A
politician dies and ends up standing in front of the pearly gates. Saint Peter
looks at him for a second, flicks through his book, and finds his name.
"So,
you're a politician..."
"Well,
yes, is that a problem?"
"Oh
no, no problem. But we've recently adopted a new system for people in your line
of work, and unfortunately you will have to spend a day in Hell. After that
however, you're free to choose where you want to spend eternity!"
"Wait,
I have to spend a day in Hell?!" says the politician. "Those are the
rules," replies St Peter, clicks his fingers, and WOOMPH, the guy disappears.
He awakes, curled up with his hands over his eyes, knowing he's in Hell.
Cautiously, he listens for the screams, sniffs the air for brimstone, and
finds... Nothing. Just the smell of, is that fabric softener? And cut grass,
this can't be right? (more after the cut)
"Open
your eyes!" says a voice. "C'mon, wakey wakey, we've only got 24
hours!" Nervously, he uncovers his eyes, looks around, and sees he's in a
hotel room. A nice one too. Wait, this is a penthouse suite... And there's a
smiling man in a suit, holding a martini. "Who are you??" The
politician asks.
"Well,
I'm Satan!" says the man, handing him the drink and helping him to his
feet. "Welcome to Hell!"
"Wait,
this is Hell? But... Where's all the pain and suffering?" he asks.
Satan
throws him a wink. "Oh, we've been a bit misrepresented over the years,
it's a long story. Anyway, this is your room! The minibar is of course free, as
is the room service, there's extra towels next to the hot-tub, and if you need
anything, just call reception. But enough of this! It's a beautiful day, and if
you'd care to look outside..."
Slightly
stunned by the opulent surroundings, the man wanders over to the
floor-to-ceiling windows through which the sun is glowing, looks far down, and
sees a group of people cheering and waving at him from a golf course.
"It's
one of 5 pro-level courses on site, and there's another 6 just a few minutes
drive out past the beach and harbour!" says Satan, answering his unasked
question.
So
they head down in the lift, walk out through the glittering lobby where
everyone waves and welcomes the man, as Satan signs autographs and cheerily
talks shop with the laughing staff. And as he walks out, he sees the group on
the golf course are made up of every one of his old friends, people he's
admired for years but never met or worked with, and people whose work he's
admired but died long before his career started. And out of the middle of this
group walks his wife, with a massive smile and the body she had when she was
20, who throws her arms around him and plants a delicate kiss on his cheek.
Everyone cheers and applauds, and as they slap him on the back and trade jokes,
his worst enemy arrives, as a 2 foot tall goblin-esque caddy. He spends the day
in the bright sunshine on the course, having the time of his life laughing at
jokes and carrying important discussions, putting the world to rights with his
friends while holding his delighted wife next to him as she gazes lovingly at
him.
Later,
they return to the hotel for dinner and have an enormous meal, perfectly
cooked. As everyone is falling about laughing and flinging bread sticks at each
other, his wife whispers in his ear... And they return to their penthouse
suite, and spend the rest of the night making love like they did on their
honeymoon. After hours of passion, the man falls deep into the 100% Egyptian
cotton pillows, and falls into a deep and happy sleep... and is woken up by St
Peter.
"So,
that was Hell. Wasn't what you were expecting, I bet?" "No sir!"
says the man. "So then," says St Peter. "You can make your
choice. It's Hell, which you saw, or Heaven, which has choral singing, talking
to God, white robes, and so on."
"Well...
I know this sounds strange, but on balance, I think I'd prefer Hell," says
the politician. "Not a problem, we totally understand! Enjoy!" says
St Peter, and clicks his fingers again.
The
man wakes up in total darkness, the stench of ammonia filling the air and
distant screams the only noise. As he adjusts, he can see the only light is
from belches of flame far away, illuminating the ragged remains of people being
tortured or burning in a sulphurous ocean. A sudden bolt of lightning reveals
Satan next to him, wearing the same suit as before and grinning, holding a
soldering iron in one hand and a coil of razor-wire in the other. "What's
this??" He cries. "Where's the hotel?? Where's my wife??? Where's the
minibar, the golf-courses, the pool, the restaurant, the free drinks and the
sunshine???"
"Ah",
says Satan. "You see, yesterday, we were campaigning. But today, you
voted."
No comments:
Post a Comment