Life Debt

“I owe you my life, John.” Francis said.

John managed a slight nod to acknowledge. He proceeded to guide him to the office of Mr. Living. A wide smile emerged from Mr. Living’s face, who sat on a grand full back chair tucked in an equally grand desk in the middle of the room. Mr. Living rose from the chair and gave Francis a hearty handshake; he was always delighted to meet a new customer. Mr. Living fetched a small black box and retrieved a piece of paper from it, there was no need to ask, he knew exactly what Francis wanted.

“Wow, this paper looks ancient. Is this the contract?” Francis inquired. 

Mr. Living nodded in response.

Francis studied the terms on the contract.

The Loan Contract

“The Creditor would lend the debtor 1 million in whatever currency of his/her choice.”

“The Loan will be due for full repayment, in the chosen currency, in 20 years or any time before.”

“An interest payment of 2 years of the Debtor’s life will be transferred to the Creditor annually while the debt is in force.”

“The Loan is transferred to the debtor’s next of kin upon the debtor’s death.”

Francis paused at that last term; it was neither expected nor agreeable. Mr. Living casually retrieved the contract from him, and scribbled on it. He cheerily explained it was a mistake, a legacy of contracts in the past but was changed recently after being deemed too cruel. Mr. Living handed the amended document back to Francis.

“The Loan is cancelled upon the Debtor’s death.”

Francis thought about asking how the transfer of life worked but decided it was unnecessary. The terms were exactly what John told him it would be. Francis eagerly signed on the document and received his 1 million dollars. He shook the hands of Mr. Living and John, thanked them, and left the office.

“I love the look of a satisfied customer, don’t you, John?” Mr. Living quipped.

John knew the comment was courtesy of the glum look he wore through out the exchange. John himself was a debtor of Mr. Living, his loan in force for almost 15 years. 10 years after he made the loan, he remained no closer to repaying the 1 million dollars he borrowed. John would have turned 30 years old on the tenth year of the loan, but because of the 20 years of life in interest paid to Mr. Living, John was effectively 50 years of age. He then made the fateful decision to work for Mr. Living, bringing in new customers in return for interest forgiveness. The deal allowed John to age naturally since, while Mr. Living gained his most effective employee ever.

Mr. Living’s cheery demeanor turned to a frown when he saw John remained stubbornly dour. “What’s the matter, John. You don’t like helping people?”

“Are we helping?” John rebutted.

“I don’t follow, John.”

“They are selling years of their life for money; we are literally killing them.”

“Oh, my dear child, you are deeply mistaken. We are not death dealers. On the contrary, we are life dealers. The money gives them an opportunity to live their life to the fullest, on their own terms.” Mr. Living said as he clutched his hand on his chest in feigned protest. John always felt Mr. Living’s capacity for bullshit was matched only by his coyness.

“Besides, you can always stop bringing in customers if you objected, John.”

John remained silent; it was a taunt that was all too familiar.

Mr. Living reveled for a moment in John’s lack of response before staring straight at him and said, “You know, John, not that you are not my most effective employee, but I really do like you. You remind me of me, once upon a time.”

Those words cut a deep chill into John, he tried to shake it off and left the office for home. He mentally reviewed his situation on the way back to his modest, 2-bedroom apartment. John still had to work 2 jobs just to make ends meet, and while his family of 3 kids and a wife were hardly starving, it was far from the “life on your own terms” advertised by Mr. Living.

John hated that Mr. Living was right about not bringing in new customers if he objected, though that meant he had to resume paying the interest on his debt. Paying the interest would result in him aging 3 years every year, and with his current effective age of 55, it was dangerously close to his natural lifespan. His death was certainly not something his family could handle, and his biggest fear was his wife or kids having to take the same loan from Mr. Living to survive. Introducing new customers to Mr. Living was less a choice than an act of desperation.

John entered the alley that led to his apartment, a routine that was interrupted by a young man with a gun aiming straight at him. John reached into his pockets and turn them inside out as a gesture that he had nothing of interest before raising both his hands to signal his submission.

“You owe me your life, John!”

John squinted at the young man; he figured the use of his name meant he likely knew him.

“Hang on, are you Alex’s kid?”

“My father is dead because of you. Because of that infernal deal you introduced to him!”

John recalled his father, Alex, a co-worker and widower whom he led to Mr. Living for a loan a year ago.

“Wait, Alex is dead? How can that be, it has only been a year.” John stuttered.

“You know damn well it has not been just one year.” The young man said before cocking his gun.

“You know something else, John? My father was offered the same deal as you; introduce new customers to have his interest written off. But he turned it down.”

John had no response, he figured it was useless trying to justify himself. He closed his eyes and braced; it seemed giving years of his life to Mr. Living was not the only way the loan deal could kill him.

John opened his eyes to a scene surrounded with police cars and an ambulance; a duo of paramedics hauled off a body into the vehicle. John reckoned he must have blacked out. A police officer approached him and briefed him on the moments he missed; a passerby alerted the police after witnessing the young man holding John at gunpoint, guessing he was being mugged. The police arrived just in time to stop the young man, but only manage to do so by shooting him dead. After giving his statement, John refused the offer to be taken to the hospital and requested to be allowed to go home. John however did not head home, but straight back to the office of Mr. Living.

“I’m done, Mr. Living.”

The death of Alex’s son was the final straw he needed to abandon his unholy duties to Mr. Living. Mr. Living gestured to John to take a seat on the couch in the office. He poured a glass of water from a flask and offered it to John.

“Alex’s son, a real tragedy there. You must be shaken, John. Take a breath.” Mr. Living said while giving a sympathetic nod.

“I’m serious, Mr. Living. That kid is dead because of me, his father, Alex, is dead because of me!”

Mr. Living shook his head vigorously, “John, my boy. I told you many times before; the loan deal doesn’t alter a person’s natural lifespan. Even if he didn’t take the loan, Alex would have died naturally in 3 years anyway, but without the financial security for his family!”

“Financial security? The boy is dead!” John said in incredulity.

Mr. Living sighed, “Like I said, a tragedy that he could not see things in a different way.”

John realized it was futile to convince Mr. Living, “Whatever, I’m done, Mr. Living. I’ll find a way to pay the money back.”

Mr. Living smirked at John’s bravado. They both knew it was a careless statement; John did not have the slightest idea of how to raise the money to repay the loan in full. As was the usual outcome, the loan was rolled over for another 20 years, and the debtor paid the interest for however long their life allowed. For John, who would effectively turn 70 years old upon the maturity of his loan, a rollover of the debt was essentially a death sentence.

“I do have another proposition, that is if you are still interested, John?”

Based on the last deal he made with Mr. Living, John should have known better. But he remained silent for Mr. Living to continue.

“It would erase your debt, give you all the money you ever want, and as many years as you want to enjoy them.”

John realized where Mr. Living was going with the conversation, he was appointing his successor. A puzzled look on John’s face said enough for Mr. Living to elaborate.

“I’m retiring, John.” Mr. Living said and look nostalgically around his office. “It’s been a good life, but after a couple of centuries, even this gets stale.”

Mr. Living stood up and fetched a small black box from his desk, the same box the debt contracts were retrieved from. He explained the box was all he needed for the business, it provides an endless supply of the contracts and cash, he merely needs to think of it. John could also amend the contract’s terms however he wished with a simple pen; no special equipment needed. The interest payments in life transferred happens automatically too, he would not feel it, but it would be clearly evident after a couple of decades. Finally, Mr. Living offered his luxurious office to John, not as a requirement for the job but as a gift.

John sat silent on the couch for a good couple of minutes to digest all that information. His attention was drawn particularly to the part where the box provided an endless supply of money, “You never cared about whether we repaid the money or not, do you.”

Mr. Living chuckled, “I told you, John. We are life dealers; the money is simply a distraction.”

“You know what, why don’t you take a seat at my chair at the desk, see how it feels, see if it fits.” Mr. Living said and directed John to the grand full back chair he sat on to conduct his deals.

“Oh yes, it’s perfect! I knew it would be! You really do remind me of myself, John, once a upon a time.” Mr. Living said with a wild cackle.