The Glitter Jungle:
Fiction:
The Day Hell Froze Over
The day hell froze over, the devil started learning how to play ice-hockey.
He wore those wool coats with the faux-fur hems, and matching gloves.
He
built a snowman and set him on fire.
The day hell froze over, everything came to a halt. The endless noise,
the
cacophony of shouting and crying and begging that is the underworld's
soundtrack, hushed. The dancing flames turned to ice. White, lovely
frost
covered all the black of soot and the red of blood.
The day hell froze over, Lucifer sat by the last fire in the netherworld,
the one in his own private stove, and drank hot cocoa.
"I really didn't think this day would come," he mused, directing his
solemn
words to the human sitting at his feet.
They went above for a walk; winds howled across the deserted planes
of the
earth, not a living soul in sight.
"The only real warmth left is up there," the devil remarked, pointing
towards the heavens. The human by his side looked up obediently, although
his vision could not penetrate through the dark, heavy clouds.
"I think the two of us are the only ones left down here," the devil
said.
It didn't make him sad, per se; he never liked most humans anyway.
But it
felt lonely. And there was this feel of futile purposelessness. Without
any
living things, and no souls in hell, what's a devil to do?
The human wrapped his arms around Lucifer. He could not provide warmth;
the
only heat came from the devil himself. He was just trying to provide
some
sort of support, of comfort. To show he cared.
The day hell froze over, all the people who said they'd do something
or
other when hell freezes over, were already long gone. Death roamed
the
earth and below and collected all unpaid debts.
He didn't touch the devil's pet human.
Lucifer was grateful.
A day after the day hell froze over, the clouds parted and a bright
light
shone through them.
Lucifer looked into the bright light; his human looked away, unable
to gaze
at the face of the Lord.
"I said, when hell freezes over...."
Lucifer and his human floated up in a beam of pure golden light, to
sit in
the heavens, by His throne.