I first met the Imp on Boxing Day, after my twentieth birthday.
My mom had wanted me go to college, but I was sick of school. Instead, I moved to New York, largely because I know she hates the place. I quickly got work flipping burgers in a dank diner and, after a lot of brown-nosing, got digs in a pokey excuse for an apartment just off Times Square.
I'd been there for just over a year when it happened. The novelty had worn off by then and I was starting to get a little depressed. And it really didn't help that I was spending Christmas alone.
I knew Rodriguez who ran the Diner and I'd spoken to some of the other staff there, but even after a year I'd been so preoccupied with earning my keep I hadn't made any real friends. I told myself that Christmas was over-rated and commercialized and that, as an atheist, there was no need to make so much fuss over it. But that meant little when the apartment ran out of hot water, the heating clunked off and I was forced to crawl into bed at 9.30. And by the end of that night, I would be re-considering my status as atheist.
I heard a thud. Then a creak. Sufficiently stirred, I glanced at the clock. 3AM.
Another thud. Then a soft footstep. I sat up and felt my heart jump into my skull.
Against the neon glow that streamed in through the single window was the silhouette of a person, gently shutting it behind him.
Instinctively, I threw light on.
"What do you w-!?"
My words were cut short when I caught sight of him. The boy -no, he was a young man, but somehow boy seemed more accurate- was stark naked. And he was beautiful. Now, I'm not gay, but it shone through instantly that his body was perfect. He was no body-builder, but he was defined. Bizarrely, there wasn't a hair on his body, except for on his head. And that's when I noticed it. Nestled amidst his hair, were two short stubby horns. And hanging between his legs, apart from a pretty sizable member, was a long forked tail that trailer on the floor.
"Hi"
"Wh...Wha...Who?"
"The name's Runt," He smiled, looking distractedly out the window, "You don't mind if I hide here for a bit, do you?"
"Runt?"
"That's right"
"Hiding from what?"
"You wouldn't know 'em"
I scowled. This was a thoroughly bizarre situation and I felt the least he could do was give me a few answers. So I got out of my bed and, fists clenched, confronted him directly.
"Wh-"
"Nice boxers"
Noticing that I was wearing nothing but a pair of white boxers that were at least one size too small, I blushed. But then, I reasoned, this was a bit rich coming from a nude.
"Nice cock" I retorted.
"Thank you very much" he replied gleefully, closing the curtains.
"No! I didn't mean it like that! I mean-! You're not wearing any-! I-" I paused, "I don't swing that way!"
"Clearly," he nodded towards my crotch.
To my horror, the tightness of my boxers made my hard-on very noticeable.
"Jesus!"
"Chillax, mate. I have that effect on everyone. And I mean everyone"
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, trying to find any possible reasoning for this to be happening.
"What are you?
"You never seen a demon before?"
"You're a demon!?"
"Keep it quiet! They're still looking for me" shushed the creature, "and technically I’m an Imp. Don't the tail give it away?"
"But-! But-! But-! Demons don't exist! Are honestly telling me you've come from hell?"
"Well… what you guys call ‘hell’ anyway. Honestly you’re people have given it such a bad rep. But still, it ain't got nothin' on Manhattan"
"Bu-! No-! This can't-! Whu-"
"Oh, stop all that squealing"
I shut up instantly when I found Runt's thumb and forefinger firmly grasped inside my nostrils. My silence was instantly replaced with screaming when he began to pull, weird red sparks flying out my nose.
To my surprise, it didn't hurt. Instead, while my head stayed still, my nose moved with his hand, outward. As this happened, my scream turned into a shrill and guttural squeal. Once he'd pulled it out enough, he turned it upwards and let go. That's when I recognised the noise I was making. I was oinking.
"What did you do!?"
I sprinted to the bathroom and squinted into the tiny face mirror on the shelf. My face was normal, except for my nose, which, as I suspected, was now a pink and hairy pig's snout. Again, I oinked in horror.
"Oh, stop being so melodramatic," Runt, who was now standing in the bathroom door, sighed with boredom.
"Change it back, now!" I oinked at him.
"If it'll shut you up"
He put his palm on my snout and pushed it back into my face. Eagerly, I referred back to mirror, relieved to find my own nose had returned. I fingered it vigorously to make sure nothing had been damaged.
Once the shock had worn off, I left the bathroom. Runt had found my fridge and was eating out of a jar of pickles.
"So, you're a demon"
"Imp"
"And you have magical powers"
"What gave it away"
"And one is, you can turn humans into animals"
"I can transform anything into anything, so long as I can touch them"
"What else can you do?"
"Oh, loads"
"Such as?"
"All sorts"
I had no doubt that his vagueness meant that he actually couldn't do anything else. Already, I knew he was a liar, or at least not telling the whole truth. I decided to raise the most important issue.
"How long are you going to stay here?"
"I dunno, haven’t thought about it yet. You got any lima beans?"
I gritted my teeth in annoyance.
"How long?"
"Listen, I can't go until I'm ready, but trust me, I’m fun to be around. You never wanted to change something about yourself? I can make taller, sexier, bigger in the trouser department. You can use me. Experiment, even. Try out other bodies. Ever wanted to see what it was like to be an animal for a day? Fly like a bird? Run like a cheetah? Or maybe you want to spend a day as a woman, just so you know what it's like. I can help you. I won't judge"
I stared at him, paused in thought.
“Or… I could go and find someone else… and leave you with” he looked around the pokey depressing apartment, “…whatever this is you got going for yourself”
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