Melissa Lawrence is a born athlete, dedicated to her body and not in the ways fellow college guys would prefer. She's achieved more success through athletic pursuits like marathon running and endurance events than most will in a lifetime, but recent setbacks have pushed her frustration to new extremes.
A freak accident resulted in a torn calf muscle, something she would recover from but struggle with, especially given how hard Melissa always pushed herself. Going well beyond the training recommended by her doctors, Melissa spent three solid months preparing, training, doing the best she could to heal faster and stronger.
An athletic coed like Melissa had a body firm and fit, even sweaty from a race able to toss her hair and make models jealous, but for Melissa Lawrence that wasn't good enough. She wanted to make the headlines again in sports. She wanted to be the comeback kid, to be known all over for her ability to make a real comeback.
After training one day with fellow college student, Danny, Melissa has an idea, and an admittedly off the wall idea. Having been training on the trails of the forest that cover much of the old college town, she spots a place rumored and storied among the locals, an old stone house in the forest.
The man who lives in that home is supposedly some feared old wizard, people saying he performs all sorts of dark magic and makes potions from his wooded cabin home.
Melissa's idea is a simple one, go and actually meet this old man, ask for a potion, one to make her the comeback she has dreamed of being, the biggest comeback in the world, the comeback kid. Of course as her friend, Danny, points out, the odds are it's just a creepy old crazy guy and the potions are nothing.
As Melissa puts it, even the thought that it might work could be just enough to push her that extra mile, over the hill she has been struggling to recover and train towards. Mind over matter is better than not trying, so reluctantly dragging Danny along, Melissa Lawrence treks the hike up the wooded hillside towards the old stone house.
As it turns out, the rumors of a strange old man who makes potions are true, and he does seem to at least think his potions are capable of real magic. Unfortunately for Melissa and quite possibly more fortunate than ever for Danny, this man is pretty hard of hearing and misunderstands what Melissa desires to become, a simple one word mistake changing her into exactly what she probably never wanted to be, but just what Danny and pretty much every guy on campus wanted.
Melissa Lawrence was always a top athlete, her body in perfect shape, and now it seems that body might just be getting the workout of a lifetime, all because she wanted to really make a comeback.
Readers Choice Month provides a real workout of reading. Enjoy a break, and then make a comeback of it with this potion of a tale.