Monkey Business

Based on W.W. Jacobs' short story The Monkey's Paw

« If I can do it, so can you! Read the incredible story of this 25-year-old who managed to pay back all of his student debts!" read the article headline. John scrolled past it. He knew the young man had paid it back with the silver spoon he was born with. Not much interest in reading another one of those stories.

The loud ding of the old elevator indicated that he had reached his firm's floor. He saluted Mark the receptionist before heading towards the kitchen to prepare himself a coffee. A notification popped on his phone, he had three client meetings today and an arbitration. A busy day. He went to sit down in his office, booted up the computer and sipped his coffee slowly while reading the emails he had received during the brief period when he left work yesterday and arrived today.

Once done, he started to prepare for his scheduled meetings when his phone rang. Mark the receptionist informed him that a young man had entered and wished to meet with him. Mark confirmed that he had no appointments. Intrigued, John instructed Mark to let the young man in.

After politely knocking on his door, the young man introduced himself as Paul Hemsborough Jr. Blond with blue eyes and a pale skin, he could be mistaken for a cherub, but his sly smile might make one think he worked for the other side. He wore a finely cut three pieced green suit with P.H. embroidered on his breast pocket. John invited him to sit down which he obliged.

"Mr. Hemsborough you asked for me personally, may I know the nature of your inquiry?" asked John after a small silence.

"Mr. Morrison, I asked for you personally because your reputation precedes you." Answered Paul with confidence in his vague statement.

"Then why did you not simply book an appointment?" questioned John raising an eyebrow.

"A matter of time, Mr. Morrison, and like my father always said, "Time is money"." Answered Paul. "It just so happens that a particular item just arrived in my possession, and I need you to help me with it."

As he finished his sentence, he reached into his bag to put said item on John's desk. A dried-up mummified little monkey's paw sat atop the desk.

"In what way could an attorney help you with this item, Mr. Hemsborough?" inquired John, his curiosity piqued.

"Mr. Morrison, this is, as you can very well see, a monkey's paw. Except that it is not a regular oddity one would find in a cabinet of curiosities or in a street market, this paw, sir, is enchanted." Explained Paul as his opportunistic smile grew.

"Enchanted?" repeated John.

"Enchanted! Some say by a fatalist fakir, others by a mad Satanist cleric and others by an Arabian Djinn, the sources differ but its effect is very clear. It has been made to grant three wishes to three men. However, each wish will be realized in the worst way possible, always at the detriment of the wisher while never physically hurting them." Said Paul with a morbid excitement.

"And how did you come about such talisman?" inquired John, willing to let the young man have the benefit of the doubt.

"In an unfortunately tragic way. It was my father's before mine and his life story taught me the powers and consequences of this cursed object." Announced Paul." My father received this monkey's paw in his youth from an old couple that lived down the road. Tragedy had struck them a week before, when their only son died in a factory accident. Too old and too sad, they could not get rid of the paw themselves, so they instructed my father to throw the paw in the river. As you can imagine, he did not. Instead, he went on to learn what it was and how it was used. He eavesdropped on the old couple to discover that they had used the paw to wish for money, which came in the way of a settlement by the company that employed their son when he died. My father was quick to understand that the wishes granted by the monkey's paw where not free but also that if he was specific, he could minimize the price. At the age of twenty, he made his first wish: "I wish to acquire now a million pounds whose origin is not linked in any way with the misery of myself or others". A few seconds later, he learned that he had won 1 million pounds on the national lottery. However, his fortune was short lived. A swindler had learned the news and convinced my father to invest in a fake company, losing his wealth after a few months. Penniless, he swore vengeance on the swindler before realizing that it was but a consequence of the paw.