Today you will hear the story from a different point of view.

Sometimes the narrator is invisible. You know the story is being told in the third person, but you can't sort out the source. You find out three hundred pages later that it was all coming from a rock in the heroine's pocket, the family dog, the man suspected of heinous murders. Most often, though, you never make the discovery, but you sense that something about the voice is off; you're facing something more than a bodiless, unbiased party.

Sometimes you will get a sense in this telling of the narrator's personal agenda in the tale, a pushing of events to some inevitable conclusion, which is always the same -- insight or insanity. (The wise will tell you they are one and the same.)

There's a certain magic in telling a good story, but most magicians won't reveal their secrets. Writers, however, love to tell you their tricks.

So, when you have the sense that some magical serendipity is at work, that everything is falling into place just as it should.. That there must be someone writing your life, as everything that is happening to you is too good to be true...

That's not me.

Look on the other side of the rock, dear Hero. A little to your left -- yes, right there where all hell broke loose and you begged for someome to free you from your misery, to free you from the ragged nonsense of yourself. The muddy, damp, uncomfortable place that lies underneat all of your careful 9-5 charades and pointed wardrobes of pride and longing.

Now that is me. My name is Mephisto.

You should feel lucky. It is the rare occasion for which I introduce myself to my next... client.

Let me save you your first question. You probably can't fathom precisely what I truly am, so I will just keep it simple for you by stating that I am what most call a demon.

I hope you are enjoying my visit, because you'd be so lucky to receive any such special attentions from an angel.

To save you your second question, I will answer for you that I indeed cannot tell you the ending, or rather, your ending. This is something that always remains open. I sincerely doubt you can truly fathom what I mean when I say, "Always."

If you have made it this far, it means you either know that your ending is open, or you stumbled in on some errant human whim. And, in the very probable case that it is the latter, let me make you my very special, once-in-a-lifetime, get-it-while-it's-hot offer. It will probably serve to answer your third question.

Shall I continue? Splendid.

I have been the author of many lives. And you, dear Hero, have a marvelous opportunity to witness my work. I have come to you to remove from your shoulders the burden of your destiny. It's such a heavy burden, isn't it? I know you stay up at night wondering just how grand it will be. You go through your daily routine and responsibilities, making an effort to never stand out, to just scrape by with what little you can. It's certainly not the road to a golden horizon, but perhaps it is the only way you know.

Trust me, I understand very well what keeps you up at night, and the nightmares that awaken you.

So quickly I see the sparkle come into your eyes! You want more, don't you? Well then, all you must do is pass me your burden. Just sign your name in my book.

You are uncharacteristically decisive for a Hero. Here, take my pen. Be careful, it is very heavy. Sign in your usual hand. There you go.

What's that? No, there is no need to worry. It won't hurt a bit. In fact, in the morning, you won't even remember our encounter. How will you know it's working?

When the ceiling caves in.

Very well, it may indeed hurt a bit. But weren't you listening from the beginning? My game was spelled out clearly in red letters. There were no secret clauses in our agreement. I, despite popular belief, am anything but a king of lies. Only a king of murky truths.

What do I get out of it, dear Hero? Only satisfaction in a job well done.

You are now inducted into my throng of special cases. I, Mephisto, am now the author of your life. Your name has been scribed into my Book of Mischief.

You will awaken shortly. And if by some strange chance you rec