“Well then, take your pick!” Mephistopheles waved his hand, and the young man found himself surrounded by beautiful women.
Each one was openly winking at Alvarez and playfully lifting the hem of her dress.
They smelled of spices, hookah, and cheap wine, the kind served to sailors in every port.
The young man reached out to the beauty with butterfly wings, and she readily pressed her small, firm breast against Alvarez’s palm.
It was the first time he had touched a woman’s breast so openly, and a lump rose in his throat.
The lady grabbed Alvarez’s other hand and placed it on her other breast.
The butterfly lady giggled and pressed her whole body against the young man.
“If you want, we can go to my place right now and make love,” the lady said, “and we can even bring my friends along. They’re capable of a lot to satisfy a man’s desires.”
The lady gestured toward her friends, and they chirped merrily, nodding their heads in agreement with the butterfly lady’s words.
Alvarez instinctively nodded his head as well, agreeing to the ladies’ proposals.
But suddenly something made him feel uneasy.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the ladies standing a little way off were looking at him with contempt and whispering something to each other.
And then the young man realized he was completely naked and understood that the girls were simply laughing at him.
“Don’t pay any attention!” Alvarez heard Mephistopheles’ voice, “they laugh at everyone. But in bed, they have no equal! Go with them to the tavern. There are vacant rooms on the second floor.”
Alvarez covered his nakedness with his hands and looked back.
A white cloud flashed before his eyes and transformed into a girl in a white gown, whose face seemed painfully familiar to him.
It was that simple girl from his village.
Alvarez didn’t even remember her name. But every time he passed her house, he saw how diligently she ran the household and cared for her younger brothers.
The young man involuntarily took a step toward her
The girl also saw Alvarez, and her cheeks flushed.
She shyly averted her gaze from the naked young man and turned her back to him.
“What, have you decided to trade these priestesses of love for a plain, unremarkable girl?” Mephistopheles shouted indignantly.
“No,” Alvarez replied, “I’ve decided to change my destiny.”
The young man gently took the girl in white by the arm, and they walked toward their happiness.
Mephistopheles embraced the priestesses of love and shook his head in despair.
“Well then, ladies,” he said, “it’s not every day that men choose with their heads instead of their lust. Today just isn’t our day…”