A Love In Dark Times

Luisa, my dear Luisa, look, we have already returned to your world, however, I need you to do two tasks for me to be eve itis very bad to owe favours and worse to a demon.

-Where are we, Don Lucifer?

“This is called the bridge of the commons, it was made by thousands of my servants.

“It looks very nice, I understood that you only liked to destroy.

“It's true, it's just that one of my main tasks is to tempt humans, to trick them into being my slaves.

“I heard that legend, it says that the engineer Florentino wanted to build this bridge to unite these towns, that when he couldn't afford the money he made a pact with Satan to do it in exchange for his soul, that the deal was that in one night would be finished, you would place the last stone before the rooster crowed at dawn, as I remember, that a fog covered t whole town, you brought all the demons to do the job, while Florentino hid with the priest behind a tree and when they were about to finish, the priest came out and blessed the bridge with holy water, causing all the demons to fall into the river Bogota and that in your fury you tried to destroy it with a kick leaving your footprint on a rock, but that the blessing protected it from your destructive power.

“That is false, as always the story is told by the victors, it is true that that time I lost, although not against someone bette because Florentino was not the good Samaritan that is said, what happened was that he won the viceroy's contract by taking him to the canteens, He also spent the advances, to replace them he sold his properties and also drank them, he borrowed from his relatives, from the leg-breaking moneylenders to start the construction and he walked with the intention of going to buy materials, but his feet betrayed him, arriving at the end of the day, but his feet betrayed him arriving at the streets of perdition where he was greeted like a king, he was invited the first drinks, he was showered with lovers, he was the sensation of that place until he was clean, he went from being the most desired prince to a filthy begg: lying in an alley crying his sorrow, worried because his fate was the gallows, since he only had that night left to fulfil the contract, or dead at the hands of some collector. I saw him lying there like a pig wallowing in the downpour, I felt sorry fo him, 1 arrived with an umbrella and a bottle of aguardiente, he told me about his predicament that I already knew, I proposed to help him, a solution that would not only save his skin, but would bring him fame and fortune that he had never seen before, his bridge would be built in just one night, before the c**k crowed at dawn it would be ready and he would only give me his soul to my service when he died, not even in life I clarify, he would leave the body straight to hell without trial, without purgatory, besides with that way of living life for sure that was his destiny, he already had a leg in t fifth pailon and logically he agreed, of course I wanted some condemned to purge their sentence by building that work, a work of art, later I found out that the damned man went to cry to the priest of a village, one who did not know him, he to him that I had deceived him, the priest was a holy man who believed in the principles he preached, he took a rooster in 2 basket, covering it with a black cloth, plus holy water and a powerful lamp with whale oil, all night they watched the work in amazement, They supposed that I did not see them hiding behind the trees, only that I neglected to marvel at the results of the work, and a few minutes before finishing the priest blessed the bridge, burying the demons at the bottom c the river, and in turn Florentino made the rooster crow, pressed him showing him the light of the lamp, he also deceived the animal and made him run with the luck that only a small stone was missing. Florentino was a traitor, I helped him in good way and maybe I got angry making a tantrum, I just didn't hit that bridge too hard, I didn’t want to destroy it either, liked the way it was looking.

-And what happened with Florentino?

-He got the recognition for the construction, he received the payment for the completion, spending it on drink and prostitutes, breaking his promises to pay his debts and to give a part to the priest who saved him, although none of his enemies or lenders put an end to his miserable existence, what happened was that he contracted a venereal disease that killed him very slowly in destitution, rejected by his friends and family, I even felt sorry for the poor man to have to host him in my domain, but you know that one of my functions is to discipline.

-And what do we do in this place, I don't think you would bring me here for a history lesson.

-Luisa, it's simple, under this bridge a lot of demons were trapped, including some generals, I need you to free them in a way similar to the way you transformed me.

-All right, I'L try, but I won't be responsible for the results.

Luisa concentrated on those murky waters, feeling how claws scratched the floor of the river as if it were a steel wall, she imagined herself melting it with a beam of white light, the people trembled, they tried to collapse the bridge, but Lucifer held it, those dark clouds started to come out, taking different dark shapes that were looking for their king to bow to him suddenly the c**k crowed and a stone was dislodged from the bridge, falling into the water.

Ready, don Lucifer, let's go for the last one, I want to finish this quickly, I want to see my brothers and Luis, I have a deal with him.

Relax my Luisa, don't be anxious and don't expect perfect deals, let's go to another place near here, you'll see that you'l like it, later you'll ask me for more.