A Visit To The Witch.. Again

Dim, yellow light filtered through a lampshade of what may have been human skin from the looks of it, but a sense of warmth settled over Melvin as he entered through the door to the witch's shop. Of course, anything would have felt warm compared to the cutting cold of the chilling rain.

Morgan the witch, whose love juice had set Melvin's chain of events barreling into motion, seemed to be waiting for him and smiled at him from her position in a gothic-looking, cushioned chair, the kind of chair you imagined Poe sitting in as he conceived his darkest works. Its frame was polished wood, and the horned skull of some unnamable, huge animal sat on the top of it, its teeth set in an eternal grin above Morgan's head.

The white end of a lollipop stick jutted from one corner of the witch's mouth, and she pulled it out with a wet smack of her lips.

"Cherry. My favorite. Tastes like virginity," she said and paused for Melvin's response.

Melvin heaved a weary sigh as he steeled himself to face her.

"I've made my decision," he said.

"Did you now? Is it sweet Courtney, after all?" Morgan replied, sticking the lollipop back into her mouth and rolling it across her tongue. Her long hair flowed over her shoulders, and her dark eyes twinkled in the murky light. Melvin's gut began to feel tingly. He knew better than to think it was the effect of some spell that the witch was casting; his feelings were all his own.

"Before I tell you, I need to know. Did I ever really have a choice?" Melvin said, peeling his wet coat off. A skeletal hand protruded from the wall from a shiny wooden frame, and Melvin hung the coat on one of its bony fingers.

"Of course, you did. I just happened to know the outcome of your decision before you made it. One of the small perks of being a witch, you know," Morgan replied, pulling the lollipop out of her mouth again and licking it gently and gliding across her full, red lips.

She flicked it with her tongue, sending an unexpected shiver down Melvin's back; then she winked at him and (CRUNCH!) chomped the remainder of the lollipop into bits between her shiny, sharp teeth. Melvin started at the sound of the destroyed candy breaking in her mouth.