Hi, my name is Steve and I am who they call the Fiend. My dwelling place is in hell and I walk around on earth to collect what is mine each day. I bring those whose time has come back to hell with me at the end of the day. Some people have long been awaiting their day of departure while others are ripped from their lives before they are ready. I bring them home with me nonetheless. I receive a list each day of who and what are to become mine and I ensure that I get them. I also look like a normal human man so many do not even notice what I do and I would like to keep it that way.
However, today is different than other days however because I have stumbled across a summoner, an official of the court, who has decided to befriend me. He did not know at first that I am the Fiend so for some reason, he instantly swore to be friends with me forever and offer our houses to each other should we ever need them in the future. I have never had a friend before so I wasn't sure how to turn him down, but I greatly regret it now. He's very enthusiastic. He has been following me around on my mission since noon and asking many questions about my trade of bringing people and belongings to hell. He said he thought I was a yeoman at first so he desires to see what I actually do instead and learn from the great Fiend himself. How does he even know who the Fiend is? I thought I had been quite discrete over the years but perhaps my name has spread.
My list today is not long so it unfortunately leaves much room for conversation. As we walk to the nearby village where I will take an old lady and her twelve pence, the summoner and I come across a man yelling at his two donkeys and cursing them, wishing the Fiend to take them from him. I force myself to turn my eyes away so that I am not tempted to get off schedule and take the donkeys before it is time. The summoner looks excitedly at me, neither subtle nor inconspicuous in the slightest, to see if I plan to take the donkeys from the man. He does not seem to understand that I have a strict checklist that I adhere to each day and I would never take a life before it is time. I ignore him and continue walking, in hopes that he will settle down and the man will not think anything of my presence.
We enter the town gates and head straight to the house of the old woman whose time has come. The summoner's excitement grows with each step and he energetically quizzes me about how I plan to persuade the lady to come to hell with me. I try to satiate him with half-hearted answers so that he will shut his mouth, but he is seemingly unaware of the dryness in my voice. My annoyance at him grows by the minute and I look forward to getting the old woman and her money so I can be on my way.
I decide to let the summoner help me so that he will bother me no more. I tell him to knock on the woman's gate and tell her to come outside. He does so but she resists and stays inside, so I tell him to threaten her with a bill requiring her presence at the archdeacon's court tomorrow to answer to charges against her. She resists again on the account of her sickness, which I am highly skeptical of, and requests for someone to appear in her place, even though she does not know what the charges against her are for. The summoner, who is clearly enjoying this exchange far too much, turns to me in eager anticipation of my approval. I roll my eyes and nod my head yes, allowing him to accept this proposal. He offers to appear in court for her for the price of twelve pence and she agrees, saying she will be right out to give the money to him in person. The summoner and I wait in silence until she steps outside with a small purse of coins. I whisper that I'll show him how it's done and step forward to accept the money from the woman. The second my hand touches hers, she instantly vanishes and is transported to hell where I will shortly join her.
The summoner stands in such awe of the task I just performed that he can't help but have the largest grin on his face. So I figure that I owe him at least a firm handshake, to which he is delighted. I then wave and with coin purse in hand, I step over to the same spot in which the old woman disappeared and do the same myself. Thankfully, I never saw the summoner again after this moment but I hope that he went about the rest of his day and life normally and does not still search for me from time to time.
Bibliography: Chaucer's
Canterbury Tales in a modern adaptation called Chaucer's Story Book by Eva March Tappan (1908).
Author's Note: In the original source story, the summoner encounters a man who he thinks is a yeoman but discovers he is the Fiend that roams the earth and takes people and things to hell when it is their time. He is curious about this and so he follows the Fiend as he goes to the town village to take twelve pence from an old widow and the Fiend even lets him be a part of it by talking to the old lady and convincing her to give up her money. I wanted to rewrite this story from the point of view of the Fiend himself, who I gave the harmless name of Steve, and share the perspective I imagined him having while I read the original story, which was that the summoner was very annoying to the Fiend and that he was frustrated with having him tag along and try to learn from him. I chose not to include any direct dialogue so that it could convey how disinterested the Fiend was in the scenarios before him since it is merely an everyday task he is completing. I felt sort of mean making him ignore the summoner but it was necessary for the mood I was trying to create. I hope it was an enjoyable read!
