Nathaniel was just your average guy in his mid-20s. Sure he could be found at the beach catching waves or at the local arcade racking up high scores or even possibly at some rave where the bright lights would make you think you were having a nightmare. Instead, he was at the goodwill store looking over junk hoping to find some rare valuable object that someone always assumes is worthless.
Suddenly his eyes snapped to a familiar object. He walked over to a bin crowded full of tarnished brass objects and lifted a lamp. It brought back lots of memories when he was growing up. He always loved the idea of genies granting wishes. Sure it was a silly fantasy but it was fun. Out of pure nostalgia, he decided to purchase the lamp for a low price of $1.99.
Once arriving home, he set the lamp on the stand and went about his day. It wasn’t until evening when he was about to retire to the living room when he finally thought about the lamp. He picked it up from the stand and plopped down on to the couch to inspect it closely. He noticed a few splotched stains of white and green and decided to scratch at it. It was very tough but it gave the lamp some character.
Nathaniel let out a laugh and decided for old times’ sake to rub the lamp. He always wanted to have a lamp but never did have one. Why not? He remembered how they did it in the movies, using the area below the wrist to wipe the lamp of any dust. He wiped the lamp and held it out. He began to imagine blue plumes of smoke –
Okay, green plumes of smoke coming out of the lamp and – Wait. This was his imagination. He always imagined it’d be blue but… Nathaniel let out a shocked cry when he realized it wasn’t a very active daydream. There was green smoke just billowing out of the end of the lamp. With a startlement, he dropped the lamp to the floor and flew over the couch to hide behind it.
He could see the green smoke flowing all around until he couldn’t see the carpet anymore. Nathaniel was growing nervous as he peered over the back of the couch. As if the smoke wasn’t enough, he saw a massive Djinn standing in front of the couch glaring down at him. Not only was he extremely tall but his skin was a shade of green. He had massive muscles that would make the biggest bodybuilder run screaming like a girl. He was bald with a trimmed goatee and long moustache. His eyes were solid black. The only thing he wore were baggy pants.
“I am Ormann, Djinn of the lamp that you have summoned me from. I shall grant you only one wish. Make your wish wisely.”
‘Only one?’ thought Nathaniel as he slowly stood. He remembered all those stories about angry genies granting wishes literally instead of the true meaning of the wish.
“Well, Do you speak?” shouted the Djinn.
“Y-“ It came out a squeak before he cleared his throat, “Yes, I do. I was just thinking of what to wish for.”
“Make your wish.”
“Well… I… wish…” Nathaniel had always remembered stories, though few they were, about how certain masters freed their genies and he felt it was the only wise thing he should do. “… that you were free from your lamp.”
Ormann’s angry face finally broke into a new look, a look of surprise as he felt the binds of the lamp release him at last. Soon, the smoke that so obscured the floor had dissipated. Nathaniel thought that meant the Djinn had lost his powers as soon as he was freed.
“I am thankful,” said the Djinn in a respectful tone as he inspected Nathaniel in a new light.
“Does this mean you are going to leave?” asked Nathaniel curiously.
“Do you wish me to leave?” He replied.
“No! Not at all. I mean, you can stay here until … until you want to leave or whatever.” Nathaniel stammered.
Ormann grinned. Perhaps the human race wasn’t as corrupted as he thought.
That was three weeks ago. Ormann had settled in very easily in Nathaniel’s home. He didn’t need to learn much because while he wasn’t an ‘all-knowing’ genie, he knew pretty much how the world worked nowadays. After all, it was important to know these things if people were wishing for a horse-driven carriage or modern sports cars.
Nathaniel and Ormann were sitting at the couch watching television when Nathaniel mentioned, “It’s too bad you lost your magic. I’m sure you wanted to use some of it for yourself after granting wishes for every master you had.”
Ormann chuckled, “I shall let you in on a little secret. In a way, I did grant wishes for myself,” He continued after Nathaniel’s curious look, “When people wished for things, I made it… different. For example… One of my masters wished to be tall so that no one could pick on him anymore. I granted his wish.”
“You made him into a 10 foot tall giant?”
“In a way.” Ormann laughed, “I turned him into the largest apple tree.”
Nathaniel was shocked, “I don’t understand.”
“His apples were so high, no one could pick them.”
Nathaniel’s response was a frown. “Oh. Does that mean… if I had made a different wish, I could be having a hard time right now?”
Ormann looked away from Nathaniel. “I will not lie. Yes. I would have done something cruel to your wish. But the point is, you made a different wish and I am forever thankful.” After a thought, he looked to Nathaniel, “What wish would you make if I still had my magic?”
Nathaniel blushed. “It’s embarrassing.”
“There is no harm in telling me,” Ormann grinned, “I don’t have magic and who am I going to tell?”
“Well,” Nathaniel mused, “I guess… I would wish….”
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