Witch's Brew

"Ruby's a witch," Jonas declared.
The other kids nodded as Luke stood and stared.

"There's no such thing," Luke replied,
Though he wasn't so sure deep inside.

"She only wears black," Elizabeth said,
"She has tons of bright red curls on her head!"

"Lucy has red hair," Luke pointed out.
"Not like hers!" came Lucy's indignant shout.

"She has a black cat, and a wart on her nose,"
Michael explained as Luke's nervousness rose.

"She even likes bugs," Jonas went on,
"Too bad her mom is watching you while your parents are gone."

"Is her mom a witch too?" asked Luke in dismay.
Lucy said: "She keeps Ruby home brewing potions all day,

She's definitely different, that's plain to be seen,
When do you go?" Luke groaned: "Halloween..."

***
 

Luke walked to the house with his mom close behind,
The words of the other children raced through mind.

"Oh Mom, can't you please pleeeaase take me with you?"
"Don't worry Luke, we'll only be gone for a few -"

"Minutes!?" he asked desperately.
"- hours," she finished, " it'll be fine, you'll see."

Ruby's mother greeted Luke as she opened the door,
Then she introduced him to Ruby, reading a book on the floor.

She was dressed all in black from her head to her toes.
She had fiery curls and a brown bump on her nose.

Tall for her age, she was lanky and thin.
And across her face spread a devious grin.

"I've been really looking forward to finally meeting you,
Come with me, I've prepared something really fun to do!"

She ran to the kitchen, Luke dragged his feet,
"Come on!" Ruby winked, "It will be a real treat!"

She started to pour things in a big pot,
"She's mixing a potion in a cauldron," Luke thought.

The first thing looked like water, the second like glue,
Then she added some crystals and stirred the whole brew.

Then she made Luke add something the colour of blood,
And had him stir together the sticky red mud.

She hooked a stick to the side - a wand Luke guessed
- and said, " Now it has to cook, we'll let my mom do the rest."

Ruby grabbed Luke's hand, he didn't know what to do,
She pulled him outside where some some apple trees grew.

They had fun picking apples, some red and some green,
And Luke began to wonder whether all witches were mean.

Ruby laughed as she threw some leaves his way,
And he began to think that maybe this witch was okay.

He asked, "We've picked a lot of apples, what are they for?"
"You'll see," winked Ruby, as she ran to the door.

Ruby's mom put a stick in each apple and then dipped
into the brew, and pulled them out as they dripped.

"Candy apples!" Luke exclaimed,
"I thought it was a spell..." He shamefully explained.

"A spell?" Ruby asked, looking confused.
"You thought I was a witch!" She realized, amused.

Luke nodded and said, "I've had so much fun today,
Even if you are a witch, I hope you'll be my friend anyway!"

Her smile grew large and her eyebrows rose,
"Of course," said the girl with the mole on her nose.

They both had an apple, sticky and sweet,
And Luke invited Ruby out to trick-or-treat.

She ran upstairs to get ready and dressed,
When she came back Luke shouted "I should have guessed!"

A pointed black hat rested on top of her head,
"What do you think?" "It's perfect," Luke said.