Word: Consent

consent

[ kuh n-sent ]

verb (used without object)

to permit, approve, or agree; comply or yield (often followed by to or an infinitive): He consented to the proposal. We asked her permission, and she consented.

Archaic . to agree in sentiment, opinion, etc.; be in harmony.

noun

permission, approval, or agreement; compliance; acquiescence: He gave his consent to the marriage.

agreement in sentiment, opinion, a course of action, etc.: By common consent he was appointed official delegate.

Archaic . accord; concord; harmony.

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              Chris rapped the pen against the table quickly as he looked at the paper.  He would have preferred to be actually reading it, but the words were tiny.  So small that he would need a magnifying glass to have any chance of seeing what was written, and even then it would be difficult.  The only part that was easy to read was the last line, with the words “sign here” printed in neat letters next to a large blank space.

               “Look, it’s not hard.” The woman sitting across from him said.  “Just sign your name and you’ll get everything you’ve ever wanted.”

               Chris looked at the woman.  She made a tempting offer.  After all, when faced with a woman more beautiful than any super model, there were a lot of things he wanted.  But his rational mind was suspicious.

               “So, I sign here, and you’ll do anything I want?”

               “That’s right.  That little sheet of paper is my letter of consent to give you anything and everything.  I will happily do whatever you ask, and give you whatever your heart desires.”  She leaned forward and looked him in the eye.  It allowed him to see quite a bit of a certain area of her body, helped by the low cut of her blouse.  It made it very hard to concentrate.  “And I do mean anything.”

               He looked again at the paper, and then at the woman.  It was too good to be true.  And that was a dangerous thing.

               “Anything, huh?  What about something that doesn’t exist?”

               “It will once you ask for it.”

               Chris could do a lot without the limits of reality.  There were a lot of fun toys that existed only in his mind.  And if she could bring them to reality, then there really were no limits on what he could do.  He could change the world.  He could solve so many problems.  Go down in history as the man who ushered forth a new golden age. 

               “Look, it’s easy.” She said.  “Just sign and anything is possible, no matter how trivial or how grand.  You want a good slice of pizza?  Done.  You want to be the king of the world?  I can make that happen.  And I’ll do it all with a smile on my face and not a bit of argument.”

               There had to be something else.  Something more.  Something she was not telling him.  Such an offer made no sense.  She was basically agreeing to be his magical slave woman with no benefit for herself.  Nobody did that.

               “What’s the catch?” Chris asked.

               “Catch?”

               “You make a good offer, you really do.  But there’s no way this is free.  There’s a price to this, I know it.”

               The woman leaned back.  Her face never shifted.  Never betrayed what she might have been thinking.  “Well, there is a small price involved.  Oh, but it’s so small that you really won’t care.  I could go into detail, but really there’s no need to.  It’s all written down in black and white.”

               And in such small lettering that it was effectively impossible to read. 

               “You’re not going to take my soul or anything, are you?”

               The woman laughed lightly.  “Your soul?  Good lord, no.  What ever would I want with that?  I’m not a demon, you know.  A human soul is completely useless for me.  Like I said, the cost to you is tiny.  Insignificant.  Really, I’m damn near losing out with this deal.  My willing servitude for the rest of your life in exchange for something so small you probably won’t even know it’s missing.  I mean, what do you have to lose?”

               Chris looked into her eyes.  Eyes that seemed to cast a spell on him with their brilliance.  He sighed and lifted his pen to the paper.

               “Okay, sure.  Might as well give it a shot and see what happens.”

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Remember kids, if something seems to be too good to be true, it usually is.  Especially when it involves contracts with people with supernatural powers.  Those never go well for anyone but the person offering the deal.