Chapter 2

In Frank's lab, Bibi saw many retorts, flasks, samples of plants and books about biology strewn all around. On a desk, a small bottle containing a bright green liquid stood. Frank told her this was the isolated agent of the witches' moss. He began painting her the possibilities and advantages the liquid could provide for humankind.
"Imagine what we could do if it works on humans. No more stunted growth. No more midgets. Perhaps we can even use it to grow back severed limbs or missing eyes! And if it does not work on us, it still could be of use. Crops growing many times larger than usual, ending food shortages. Wouldn't that be amazing?" he told her with enthusiasm.

"You'll certainly get the Nobel Prize for Biology for it." Bibi replied, more out of politeness than genuine interest.

"There is no Nobel Prize for Biology. Don't ask me why, but there isn't. But maybe for Medicine. Yes, that could be. Or Chemistry."

"What would happen if I drink it? Would I grow?" Bibi asked, to keep the conversation going.

"No, I doubt that. Your stomach acids would dissolve the agent. It is very delicate, see. The witches' moss injects it in the stem of its host plant. One might have to inject the agent right into ones bloodstream."

"OK...", Bibi said, looking at the little bottle. Suddenly, with a pitch in her stomach, she realized there was a possibility for her. Her wish to be taller might be fulfilled. Bibi didn't want to grow really tall, 5'7 or 5'8 was certainly enough. What if she took some of the stuff this witches' moss produced, and injected it in her own body? She asked Frank about it.

"No, I wouldn't do that. I do not know how it works on a human being yet. Although I want to experiment on humans with it one day, it's too early now. Ethics, you know. I can't simply let you try it," he said in a tone that suggested he wouldn't argue about it.

"But, if you are interested, we keep in touch. I can always invite you to participate in an experiment. But not now. Just put on shoes with high heels until then," he concluded seeing Bibi's disappointed look.

But Bibi didn't want to wear high-heeled shoes. She wanted to become taller. She saw the small bottle with the greenish liquid, shining brightly at her. It was as if it begged to be taken by her, injected by her, used by her. Bibi got excited, her slight boredom, as well as her lingering hangover, vanishing on the spot. She couldn't think of nothing else but the green liquid. She needed it!

But Frank wouldn't let her have it. Bibi had to come up with a plan to get the stuff. It came quickly.

"Say, you are very nice, helping me and stuff. How about me inviting you for a drink?", she cooed.

Frank looked at her. "Well, I...", he said, taken aback by her sudden invitation.

"Aww, come on! It's just for one night. I know a nice bar here in Morondava," Bibi said, smiling. She knew she wasn't a looker. Not only small, but also a plain face, a common figure with A cup breasts and thin legs as well. But then again, Frank was like most men. Being in his thirties, alone on an island far away, invited by a girl a couple of years younger, was something he could not resist.

"All right, I'd love to," he said after having stared at her a couple of seconds. She wasn't a beauty, he thought, but young and nice enough "for one night".

"This evening? Give me your telephone number, I'll call," Bibi said, barely able to hide her excitement.

"OK...I've done a lot of work lately...I could use a day off..." Frank replied.

Smiling to herself, Bibi was on her way in a taxi to her hotel in Morondava ten minutes later. Soon, the growth agent would be hers.

Later that day, Bibi and Frank were sitting in the bar. Bibi told Frank about her life in Pittsburgh, the city she came from. Her parents, both wealthy businesspeople, had died in a plane crash two years ago. They had been to Madagascar once too, and always told her about it. So she went on holiday here. Bibi didn't tell Frank that she had always been fond of drinks, but the last two years, things were getting out of hand. Ever since that fatal plane crash, her drinking habits worsened, because there was no one at home anymore to tell her off the morning after she arrived inebriated. There had been days she had ended up in the gutter, usually being picked up by a police patrol or an ambulance a pedestrian called. It was a miracle she hadn't been raped or robbed yet. That was something her late parents were worried about, and Bibi usually didn't drink too much so she still managed to get home.

"I have a large house the outskirts of Pittsburgh, which I inherited from my parents. Yes, I live alone there," she said. And no, she didn't have a job. Her parents left her quite a lot of money as well.

Bibi, although women could handle less alcohol than men, was used to drinking and therefore, more spirits were needed to make her drunk. Frank, however, was not. After having bought him a few cocktails she recommended (Bibi knew the ones that were highly intoxicating) Frank was inebriated. His eyes were watery, his speech hardly understandable, and his face red. Bibi smiled. It was time for the second stage of her plan. It included something she had never done before. Leaving a bar sober.

Using a taxi, they drove towards Frank's house. In Frank's home, Bibi bedded him. He was still muttering something about a "good girl" and "doing some biological research on her", but Bibi merely smiled. Within two minutes, the scientist was in a deep sleep.

When Frank awoke, his head hurt severely. He got up, remembering little about the night before. It had been years since he had been drinking that much. After having taken an aspirin himself now with two glasses of water, he wanted to check his lab. However, he couldn't find the key in his pockets, or anywhere else.

"Did I lose it yesterday?", he asked himself. Searching the house, he passed the door leading to the lab. What he saw made his hurting head hurt even more.
The key stuck in the keyhole of his lab door. Which was ajar. Running inside, he scanned the equipment. The bottle with the growth agent was gone. He put two and two together.

"That bitch...,” he said. "I'm such an idiot! She tricked me, that little bitch!"

And his last hope of getting the bottle back was gone after he had asked at Bibi's hotel about her. The clerk said she left this morning, rather sudden. While Frank was cursing, Bibi sat smiling in the plane back to Pittsburgh. The bottle with the witches' moss growing agent tucked away safely in her suitcase.