to take the rap for it. Just so that he can come out of it looking good.” “Wow, really?” “Yeah! He gave you qualities such as greed, envy and vanity. And he wanted you to convince yourself that the goat made you do it.”
“Wow dude, that’s really fucked up.” “I know!” He shrugs, “So now I gotta act like I’m supposed to be this terrible fucking guy, or something. When all I really wanted to do all along was just to kick it and chill. “You know, in all the years that I’ve known you, it’s the first I’m hearing about this,” Rick says. “What did you do about it?” Vince asks.
“After a while, I got tired of play acting. So the old man turned me into a snake as punishment for telling the woman about the tree of knowledge.” “Really?” “Yeah! I figured that anyone who can see through the great deception, and is brave enough to prioritize their own human freedom is more than deserving an eternal reward.”
“How many people throughout all of history were brave enough to risk it all for their freedom?” Vince asks. “Everyone who you met in this club tonight, including the girls who are hanging all over you guys right now.” The girls glance over at Natas and smirk as he acknowledges them.
“So are Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, Tesla, Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, just to name a few,” Rick says. “In time you will have a chance to meet everybody who made it,” Natas says. “I guess it’s true what they say after all. Freedom is the sinner’s paradise,” Vince says. “Welcome to the party that never ends,” Mindy says, smirking seductively at Vince.
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