5 ...

That morning when Jonah woke up, he thought he was still asleep. Next to him was a beautiful woman who was sleeping peacefully. Jonah squinted his eyes, pinched and slapped himself to see that all this was just a dream. To his surprise, nothing happened. It seems that now that was his new reality. He got out of bed, and when he came out of the tent, he was surprised, there were many people there, all beautiful, slender, thin bodies, perfect hair, and porcelain skin. However, none of these people looked happy. Their faces denoted a deep bitterness, even worse than the one he emanated.

"Where are the others?" Jonah asked himself as he watched all those bodies that seemed not to have a soul. In his uncertainty, he entered the great tent and immediately heard lamentations. He looked around the place and saw a very handsome man with brown skin and curly hair, who was weeping on the ground. He approached him shyly, and before Jonah said anything, he noticed his presence.

"What are you doing here, Jonah? I thought you were still asleep," said the man wiping away the tears that were still streaming from his dull gray eyes.

"Do you know me?" He asked, surprised that someone with a normal appearance would address him without showing disgust.

"It's me, the worm man," replied the individual with a sad smile.

"I don't believe you. A monster like me or the worm man, can't look that good. That's impossible," said an incredulous Jonah.

"For Lucifer, almost nothing is impossible. In the day, we are some and in the night others, but our appearance does not change at all the hopelessness we feel inside. Lucifer gives us a normal appearance during the day so that we can promote our circus in every town we go to. Can you imagine that we invite people with our horrific appearance? They would all run away. It makes people sick to see us, but not in the streets, but locked up in a cage"

.

" What should I do so that Lucifer gives me a normal appearance?" Jonah asked, excited, he had not even paid attention to the other things the worm-man had told him.

"Jonah, that's not going to do you any good. If you feel miserable now with the change you will continue to feel this way," replied the man with an icy voice.

"I don't care. I want to prove that it feels normal. Don't let people run away when they see me. I'll go find Lucifer so he can turn me into someone normal." Jonah said excitedly and turned to leave.

"You don't understand anything, you must leave here," said the man in a whispered voice.

"Why should I do that? I'm one step away from getting the normalcy I've always wanted."

"cause you still alive," replied the worm man.

"What are you talking about?" Asked the stunned boy.

The worm man let go of Jonah's arm and sighed.

"All the freaks in this circus are souls in pain. We are doomed to work here for all eternity. Some are here because when they were alive, they made a pact with Lucifer, and this is the pay. However, others like me were deceived. Jonah, this place is a gateway to hell. Everyone who buys a ticket to see the attractions of this circus has actually bought their ticket to the underworld. No matter what age, I have seen everything from old people to children howling in pain in the flames of hell."

"I still want to try to change my appearance. I would rather spend an eternity in hell than one more day feeling rejected by people. Living this way is like being in eternal damnation." Jonah pointed out resolutely.

"You don't understand anything, child, he's going to ask you for something in return and torture you for the rest of your existence. I'm a hundred years old in these conditions, and you can't even imagine the tortures I've been exposed to. Runaway now that you can. Ask God to save you. He is the only one who can help you. We are already dead, and we have already been given our sentence, but..." The worm man did not finish the prayer because a hostile voice interrupted him.

"God? I feel sorry for him. My poor father has to watch his creations do and undo everything as he pleases. I sincerely believe that human evil has overcome mine." This voice came from Lucifer, who had appeared in the tent. The worm man saw it and tried to run, but was paralyzed on the spot. The worm approached him, and in front of him, the stunned look of Jonah tore out his tongue and ate it as if it were the most exquisite food.

"You've known me for a long time, and you still don't know what I'm capable of." He snapped his fingers and made the worm man disappear. Jonah was not able to pronounce a word. Once again, he was horrified by the actions of this woman who called herself Lucifer.

"Don't worry, his tongue will grow back in a few days," said the woman as she noticed the terror in the child's eyes.

"Is it true what he told me?" Finally, Jonah said in a broken voice.

"Every word," replied the woman with a wide smile.

Jonah swallowed hard, and even though his heart was beating so hard that it seemed as if it would come out of his chest, he dared to ask her another question.

"What would I have to give you to make me look normal?"

"Your soul," said Lucifer without hesitation.

"It's yours," replied Jonah in a trembling voice.

"I mean your sister."

"Did you have your tongue torn out? It's a simple question," said Lucifer in a calm voice. Although he felt despair inside for not receiving an answer from Jonah.

"No," he finally said.

"No?" Lucifer asked incredulously.

"No," shouted Jonah.

"Do you have a death wish today?"

"Of course not. Why do you say that?"

"No, no reason. It's just that that's what will happen today when the villagers see you."

" Why would they do such a thing?"Jonah asked, frightened.

"What? Beat you? Torture you? Murder you? Ha-ha-ha. Well, I left clues in Alfredo's house so that they would realize that you were responsible for his death. Why are you making that little face? I thought you'd be happy if I gave you credit for such a horrendous act of revenge."

"You shouldn't have done it." That's all Jonas was able to say as he stood on the floor crying. He was so afraid of what might happen to him. He didn't have the courage to face the people again. Once again, vulnerability took over his deformed body, and he began to tremble. He was just a child and did not have the capacity to assimilate everything that was happening to him. He had his whole life being rejected and abused by everyone. When he finally thought that he was going to rest in peace, he was taken from his grave because it seemed that he had not yet suffered enough in this life. As much as he tried to explain his life, he did not understand anything.

"Damn it! God damn it! Who punished me when I was innocent and cursed, Damn you, Devil! For the simple fact of existing."

"Devil? Don't call me like that." He was interrupted by Lucifer in disgust. He hated being called that.

"Devil, Satan, Lucifer, who matters, in the end, you are a curse that takes advantage of those who truly suffer," said Jonah full of despair and rage. He couldn't take any more of the tribulations in his life, and the only way he could find to take out a small part of the frustration he felt was by screaming.

"You are absolutely right. Anyway, the other freaks are waiting for you outside. It's time to go promote tomorrow's show in town," explained Lucifer serenely. Jonah did not move and lay on the ground.

"My offer still stands. I can make you look normal so that the villagers won't recognize you." Jonah got up from the floor and went to the door.

"I prefer death, and hope that if God really exists, you and I will never meet again."

"He exists, but after those curses, you just said I doubt he'll help you. You know, my father is very sensitive" Jonás didn't hear these last words because he was already outside with the group, ready to address the village. The women were wearing very little clothing and tight corsets that made their attributes stand out, while the men were wearing clothes that were very tight to their sculpted bodies, and then there was Jonah wearing what appeared to be a white shroud.

"You know, when we get to town we're going to separate to try to get to as many houses as possible in the shortest time," exclaimed a slim-figured, blonde-haired woman. That's how they did it from the moment they entered the town, everyone scattered and left Jonah alone. Not knowing what to do, the poor child, with a shy step, went a little further into the village but immediately began to retreat in fear as he heard a group of people singing funeral chants approaching. To Jonas' bad luck these people were the ones who carried Alfredo's coffin to the cemetery. When Jonas noticed this and tried to run, it was too late they had seen him.

"Look there! Is the monster that killed Alfredo!" Shouted one of the coffin bearers. The others, seeing him for simple morbidity and evil, went against him. The first man who saw it grabbed him by the neck and began to strangle him while all the others beat him. Jonah struggled without the result to break free and breathe. Stripped of all hope and with his last breath of life, he managed to bite the hand of the man who was strangling him.

"Son of a bitch!" Shouted the man, and as if possessed by the Devil, he began to hit Jonah's head again and again on the ground. Jonah was bleeding excessively, but he was not crying, and he could not. The pain was so much that he did not believe he possessed the strength even to die.

"You're still on time. I could get you out of here just by snapping my fingers." Jonah heard a voice say and looked for the source. It was a Lucifer standing in the crowd, looking at him with a smile.

"I accept," said Jonah in a muffled voice.

"You accept what, Jonah?" Asked Lucifer.

"To give you my Soul."