Saturday Matinee - The Problem With Witches

"Why did you bring us into this god-awful swamp Tony....we're never going to find our way out of here!!!!"
"First.Jack.....let me remind you that if it wasn't for me you'd still be sittin' in your cell watin' to see if the Governor was gonna call off your execution!!!!!"
"Yeah....I know....but you said you had a plan....a safe place to go...."
"I told you that I know where I'm going.....and the best thing about the swamp is there's no way the cops will ever find us in here.....hell I'll bet they figure we're already dead!!!"
"Much more of this and they might be right....aren't there snakes and gators in here?"
"Sure there are but there's some places they're afraid to go.....and we're almost there so just shut up!!!!"
"They're afraid!!!! And we're going there!!! What the hell are they afraid of?"
"Shut up!!!!!"
They moved in silence for what felt like hours and Jack had to admit that Tony seemed to know where he was going....then he thought he heard someone singing....it felt like the voice was calling to him......and soon he saw the glow of a lantern....and much to his amazement, a small island and a ramshackle cottage!!!!
Tony picked him up so effortlessly and put him on the island.....he was so strong.....that was what had attracted him in the first place....and when Tony took him as his own all the other inmates had stayed clear and he'd had no trouble getting whatever he needed either from the cons or the guards!!!
Tony climbed up behind him and pushed him forward.....the sweet song from within stopped and the door of the cottage swung open.....a stunningly beautiful woman stood there beckoning them inside....
She was like an ebony goddess.....her dark skin glistening with a film of sweat.....and when she smiled her bright white teeth almost glowed in the dull lamplight!!!!
So....I see you've returned Mr. Tony.....what brings you....and your little friend to me!"
"I've come to collect the debt you owe me Delphine....."
"And what debt is that?"
I took the rap for your grandson Delphine.....they'd have hung him for sure if I hadn't confessed to the murder he did.....I gave him his life back.....so now you owe me....and I want payment now!!!!"
"I'm just a poor woman living alone here in these awful swamps....I have nothing to give you.....nothing of any value at least....."
"I'm not playing games Delphine.....you already know your hexes and magics don't work on me.....but I want you to work some magic on my little friend here.....he's mine....but I'm going to need him changed a little so I can keep him without people talking crap about me....."
"Wait....Tony what are you talking about.....what do you mean change me?"
"Shut up Jack!!!"
No I won't shut up I want to know what's...."
It wasn't even a hard punch but it was enough to knock him out.
Delphine regarded the two of them then quietly said...
"If I agree to this we call our account closed.....my family's debt is paid in full?"
"Yes Ma'am!"
"Alright then tell me what you have in mind for your little friend...."
Tony spent some time explaining in great detail all the changes he wanted to make....as Delphine nodded and mixed little bits of this and that to a large pot slowly simmering over a small flame....
When he was done.....he sat back and looked at the dark witch ....
"Can you do this for me Delphine?"
"Of course I can.....are you sure you've told me everything you want before I mix it?"
Tony actually felt his face blushing.....
"You have to tell me.....once I've done the dark magic I won't be able to change it....don't be shy man.....tell me?"
"I want him to love me....only me.....I want him to never say no to me.....I want him to crave me....and I want him to be a good, faithful wife to me!!!!"
Delphine smiled and tossed in a few more things from her mysterious jars.....and slowly she recited an incantation over the pot when there was suddenly a loud popping sound and a puff of smoke......
She dipped a large ladle into the mixture and slowly drizzled it over the unconscious man...a sort of sparkling mist seemed to envelop him for a few minutes and when it dissolved there was the woman that Tony had described.....
"It is done!"
Slowly Jack woke and he knew right away things had changed.....and he began to scream as the horror of it all became clear to him.....
Delphine smiled at Tony....
"You never said that I should change his mind.....the rest is up to you now....our business is completed!!!!"
"Goddamn it Delphine....."
But she was gone.....in a blink he was standing alone in the middle of this godforsaken swamp with the woman of his dreams......the cottage and everything else was gone....as if they'd never been there!!!!
The screaming woman was holding on to him tightly but he couldn't soothe her.....and it wasn't a hard punch but it made the screaming stop if only for now.....
Two days later he emerged from the swamp and he was very surprised to find the sheriff and his deputies waiting there for him.....the sheriff told him he'd dreamt that he would be here....
Goddamned Delphine and her dark magic.....
He was taken into custody and the woman was taken to a hospital.....
They never did find his cellmate and Tony refused to tell them what had happened to him....
Tony was returned to Death Row.....and the woman was released from the hospital.....the doctors all said the trauma she'd experienced had caused her amnesia....but they hoped that in time she would recover....she was taken in by an old woman who claimed to have known her before all of this had happened.....she told her that her name was Jacqui...
And Jacqui visited Tony every weekend and pledged her love to him....only him....
The Warden agreed to the marriage the night before the execution but it was in name only...
After....Jacqui ran home....into the arms of the woman who had done so much for her.....crying and sobbing she held her so close....
"Quiet Jacqui.....come to bed and tell Auntie Delphine all about it...."