An Interesting Beginning
He stood there in shock, staring at the lamp and wand floating before him. He pinched his face. Pain. So it wasn’t a dream. Was he really getting a wand and a genie for one full day? He couldn’t believe his luck.
So then, what should he ask from his genie? He had asked himself the same question so many times before. Ever since his mother read to him the story of Aladdin, the question always floated around in his mind. But he’d never expected for something like this to actually happen to him.
Based on what the stone said, there were relatively few limitations on the wishes that could be satisfied. As far as he could tell, they didn’t vary from the ones mentioned in the story.
- No reviving the dead.
- No emotion manipulation.
- No killing others.
- Each person could only be granted a total of three wishes.
Easy enough. He hadn’t had any interest in the other peoples’ lives anyway. Whether they were alive or dead was none of his business nor concern. He wasn’t attached to many people, nor were many to him. And how others percieved his person or character made no difference to him.
Still, looking at the limitations, he couldn’t help but shake his head. With the way they were phrased, there are too many loopholes that existed. Too little restrictions to actually prevent the wishing person from wishing for things that granted a similar effect. Anyone desperate enough could simply wish that the limitations didn’t exist. Furthermore, anyone actually interested in reviving someone, killing someone, or changing how someone felt about them could simply wish for the power to change past events.
But there was one limitation that he was interested in avoiding. The restriction of three wishes. An opportunity like this was hard enough to come by. He was going to make sure he got everything he wanted. Aladdin’s mind was too superficial and his wishes were far too basic. A mistake that he wasn’t going to repeat.
Genies are old creatures. He could only assume that they were both old and wise. He would need to be very specific with his word choice. He needed to be sure that he didn’t regret his choices. His gaze fell to the wand. A smile formed on his lips. But perhaps “three” wishes would be enough after all.
He sucked in a breath. Picking up the lamp and rubbing it the way that he remembered from the story, he prayed that fiction hadn’t changed too much of the truth. A circular motion along the smooth surface, and immediately, vapors began spewing out of the spout. He stared at the massive being that formed before him. He could say for sure that the genie didn’t look anything like how he expected it to appear. Aside from the lack of legs, nothing matched the storybook description at all.
The being released from the lamp took the shape of a grey mist. Dim and hardly noticeable beams of light, shining out of the cloud-like creature, made up its face. Though he expected a human-like appearance and behavior, it simply floated before with no observable figure to note whatsoever. If it hadn’t been for its tail, tying it to the lamp, he would’ve easily dismissed the apparition as natural fog.
“So you’ve summoned me, mortal.” It boomed in a powerful voice that almost knocked him backward with the amount of force it carried. “What three wishes do you demand of me?”
“For my first wish, I wish for you to accompany me for the remainder of my lifetime as an adviser, after granting my three wishes, to guide me with whatever knowledge you’ve acquired over the years of your existence.” He said in one breath without pause, careful with his word choice.
“Interesting.” The genie chuckled. “Very well, your wish has been granted. I will be your servant for whatever years you may have to live.”
“Thank you.” He answered. “I hope that we will have the fortune of becoming friends in that time frame.”
He smiled. So it was as he had expected. With careful placements of the term, ‘and’, and specifically verbally denoted differences between wishes, he could easily surpass three wishes if he wanted to.
“Have you prepared your other two wishes?” The genie asked.
“For my second wish, I wish for your complete honesty in your guidance, free of malicious intent and purposeful withholding of information, in your term as my adviser.” He said, widening his smile as he realized that the limitation of three was just the number he needed to grant all that he wanted. A day to ask for the wishes was more than sufficient
“Very well, granted.” The genie said with another chuckle. “You’re an amusing one indeed. You seem prepared. I assume that you have a third wish in mind as well?”
“For my third wish, I wish to gain permanent access to and ownership of this wand and all its capabilities.” He answered, holding out the wand that came with the lamp, before the genie.
“Ambitious.” The genie replied with thundering laughter. “I’ll admit, I should’ve seen that one coming with the first two wishes you’ve made. Your three wishes have been granted. Now, as your advisor, what did you want to know?”
“Everything there is to know.” He answered with a grin. Things were beginning to look interesting. “For starters, you can teach me how to use this wand.”
This story was inspired by the writing prompt from the “Promptly Written” Publication.
Write a poem, essay, or piece of fiction based on the following prompt You have been given a magic wand and a genie in a lamp for one day. What will you do?
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