The flash of light is was blinding. I had just been going about my day, happy as can be, when it took me by surprise. The sudden blinding light wasn’t the strangest thing about the morning though, no, that title was reserved for the figure that stepped out of the light.
He wasn’t exactly odd looking, but there was an aura about him that had me on edge, stepping back against the garden walls when he smiled at me.
“Ah, there you are! Congratulations, you’ve been selected by the universe to be granted three wishes!”
“I’m sorry, what?”
His smile dropped and he pinched his nose as I stared at him, dumbfounded. The man looked like your average businessman, only more, somehow. Something about him shifted in the air, like a mirage in the desert.
“You have been selected by the universe to be the lucky recipient of this year’s three wishes. What do you wish for?”
“That makes no sense. What, are you supposed to be a genie or something?”
He looked like he was losing his patience with me, but before he could react negatively, a static shock jolted through the air between us, making me jump and him plaster a placid, neutral expression on his face.
“Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner.” He said drolly, crossing his arms.
“But… Aren’t genies supposed to be, I don’t know,” I waved my hands in his general direction, trying to avoid his gaze, “floating blue men in lamps or something.”
He looked to the sky like a parent begging for patience with their child.
“Do I look blue, or floating?”
“Well, no. But-“
He held up his hands, making my words grind to a halt.
“Djinn are no longer bound to the vessels since the accords, we have a union now, and the union says one grantee a year. You are my grantee for the year.”
“Wait, a union? For genies?”
“Yes.”
“Is that why you’re dressed like that?”
This time he couldn’t resist rolling his eyes as he took a seat on my garden bench.
“Yes. I do have a life outside of being your friendly neighborhood wish granter, you know.”
“Oh. Right. What do you do?”
“Besides granting wishes? Law. And I do have a meeting this afternoon, so if you could move things along, that would be grand.”
I struggled to gather my thoughts, trying to reconcile everything I thought I knew about the magical side of life with the image of the man before me. He began inspecting his nails while I stared.
After a few minutes, he sighed and stood back up.
“Look, I know it’s a lot to take in, but I really do have things to do, so if you could get on with it I’d appreciate that.”
“Right, of course. I’m sorry.”
I continued to stare dumbly at him, watching in fascination as his mouth flattened into a thin line, just like an ordinary man. It was so strange.
It took me a moment longer to shake myself out of my stupor, but when I finally did, questions began to race through my mind. What should I wish for? Will he distort my wish? Will there be karmic repercussions? Finally, I settled on the most burning question to voice aloud.
“What would you recommend?”
His brows shot up at that.
“What would I recommend?”
He pursed his lips and inspected me, looking as if he was just now truly seeing me as a person rather than a number.
I nodded slowly, waiting for his response.
“Let me tell you a story,” he said, before launching into a series of tales, each one more worrisome than the last.
He told me of the last handful of wishers he had dealt with, picking apart their wishes and where they went wrong and why, as well as tossing a few older wishes from times long past when he claimed to have had more autonomy in the granting process.
When he finally finished speaking, I swallowed nervously.
“Why did you tell me all of that?” I asked hesitantly.
“Because,” he said with a grim look, “You asked for advice. What common thread did you notice in the wishes?”
“Uh… they were vague, and selfish.”
“Exactly! And,” he slapped his knee with a grin, “they all thought they were clever. They figured they knew everything and chose not to read the contract!”
“Contract? Like a negotiation?”
“It can be, but nobody ever actually negotiates. I can’t give for free, there are always terms and conditions. The universe wouldn’t allow an unchecked wish.”
“I see… so your advice is… to read the contract, negotiate, and be specific?”
KLMorganWrites t1_j6gx21g wrote
Reply to [WP] A man finds a genie's bottle, complete with a real live genie. Instead of blindly asking for wishes, he first asks politely for the genies advice on what to wish for. by mdsmestad
The flash of light is was blinding. I had just been going about my day, happy as can be, when it took me by surprise. The sudden blinding light wasn’t the strangest thing about the morning though, no, that title was reserved for the figure that stepped out of the light.
He wasn’t exactly odd looking, but there was an aura about him that had me on edge, stepping back against the garden walls when he smiled at me.
“Ah, there you are! Congratulations, you’ve been selected by the universe to be granted three wishes!”
“I’m sorry, what?”
His smile dropped and he pinched his nose as I stared at him, dumbfounded. The man looked like your average businessman, only more, somehow. Something about him shifted in the air, like a mirage in the desert.
“You have been selected by the universe to be the lucky recipient of this year’s three wishes. What do you wish for?”
“That makes no sense. What, are you supposed to be a genie or something?”
He looked like he was losing his patience with me, but before he could react negatively, a static shock jolted through the air between us, making me jump and him plaster a placid, neutral expression on his face.
“Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner.” He said drolly, crossing his arms.
“But… Aren’t genies supposed to be, I don’t know,” I waved my hands in his general direction, trying to avoid his gaze, “floating blue men in lamps or something.”
He looked to the sky like a parent begging for patience with their child.
“Do I look blue, or floating?”
“Well, no. But-“
He held up his hands, making my words grind to a halt.
“Djinn are no longer bound to the vessels since the accords, we have a union now, and the union says one grantee a year. You are my grantee for the year.”
“Wait, a union? For genies?”
“Yes.”
“Is that why you’re dressed like that?”
This time he couldn’t resist rolling his eyes as he took a seat on my garden bench.
“Yes. I do have a life outside of being your friendly neighborhood wish granter, you know.”
“Oh. Right. What do you do?”
“Besides granting wishes? Law. And I do have a meeting this afternoon, so if you could move things along, that would be grand.”
I struggled to gather my thoughts, trying to reconcile everything I thought I knew about the magical side of life with the image of the man before me. He began inspecting his nails while I stared.
After a few minutes, he sighed and stood back up.
“Look, I know it’s a lot to take in, but I really do have things to do, so if you could get on with it I’d appreciate that.”
“Right, of course. I’m sorry.”
I continued to stare dumbly at him, watching in fascination as his mouth flattened into a thin line, just like an ordinary man. It was so strange. It took me a moment longer to shake myself out of my stupor, but when I finally did, questions began to race through my mind. What should I wish for? Will he distort my wish? Will there be karmic repercussions? Finally, I settled on the most burning question to voice aloud.
“What would you recommend?”
His brows shot up at that.
“What would I recommend?”
He pursed his lips and inspected me, looking as if he was just now truly seeing me as a person rather than a number.
I nodded slowly, waiting for his response.
“Let me tell you a story,” he said, before launching into a series of tales, each one more worrisome than the last.
He told me of the last handful of wishers he had dealt with, picking apart their wishes and where they went wrong and why, as well as tossing a few older wishes from times long past when he claimed to have had more autonomy in the granting process.
When he finally finished speaking, I swallowed nervously.
“Why did you tell me all of that?” I asked hesitantly.
“Because,” he said with a grim look, “You asked for advice. What common thread did you notice in the wishes?”
“Uh… they were vague, and selfish.”
“Exactly! And,” he slapped his knee with a grin, “they all thought they were clever. They figured they knew everything and chose not to read the contract!”
“Contract? Like a negotiation?”
“It can be, but nobody ever actually negotiates. I can’t give for free, there are always terms and conditions. The universe wouldn’t allow an unchecked wish.”
“I see… so your advice is… to read the contract, negotiate, and be specific?”
“Exactly!” He shouted with a wide grin.