A Strange Request at a Piano Bar

Renata S. Geraldo
Jul 21, 2017 · 3 min read

It was the New Orleans carnival and Joe was sitting at a piano bar, depressed because it was his 30th Birthday. This meant his juvenile days were gone. While everyone was wearing masks for the city celebration, Joe was wearing his own mean blues alone at the piano bar. He felt like a banana, or even an apple, going through oxidation and starting to rot.

Oh how he wished to go back in time, when he was the school jock and dating Claire, who smelled like sassafras and liked to twirl whenever she bought a new dress. As an adult, Joe was stuck in a dead end job selling insurance packets. At 18 he was a jock. Now a single, pathetic 30-year-old drinking alone at a piano bar during carnival.

Joe then decided to leave. Maybe download Tinder when he gets home. Feed the cat. Think about the old days.

As he was leaving, however, Joe twisted his ankle and fell down. He didn’t feel drunk enough to numb the pain. While he was still on the ground, the door opened. A strange man with an awkward look and ghastly mask helped him get up.

“Let me buy you a drink. I’m Lloyd”, said the man with a smile.

“I’m Joe”

Instantly, Joe ordered a vodka and drank it like it was medicine for the pain of the sprained ankle. He started to feel better.

Lloyd was ominous. He was dressed in an old-fashion way and had a constant smile. His eyes were dark red and there was something devilish about him, but Joe didn’t know exactly what it was. If Joe was more drunk, he would have thought Lloyd wasn’t human.

“Joe, you seem like a decent man. Sad, but decent. I feel like I can trust you. Now, I know we just met, and I don’t know much about you, but how would you like to go back in time?”

Joe laughed nervously. A time machine was nothing but a bedtime story. An old controversy. Something that could only exist in a movie or TV show. Lloyd seemed even more uncanny.

“How? Do you own a time machine?”, said Joe ironically as he sipped the vodka. He tried to look relaxed and cool, but he was actually terrified by the man.

“As a matter of fact, I do”, Lloyd answered. “I know you don’t trust me, but do not think less of me just for looking different. I can help you! Wouldn’t you like to go back to the old days? To the glory of being a jock? What do you have to lose? After all, it is carnival and you’re sitting alone at a piano bar with a sprained ankle”.

Joe really had nothing to lose and the offer was indeed appealing. Still, Lloyd seemed eery. What Joe did not know, however, is how the man knew so much about him without any questions.

“What do you want in return?”, Joe asked.

“Your soul”, Lloyd replied, “in exchange for the old days back”.

The vodka suddenly kicked in. The sprained ankle was finally numb and a drunk Joe whispered a scared but excited yes.

“I’ve got nothing to lose”, said Joe as they were leaving the bar and into the carnival.

Write the Story

Short Stories and literary texts. Published in Portuguese and English

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Renata S. Geraldo

Written by

Journalism student at the University of Oregon. I talk about serious topics, but sometimes go on an adventure with chronicles and short stories.

Write the Story

Short Stories and literary texts. Published in Portuguese and English

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