Try 'The tale of Guzman's family' in Ch. Maturin's 'Melmoth the Wanderer'. A bit like some stories by O'Henry, and with a happy end. Oddly modern language, considering. I found it incredibly moving and clear (although I cannot see how selling one's soul to the devil is any worse for it than murdering one's entire family).

You know, it would be funny to imagine a word with knowledge being passed through some oracle by a so-called antiport, that is, you get a true, nonmalignant, relevant answer to your question about what happens at time X - but everybody forgets one and the same random thing until that moment, of unknown meta-ness:)