The Bank

I had never been here before, I was a new body in a new town and this place did not take any form of electronic payment. The only way to pay was by cash.

There were no cash machines or post offices, and I realised that there were no cars,buses or vans on the main street, although there were people and the shops and cafes were open and doing business.

I had forgotten the last time I had cash in my pocket, and really wanted a cup of coffee. The place was like Totnes, absolutely no chains at all , no McDonalds, Greggs , Starbucks or Costas and the local coffee shops and cafes would only take cash, so I needed some cash and the only place to get it was the only bank in this town.

I don;t know what made me think about this, but while there were people about, in coffee shops and buying sandwiches, everyone was just grey and featureless. I column;t even remember if they were men or women. I mean you take no notice of most people that you see, but you usually notice someone who is striking for one reason or another but there was none of that, although it may have been that most of them were wearing masks, but I just couldn’t remember.

So I needed to get some money, I noticed that there were no phone boxes, but no one seemed to be using mobile phones. I took mine out, of course no signal, I could not call anyone if I needed anything. Then I thought “What am I doing here, why am I here?” but every time I looked to ask someone they were away like wraiths in fog.

I came to the bank and went through the door. There was no one in , but there were figures behind the counter. There were no machines at all, no electronic signs or anything, I hoped they would take my debit card for cash.

I went over and said to the person I assumed was a cashier:

“I need to draw some money out, do you take debit cards?”

“We don’t need your cards, you know that”

“Pardon? What do you mean? This is the first time I have been in this bank, in this town”

“You Get Twenty xhos”

“Huh?”

“Twenty xhos, if you want more you have to give more”

“What are you talking about?”

“You do know why you are here, I tell you this every day”

“I, I don;t know why I am here, tell me why I am here”

The cashier sighs

“You sold your soul to gain everlasting life, and this is what you have, everlasting life. Probably not how you were expecting it but you got exactly what you asked for.”

I took the twenty xhos and went out to get myself a coffee, well another coffee.

I had sold my soul.

But to whom?

And for what?

And how long had this been going on?

I went and got a coffee, that was it it was just coffee, no latte , espresso or mocha , just coffee

“How long have your worked here and aht is the name of this town?”

“Two xhos”

“It’s called Two xhos?”

“Coffee Two xhos”

“But what is this town called, and who did I sell my soul to?”

“Coffee Two xhos”

I paid for the coffee and sat down at the table to drink , but every attempt at conversation fell flat.

I had to keep awake, I realised that if I fell asleep I would forget everything and this day would shart all over again.

I needed to stay awake or tomorrow I would find myself back at the bank wondering why I was here, but I already knew.

This was some corner of hell reserved for those who traded their soul in to live forever.

Could I escape?