THE CAULDRON

By day it stood there, giant and intimidating, unmoving and unuttering, bold and ugly, really ugly.

No one knew its origin or its owner; no one understood its purpose or its intention.

No one cared. Harmless it seemed, quiet it was, fashionable maybe but deadly? Impossible! Or not.

*

She on the other hand was a beauty to behold, a mystery to unravel, a temptation to fall into.

No one knew her origin, no one cared. She was the desire of every man who saw her, an envy of other maidens.

She had an air of fragility about her, like she would break if handled wrongly. If only they knew.

*

One by one they were caught by the web of her seduction. One by one, they went in to her and one by one they grew with madness from their addiction to her; her fragrance, her smile, her look, her touch. She fuelled their fascination with the many delicacies of her being.

One by one they fell, intoxicated they staggered, foolish they trudged on, nocent they succumbed.

*