“If you had just one wish, Mama, what would it be?”
“I would wish for you to be healthy. What would you wish for, Maya?”
“I would wish for Mama to be happy.”
Life wasn't fair. Of that, Susan Gerhardt was certain. The day her daughter's physician told her she had an incurable disease, life seemed to halt. When Maya Gerhardt was diagnosed with a terminal illness bound to end her life before she turned twenty, she was only three years old. At the time, seventeen years seemed like plenty of time to live and grow, to learn. More importantly, time to find a cure, as Susan was sure would happen. Unfortunately, as she watched her now seventeen-year-old daughter, those years seemed incredibly short. They passed by so quickly, of course a cure hadn't been found. It was only a couple weeks ago that she was a three-year-old receiving the disheartening diagnosis, right? When she'd heard the verdict, heard her daughter was going to die so young, Susan had been convinced it was a mistake. There was simply no way someone as perfect as her daughter would have this disease. Even after fourteen years, she still held on to some small amount of hope. Hope that what was wrong with her was something else entirely; hope that a cure would be found. A cure could be found any day, after all, couldn't it?
Maya was less convinced. Her entire life, she dealt with the fact of her demise. “Terminal” was the word she heard over and over. When she was young, she hadn't understood what this meant. This strange word, “terminal” which made her mother so upset, seemed just a word to her. It was a hard one to spell, at that. While she laughed at her inability to remember whether the “m” came first or the “n” her mother cried. When she first had it explained to her why she spent so much time in the hospital when other kids got to play outside, death didn't mean much to her. As she aged, and her father passed away, she began to understand what death was. It meant you left and didn't come back. At first she was scared, of course she didn't want to die. For a time she wrestled with the fact, tried to learn to accept it. Twenty years of life wasn't such a bad run, she finally decided. As long as she made her impact and did something meaningful in that time, dying early would be acceptable. It had taken her a long time to get to “acceptance,” as her grief counselor described it, and by age seventeen the sad truth was completely clear to her. If by some miracle a cure was found, of course she would be happy. That wasn't a real possibility though, and she'd come to accept that.
If one looked at Maya, it was clear something was wrong with her. Eyes of a brilliant green were the only part of her that seemed to have any life left in them by the age of seventeen. Her body was thin, cheeks sunken, skin pale, brown hair lackluster, and she'd only grown to a respectable but short 5'0” tall. These factors combined guaranteed she looked absolutely sickly. It was for this reason she hated leaving the comfort of her home; everyone looked at her with pity she didn't want. If she didn't pity herself, why should they pity her?
Despite her disdain for such public humiliations, her best friend since she was watching the other kids play on the playground often tried to coax her into going out and doing activities. “Live while you can, right?” she'd always say. Anna was someone who was very self-assured. Maya wished she could live life the way the other young woman did. When Anna was Maya's age she decided to join the military, leaving the only question which division of military she would join. She'd settled on the Marines, which suited her well. Anna had a zealous love for adventure, which was probably why she and Maya complemented each other so well. When Maya was unable to be physically active, to experience something as simple as getting lost in the woods, Anna did it for her. In many ways, Maya lived vicariously through her best and only friend. The road ran two ways, as Maya's job was to keep Anna's enthusiasm in check, to guide her from a cell phone out of the woods Anna swore had no distinguishing characteristics.
After basic training, Anna was different, if only more restrained and disciplined. This didn't stop her from insisting that Maya accompany her to whatever place she was fascinated with at the moment. On this particular day, this was a public auction, to benefit those with cancer. Of course she mumbled a bitter obligatory grievance that orphan diseases, as Maya's was, only rarely received the proceeds from auctions of such large magnitude.
Waving around the article she'd printed from the Internet, Anna did her best to persuade Maya to join her, “It's so ridiculous what people will spend on some things! That's something you have to see in your life.” Her words reminded Maya of why she always ended up going along with Anna's stints; she should live while she still had the chance. Anna knew Maya felt this way, and used it to her advantage to attain her friend's company. After Maya agreed, the only obstacle for Anna to tackle was Susan Gerhardt, Maya's very protective mother. Of course Anna understood the reason the woman was so careful with her daughter, but they'd fought on more than one occasion about Maya making good use of the time she had instead of trying to extend her life by a few trivial minutes resting.
Convincing her mother wasn't as hard as normal, since Maya's health had deteriorated in the previous months. The woman's mind wasn't in a good place, and though Anna felt bad taking advantage of her weakened state, she was sure Maya appreciated the things they did together. With the decision made and first aid training in her back pocket, the girls prepared for the auction.
Anna was a tomboy, preferring to wear pants instead of skirts or dresses to formal events like the auction was. In preparation for Maya to say yes, she'd already brought a pair of khakis and a collared blue shirt to wear. As she changed into her formal wear, Maya reflected on her closet of options and pondered Anna's muscular build. The two had no qualms with changing in front of each other, so Anna shed her clothes while Maya stared at her closet. From the mirror, Maya caught view of her friend's body, and wished not for the first time that she could maintain any amount of weight. It was hard to maintain weight, however, when one had no desire to eat at all, and eating much made one sick.
Once Anna was fully dressed, she aided Maya in the decision process, and the pair decided Maya should wear her nicest black dress. Add in a pair of black tights, black boots meant to hide how thin she was, and a silver shrug, and Maya was dressed. They admired themselves in the mirror, and Anna joked, “We're looking fine. Those stuck up rich dudes are going to be wanting our hot bods tonight.”
Maya knew better than to argue; knew better than to protest “I have no body to want” or “I'm not wantable” because if one thing set Anna off, it was a lack of self-esteem. However, when no male she'd ever met had ever expressed interest in becoming more than friends (or even becoming friends, for that matter), it took a toll on Maya. Sure, she was terminal and maybe they didn't think she was worth it if she was just going to die off before the good years, but love wouldn't care about that, would it? More than anything, she wanted to kiss someone just once before she died. With her limited social circle, though, the only option she had was Anna. While Anna might have been perfectly willing, Maya insisted the person who kiss her be someone who felt romantic love for her. Preferably male, she said, and Anna resolved to find someone for her. That was a few years back, and no such luck yet. Maya had more or less given up.
“Our hair sucks,” Maya countered, and Anna scowled at her. As always, Anna's hair was pulled back tight on her head into a bun, a military grade hairstyle. Maya's hair was in a loose bun as well, without much effort given to its upkeep. If no one was going to see it, why bother making it look nice?
Anna protested, “I'm pretty sure this is going for refined nowadays...Maybe not that.” She motioned Maya's mop of hair with a chuckle, and went to find Susan to help tame Maya's unruly locks. Finally they were ready, decked out in fancy clothes and practicing their confidence to make them look like they belonged at an auction where hundreds of thousands of dollars would be spent. Once Anna was satisfied with Maya’s “swagger” she guided her out to her car, explaining on the way that the auction was an event you showed up for when you wanted and left when you wanted.
The way Anna drove made her military training quite evident, she was somehow both incredibly cautious while being aggressive. If she ever met someone else at an intersection and there was a question of who should go first, the answer was always Anna. Maya didn’t really mind, but sometimes Anna pushed the speed limit a little far and this concerned her friend. Being ill her entire life, driving fast wasn’t something many of her companions allowed her to experience, so she never complained when Anna did it. Still, as they flew past every other car in their path, Maya had to wonder if her choice of friends was exactly safe. Dismissing the notion quickly, she turned the radio up and listened as Anna shouted along with it, admiring Anna’s lungs. Most kids her age, she realized as she did so, didn’t ever think of something like admiration for lungs, but Maya’s lungs were one of her biggest problems. The doctors she’d seen told her the most likely way for her life to end would be due to lung issues. In her lifetime the number of lung infections she’d had was astounding.
Once the song, some pop song Maya was convinced she’d heard at least three other times by different artists, came to an end, Anna shot her a brilliant grin. “You ready for this?” she asked, and Maya tilted her head in curiosity. Suddenly the car made a screeching noise, and shot off at top speeds on the stretch of road they were on. From where she sat, Maya could see the speedometer climbing: 70 mph…80 mph…90 mph, and it was only getting higher. The panic in Maya’s face at the action made Anna laugh, but she slowed the car down and drove a more reasonable speed for the rest of the trip.
The auction was held in a large hotel conference area. Maya felt as out of place as ever as she stared at the many overdressed people. In fact, both Maya and Anna wondered whether there had been a more posh gathering of people in the history of the world. Men in tuxes strutted about, chattering with women dressed in gowns probably worth more than Susan Gerhardt’s house. “Feeling a bit out of place,” Anna voiced next to her, and Maya breathed a sigh of relief that her friend was experiencing the same emotions she was. Despite this, Anna happily greeted a few older gentlemen and chatted with them for a time, while Maya stood and wondered why she’d agreed to come along at all if Anna was going to ignore her. Soon they were separated by a decent sized space, and Maya leaned against a wall and looked around the room.
As she brooded, she noticed an attractive young man approaching her. He stood as a stark contrast to many of the others in the room, who were mainly older gentlemen with the occasional older lady in the mix. Why this young man was making a beeline straight for her she couldn’t say, but as soon as she met his eyes her heart beat faster. Averting her gaze as quickly as possible, she set out to find comfort in Anna. Before she reached Anna the young man reached her.
“Hello,” he said in a deep voice. Maya fixed her gaze firmly on his chest, which looked well-muscled even under his tux, she noted, and figured he must be talking to someone else; best not to respond and make a fool out of herself then. Surprisingly, the young man repeated himself, and Maya looked up at him and felt her face flush.
“H-hello,” she stuttered in response, and the man’s face changed into a small smile.
“My name is Miles,” he said in a warm voice, “Miles Johnson. What’s your name?” Maya couldn’t understand why this man was speaking to her, but she squeaked her name out.
“Maya Gerhardt,” she mumbled, looking up into Miles’ eyes. As she did he looked behind her at someone who was passing by, and the expression in his eyes changed before he returned his gaze to her. The first time she saw them she’d been struck by their beauty, this time she was struck by how they captured some dark thing inside of him. They seemed to mask indifference and a hint of hatred from the world. Behind the hatred there was something deeper as well, but much more skillfully hidden. Something so hidden Maya figured even he might not realize it was there, but before Maya had time to decipher what it was he blinked and it vanished. The expression on Miles’ face changed as she stared into his eyes, as if he guessed what she was thinking.
“I haven’t seen you at an auction like this before,” he stated, with every hint of warmth he’d previously spoken absent.
“My fr-friend just brought me here…It’s silly, I…I better get back to her,” Maya babbled, before bowing her head and running back to the comfort of Anna’s side. As she went she could feel Miles’ eyes on her, and felt distinctly uncomfortable and mildly threatened. Anna looked at her with a grin and asked what she thought of the man who’d approached her. Maya’s quick head shake and tense body language eliminated him from Anna’s possible options for her friend’s first kiss.
“What was he like?” she asked, turning her attention back to her friend. “I mean, was he rude or something?”
Maya shook her head, “No, something about him sort of just…Gave me chills. Like, I guess…It felt like what I imagine looking into the eyes of a murderer might. He was perfectly pleasant, but, I…he didn’t seem trustworthy.”
Anna nodded as Maya spoke, “Well, you’ve always been a good judge of people. If you think he’s suspicious he just might be.” It was at that moment Anna made a silent resolution to watch the young man and make sure he didn’t cause any trouble. The older men Anna had been talking to cleared out, and she quickly recounted what they’d told her. Not only had one of them spent $10,000 on a pair of cufflinks that month, another had bought a yacht for his toddler. This one, as Anna observed, walked with a woman much younger than him on his arm, and Anna made a joke that she was most likely a trophy wife and a gold digger. Anna also learned the next item to be sold in the auction was a lamp, but as soon as they tracked it down by number, displayed proudly on a pedestal meant to be sold after a fifteen minute break, she declared her information a lie.
“How is this a lamp?” she asked, glaring at the strange gold object which looked to her more like a strangely flattened teapot.
Maya shrugged, “I guess it’s a lamp in the sense of a genie lamp, you know? I always wondered why the called them that, actually…Do they light something up?”
“I don’t know. They’re just liars, calling it a lamp. Lamps light things up. This is…A pot at best,” she said, before the pair realized they were being watched.
Miles approached them slowly, “It’s called a lamp because it would have traditionally been used as an oil lamp. You should quiet down now, the host is speaking.” Maya nodded and Anna wrinkled her nose as they turned their attention to the front of the room, where a decrepit old man was speaking into a microphone. To be more specific the old man was attempting to speak, but it was clear he’d been a smoker in his early years because his voice was constantly strained as if he needed to cough. Once he finally did cough, to Maya’s relief since she was beginning to feel sympathy throat tickles, nothing changed. To Maya’s left, Anna grew increasingly frustrated at the man’s mundane words about everyone gathering together for a good cause. Instead of listening she glanced toward the pot to ponder it and noticed Miles staring it down, with an open shoulder bag with a piece that looked conspicuously similar to the lamp inside. As soon as it occurred to her what Miles was planning, he snatched the real lamp and replaced it with the fake one. The movement was so swift Anna doubted she would have caught it if she hadn’t been watching for it. As quickly as he’d made the trade, Miles glided away quietly, so as not to bring attention to himself, but Anna followed. It took Maya a moment to notice her friend had left her side, and when she glanced around the room she spotted her stalking Miles out a side door. Maya followed hastily, but felt a wave of tiredness wash over her at the same moment. Her lungs felt constricted, but she pressed on anyway, wondering what Anna could possibly be doing following a man Maya believed to be dangerous.
“Where are you going with that?” Anna asked once she and Miles were alone in an alleyway next to the hotel they’d been in. She slowly approached him as they spoke.
“Where am I going with what?” he asked with a sick sincerity to his voice that made Anna almost question what she’d seen.
“You stole the lamp, put it back,” she ordered in an authoritative voice.
“Brave, aren’t you?” Miles mumbled, mainly to himself. “I won’t put it back. I’m going to leave now, so please return to the auction. There’s nothing you can do to stop me.”
“Oh really?” Anna questioned, now standing next to him. In a flash of movement she reached out and grabbed his bag, pulling the lamp from it and giving him a smug grin. His shocked face and her smug grin both didn’t last long as he became enraged. Before Anna knew what was happening, Miles had her in a sleeper hold and growled into her ear.
“Don’t do that,” he snarled in a whisper, holding Anna steady. For the first time in a long time Anna experienced fear, and in a panic flailed until Miles’ hold on her caused her consciousness to slip away.
A gasp brought Miles’ attention to Maya, who stumbled into the alleyway and collapsed completely. Contrary to his earlier behavior, he walked over to her and scowled. He crouched by her side and gingerly helped her to turn over as she went into a coughing fit. The lamp fell from his grip as he wondered what to do and it landed by Maya’s side. She wheezed deeply, and missed the complete change in Miles’ demeanor as he panicked over what to do.
“OK, you can’t die or anything. I don’t want to be a murderer! Never that, I told him never that,” he mumbled desperately, and Maya shook her head, trying to tell him she’d be fine. As she coughed she waved her hand to tell him to forget about it, still feeling herself quivering in fear at his cold presence. Her dismissal didn’t deter him as he ran off to try to wake Anna, leaving his things behind. Maya coughed again, and after her next cough lowered her arm, brushing the lamp in the process. Miles pointed wordlessly at Maya when Anna awoke, and both stared in awe at the lamp. The object was glowing as it lay on the ground by Maya’s side, and then began floating up completely on its own.
Maya’s coughing slowed and stopped as the lamp’s shape began to change, and a golden humanoid shape grew in its place. Within a few seconds green eyes blinked around at the group.
“Well, it’s been a while. You’re…very clean looking,” he complimented them all, as Anna and Miles rose to full standing positions and approached the strange man. “Oh, you’re giants too! My superior height is…,” he trailed off as Miles approached, comparing their heights to each other. The strange man was slightly shorter, and he wrinkled his nose, “Not so superior anymore. Uh, I guess people have grown since the last time I woke up…”
“What the hell are you?” Miles asked. The man tilted his head and glanced at Anna, then down to Maya. He offered her a hand to help her up and smiled when she took it and stood. He took in her height.
“You’re the right height for a woman,” he said calmly. He then looked at Anna in her 5’7” and mumbled, “You’d be a little tall for a man…”
“Are you seriously talking about how tall we are instead of explaining who the hell you are?” Anna asked, and the man turned to look at Maya.
“Sorry,” he said, “but neither of you woke me from my slumber, did you? That was this young woman.” Maya smiled at him and laughed in disbelief.
“Are you a genie?” she asked, and the man shrugged.
“Define genie. I’ve been known as a djinn, is that word the same word?” he asked in response. Maya nodded and confirmed that the two terms were equivalent as far as she knew. “What language are you speaking to me in?”
“English,” Maya mumbled, with a clear question in the inflection of her voice.
“Like England? Is this England?” the man asked, looking around the alleyway and scowling deeply as if unimpressed. Maya shook her head.
“It’s the United States of America,” Maya informed him, and then laughed at his subsequent confusion.
“That’s a new one,” he stated. “I guess the protocol would be to tell you I am a—what was the word? Genie? I am a genie, and I am here to grant you three wishes…The two staring at me are making me uncomfortable…” The genie turned to Miles and glared, “Do you need something?” Anna moved to Maya’s side to check on her as the two males had a stare down.
“Do you ever change back to a lamp?” Miles asked, and the genie laughed.
“Well now that’s a look I recognize,” he said. “Your desire to sell me, however, will go unheeded. Until I fulfill this young woman’s wishes I will not leave her side.”
“What if someone just, you know, took you?” Miles asked.
The genie laughed again in a good natured way, “Are you going to kidnap me, Malus? Forget it. Go home.”
“What did you just call me? It was…very almost my name,” Miles mumbled, and the genie shrugged.
“Forget it,” his dismissed. “Your presence is unnecessary. You will be unable to steal me, despite the devil in your eyes. You know, the way you present yourself is fascinating to me. It isn’t as if your soul—.”
Anna cut him off before he finished his sentence, “Don’t talk to the scum who tried to steal you. Talk to the saint you’re supposed to be granting wishes to.”
“Sorry,” the genie replied, barely concealing his rolled eyes. “First of all, what is your name?”
Maya obliged him and told him her name quickly, then asked, “Um…So this might be a strange question, but do you have a name?”
“Of course,” the genie replied with a genial smile. “My name is Melchior.”
“Just Melchior?” Maya asked, and Melchior nodded.
“Just Melchior,” he confirmed, as Miles attempted to sneak up behind him. “Malus,” he said in a lightly threatening voice, stopping Miles in his tracks, “as I said, kidnapping will not happen.” Melchior took a step away from Miles and turned to face him. “You will leave,” he said, looking deeply into the eyes that had so frightened Maya. Miles stared Melchior down and Maya almost believed the two males were going to fight, but Melchior’s sudden grin made her doubt that thought.
To Maya and Anna’s surprise, Miles roughly picked up his shoulder bag from the ground and gave Melchior one last glare before turning to leave. What the pair missed was when he tossed something very tiny and sticky onto Maya’s back. Melchior saw it in, but simply blinked in confusion, not sure what the item could possibly be.
“So, get to it,” Anna said, and Melchior held his hand out to halt her.
“Patience,” he growled in a way that was still oddly good natured. “Maya, do you have a first wish in mind?”
“World peace,” Maya deadpanned back. Melchior looked taken aback, and Anna immediately glared.
“W-well,” Melchior replied. “Would you like to return to your home and think it over for a while?”
“No, I’m sure,” Maya replied, causing Melchior to frown.
“World peace is a very complicated wish,” he said. “Perhaps we should go somewhere more comfortable and private so I may explain?” Maya nodded and began to walk toward the parking lot, but Anna held out her arm and stopped them.
“Don’t you think you might draw a little attention, wearing that outfit?” Anna asked, and Melchior glanced down at his body and frowned. The young looking genie was wearing a pair of dark brown harem pants with a golden band at the top. On his feet was a pair of golden shoes which came to a distinct point, and his chest was mainly bare. Around his neck sat a golden collar reminiscent of Ancient Egyptian jewelry, and gold bangles were on both of his arms. His ears were adorned with golden earrings, halfway covered by his dark brown hair. Though his eyes were green, his skin was tan and his complexion dark.
“I guess my clothes are a little different, I should get new clothes, then...,” he trailed off as he stared at his body. He wore no shirt so his toned body was very visible, and he stared at it as if he hadn’t seen it in quite some time. His focus was taken up by his flat stomach, which distracted Maya as well. Anna snapped her fingers to bring their attention back to the present. “Oh!” Melchior gasped, “Right, uh…It’s not a problem. Those who didn’t witness my first transformation can’t see me. I’m like a spirit, I guess. No reason to worry.”
With his assurance the group walked back to Anna’s car, which Melchior eyed suspiciously. Anna regretted inviting him inside when he spent the better amount of the car ride trying to claw his way out of the back seat and telling her she was going way too fast. At one point he opened the car door, causing general panic to pass between Maya and Anna and subsequently Melchior as well when he realized he could fall out at any moment. After the “door incident” Melchior quieted down, but when Maya glanced back at him to check on him she realized he was letting out a steady stream of what may have been either curses or prayers and was probably three shades whiter than normal. To her credit, Anna wasn’t speeding quite as much as usual, but Melchior didn’t really know the difference. Once they were back at Maya’s humble home, he all but flew out of the car and made an attempt to hug the ground, alluding to his belief that he wouldn’t ever get to walk on it again after riding in Anna’s car.
“I promise never to take advantage of you again,” he whispered to it as Anna walked by and rolled her eyes. Maya smiled at him, somehow not bothered by his hysterical behavior, and invited him inside her home. Melchior stood on shaking legs and followed Maya, admiring the modern landscape as he went. “Wow,” he mumbled, then grinned at Maya. “This is where you live?” he asked, and Maya nodded. “It’s beautiful.”
The house was, by modern standards, nothing special. Susan Gerhardt rented it from one of her college friends sympathetic to her situation, so she got a good deal off it. The house was fairly small, with only a ground floor and a basement. Maya and her mother’s rooms were on the ground floor, so Maya wouldn’t have to climb stairs on a regular basis. They had a part time live in nurse as well to take care of Maya, whose room doubled as an office area. Susan worked from home so she could spend as much time with her daughter as she needed. The outside of the house was painted a dull brown, and looked as cozy as it felt inside. Maya had never once considered it beautiful, but she wondered why she hadn’t once Melchior said it. In another time she would have certainly been considered to be well off.
Maya and Anna walked inside the house and up toward Maya’s room, but Melchior stopped outside it. “Sorry,” he laughed uncomfortably, “but you’re really all right with a man entering your room?”
“What kind of culture do genies have?” Anna countered with a tilt of her head. “Of course it’s fine.”
“Besides,” Maya added with a genial smile, “you’re not a man. You’re a genie.” A hint of emotion too quick for Anna or Maya to recognize flashed across his face as he stepped inside, and Maya wondered if she’d said something wrong.
“Right you are,” Melchior said, glancing around Maya’s room carefully. Each step he took showed how out of place he felt, hit by more than culture shock; after all, the last time he’d woken everything looked completely different. From his eyes the floor was immaculate, the walls were somehow holding up unfamiliar sheets of paper as if by magic, and strange machines littered the area…It was intimidating. The genie sat on the floor and gazed around the room. Luckily Maya’s nurse, Heather Richards, wasn’t there at the moment to see Maya and Anna talk to someone only they could see. Melchior also didn’t seem to be completely there with them, at least in his mind.
“How is that staying up there?” he asked with a deep scowl on his face. What he was talking about, the girls realized after following his gaze, was Maya’s poster of a baby sea turtle sitting on a beach. “Some sort of sorcery?” he mumbled to himself, standing from the ground and approaching the poster. He reached for it and nearly pulled at it, but Anna spoke up.
“It’s called sticky tack,” she explained, “not sorcery. And definitely not easily fixable if ripped.”
“Oh,” Melchior mumbled as he lowered his hand from the poster and looked dejected. As soon as his dejection came it passed and he continued to survey Maya’s room while Anna attempted to convince Maya she should wish her disease away. Between arguments of “How selfish would that be when I have the chance to do something great?” and “What would your mom think if you told her you passed up a chance to get better?” Melchior became overwhelmed. Maya’s room was fairly small, fitting with the small house she occupied, but it had quite a lot inside it. On a desk in a corner of the room sat a desktop computer, which Melchior eyed suspiciously as he walked by, giving himself a tour. The walls were painted a pastel violet, and Melchior inspected how perfectly well covered they were. She had a double bed with a comfortable mattress causing the genie to wonder whether she might be royalty while standing from it in alarm; he’d practically been swallowed up by the soft fabric covering it, after all. Panic only seemed natural, but there was no time for it. Something on Maya’s desk was moving, and he hit it off the desk in fright before leaning down to inspect what turned out to be some sort of bird toy and not a giant bug that was brightly colored.
Melchior walked back to his comfortable place on the floor then and decided to stare at his hands until Maya was ready to speak with him so he didn’t accidentally break any of Maya’s things. By the time Anna was deterred and stopped commanding Maya to wish what Anna wanted, Melchior had his face buried in his hands and was whimpering slightly.
“Are you OK?” Maya asked as Anna bit her lip and sat on Maya’s bed, looking annoyed.
“HAHA!” Melchior replied much too loudly. “Of course I’m OK. I’m here to help you, not get confused by all your stuff!” Melchior’s eyes betrayed what he was truly feeling then, and Maya almost laughed at his expense when she realized he looked scared of the objects in her room. “Anyway, there are a few things I have to tell you before you make a wish—I still don’t recommend ‘world peace’ by the way. Though I won’t—can’t—stop you if that’s what you truly desire. So, there are certain things my magic won’t allow me to do,” he said, preparing to continue on, but Anna interrupted.
“No extra wishes, can’t bring someone back from the dead, can’t make someone fall in love?” Anna interjected jeeringly, and Melchior seemed surprised.
“Well, yes. How did you know?” he asked, and Anna shrugged.
“Just that smart,” she replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she spoke.
“Well that’s not it, of course. I cannot kill. I can only use my magic to do things related to your wish,” he explained, looking at Anna as if expecting her to have something to say on the matter. When she didn’t speak up he went on, “and the first two things the light haired woman said," Anna interrupted with her name then and he went on, "the things Anna said are self-explanatory, but…it isn’t only matters of love which I can’t control. I can’t make people’s opinions change—violates free will, I guess…Or so I was told. All I know is that I’ve tried, but it has never worked and it can’t ever work. There are laws of magic use, and if I violate them I am severely punished and the magic is undone.”
“Oh,” Maya mumbled, and then frowned as she sat next to Anna on her bed. “So why don’t you think world peace is a good idea?”
“Hm, yes…,” Melchior replied, pausing to put his thoughts into order. “World peace is a wonderful concept and I believe in its possibility. However, when faced with the decision of what must be changed to attain world peace I run into the issue of being unable to impede free will. More so than that, what would be the best way for the world to work is purely subjective. What I believe world peace is meant to be, then, may be entirely different from what you believe…As I imagine it is. Different cultures, as you and I come from, will see world peace in a different light. Some might not even desire world peace, and unless I was able to kill them or change their opinions their persistence might make world peace impossible, even in mostly peaceful times as it appears to me you currently enjoy.”
Anna snorted at this comment from her place on Maya’s bed, and Melchior tilted his head. “You disagree that your times are peace times?” Anna mumbled a confirmation, and Melchior frowned, “Well, I should have to research that statement.” After another pause he turned to Maya and smiled, “You do not have to make your decision yet. You have three days before you must make your first wish. On that note I must inform you, if you do choose to go down the path you have suggested, you will not receive two more wishes. A wish of world peace counts as all three of your wishes.”
“Um,” Maya mumbled, looking down at her hands, “Melchior, right?” The genie nodded. “Melchior, I—I’m sure of what I want,” Melchior nodded somberly, both knowing his words hadn’t changed her mind in the slightest, “but before I want to make sure—will you try your best to fulfill it?”
“Of course,” Melchior quipped. “I’m bound to do whatever you wish.”
“And what if you do try your best, and…You just can’t do it? Does something bad happen to you?” Maya asked quietly, and Melchior’s unfortunate nod caused her to scowl and make her sunken face look more pointedly so. “What would happen?”
“Since it would be the fourth wish I failed to fulfill, I would once again lose a portion of my magic, and be one wish away from being stripped of my powers completely. However, since it is such a big wish, and since I would likely have to use a great deal of my power to fulfill part of the wish if it is attempted, I would be likely to lose all of my magic when the wish went unfulfilled,” he iterated, and Maya tilted her head to the side.
“What would happen if you lost your powers?” she questioned, causing Melchior to sigh.
“I would die,” he stated clearly, and Maya scowled.
“Um, well…,” she mumbled, as she tried to think of a solution, “could I change the wish before it becomes officially unfulfilled—if there’s an official ‘unfulfilled’ time, that is—so that you would have fulfilled my wish by doing whatever it is that we accomplish?”
Melchior stopped to ponder this thought as Anna nudged Maya’s leg, as if telling her to ask something important. Maya couldn’t figure out what that important thing might be, and before Anna opened her mouth to speak Melchior stated, “Yeah. That should work.”
Anna glared at Melchior and asked, before Maya could say anything, “Why does this wish take up the cost of three wishes? That’s so stupid.”
“Well, it’s about exchange and balance,” Melchior said. “Only a certain amount of my magical abilities will work for a single master. The person who receives the wishes is able to make either three wishes or wishes that use up as much magic as three wishes would average.” Anna scowled at him, and he shrugged sadly, “I don’t control the rules of magic. I wish I did, but that is beyond my scope of influence.”
“Well then,” Anna huffed at him, “once Maya is finished with her wishes, will I be able to make three wishes of my own?”
“Conceivably yes,” Melchior responded, and continued on with contradictions to Anna’s dismay, “however there are specific rules as to who can wake me from my slumber in the lamp. Only those with a ‘pure heart’ can awaken me. To be honest, even I am not sure what constitutes a pure heart. Secondly, I will most likely not have much magic left with which to grant your wishes. After a successful wish we gain magical powers; however it will likely only be enough for one wish.”
“That’s stupid,” Anna declared, and Melchior smiled at her.
“You’re quite refreshingly direct,” he laughed. “Not that I don’t agree. Like I said—if I made the rules they’d be different.” Anna nodded and wrinkled her nose, showing her distaste for what bound the genie’s powers. Melchior turned to Maya then, where she sat on her bed, psyching herself up for her wish and smiling broadly. “Would you like to make your wish official?” he asked, and she nodded. “Then you must say the words ‘I wish…’ with what you wish for.”
Maya grinned through her words, “I wish for world peace.”
There you go. The first chapter (or a prologue?). Tell me what you think? I know it got a little long. I just figured this was the best stopping point I could think of...Yep. :)
Monday, November 28, 2011
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Story Idea
So here's my idea for a totally legit story. I thought I'd post in here to see what you think. Should I go forward and write it? And If I did, would you be interested in reading it?
I don't really have a title yet, but here's a summary: A girl, Maya I have decided on a whim to call her, has a terminal illness. According to her doctor, if she makes it past 20 it'll be a miracle. She's perhaps 17ish during the story. Her best friend is older than her, like 21ish, and is a member of the military (perhaps the Marines?). I have decided on a whim to call her Anna. Anna is home working on a college degree. Maya lives with her mom and a nurse no one acknowledges is basically hospice care (since Maya's health has been deteriorating).
When Anna stops by one day, she brings an article about a rare lamp being sold for $100,000 at a public auction and convinces Maya's mom to let Anna take her. At the auction, Anna spots someone steal the lamp practically in front of everyone and replace it with a fake before he saunters away. Anna, with an addiction to adrenaline and desire for people to notice her, follows him outside to an empty alleyway. Maya follows, but her disease slows her down. The thief in question is a young man who I haven't yet named on a whim, around 21ish like Anna is. Anna confronts him and ends up unconscious on the floor, and as the thief turns to leave Maya shows up in a bad state and he realizes he can't leave her there, but doesn't know what to do. After a couple attempts at helping her, he resorts to getting out his cell phone to call paramedics, and in the process knocks the lamp to the ground. Maya's hand brushes over the lamp and after it does the lamp floats into the air.
The thief stops fishing for his phone and watches in confusion as Anna regains consciousness and tends to Maya immediately, while the thief continues to stare down the floating lamp. Once he realizes Maya is OK he reaches for the lamp, but it glows and begins forming a shape. These shape takes a decidedly human quality as the thief looks unsettled and Maya and Anna turn their attention to it. The being before them appears to be a young, tan man dressed in a silly outfit but he corrects the assumption by telling them he's a genie, and Maya has three wishes.
Maya's immediate response is to wish for "World Peace," and the thief and Anna shoot her glares at the wish. The genie explains that world peace is a tall order, and if she really wants to wish for it it will be the only wish she gets. He tells her to think about it, as the thief asks him if he would return to lamp shape, but the genie refuses, citing the strange look in the thief's eyes. The thief leaves, but vows to get the lamp someday, and sticks a tracking device to Maya's clothes as he goes.
Maya and Anna take the genie back to Maya's home, where he explains only those who witnessed his initial transformation will be able to see him. Maya is still dead set on "world peace" as a wish, though Anna insists she wish away her disease. Maya asks Anna to let her decide for herself, and Anna quiets down but mutters a few bitter words under her breath. The genie explains that he's had the wish posed before and never been able to pull it off, and tells her she's going to need to guide him if she wants that wish.
So basically, she and the genie travel the world to various places to evaluate and help things. Anna sometimes comes along, and the thief tracks them down and stalks them frequently. The thief's motivations are uncovered (it's a family thing) and his little brother accompanies him at times.
Sound interesting?
I don't really have a title yet, but here's a summary: A girl, Maya I have decided on a whim to call her, has a terminal illness. According to her doctor, if she makes it past 20 it'll be a miracle. She's perhaps 17ish during the story. Her best friend is older than her, like 21ish, and is a member of the military (perhaps the Marines?). I have decided on a whim to call her Anna. Anna is home working on a college degree. Maya lives with her mom and a nurse no one acknowledges is basically hospice care (since Maya's health has been deteriorating).
When Anna stops by one day, she brings an article about a rare lamp being sold for $100,000 at a public auction and convinces Maya's mom to let Anna take her. At the auction, Anna spots someone steal the lamp practically in front of everyone and replace it with a fake before he saunters away. Anna, with an addiction to adrenaline and desire for people to notice her, follows him outside to an empty alleyway. Maya follows, but her disease slows her down. The thief in question is a young man who I haven't yet named on a whim, around 21ish like Anna is. Anna confronts him and ends up unconscious on the floor, and as the thief turns to leave Maya shows up in a bad state and he realizes he can't leave her there, but doesn't know what to do. After a couple attempts at helping her, he resorts to getting out his cell phone to call paramedics, and in the process knocks the lamp to the ground. Maya's hand brushes over the lamp and after it does the lamp floats into the air.
The thief stops fishing for his phone and watches in confusion as Anna regains consciousness and tends to Maya immediately, while the thief continues to stare down the floating lamp. Once he realizes Maya is OK he reaches for the lamp, but it glows and begins forming a shape. These shape takes a decidedly human quality as the thief looks unsettled and Maya and Anna turn their attention to it. The being before them appears to be a young, tan man dressed in a silly outfit but he corrects the assumption by telling them he's a genie, and Maya has three wishes.
Maya's immediate response is to wish for "World Peace," and the thief and Anna shoot her glares at the wish. The genie explains that world peace is a tall order, and if she really wants to wish for it it will be the only wish she gets. He tells her to think about it, as the thief asks him if he would return to lamp shape, but the genie refuses, citing the strange look in the thief's eyes. The thief leaves, but vows to get the lamp someday, and sticks a tracking device to Maya's clothes as he goes.
Maya and Anna take the genie back to Maya's home, where he explains only those who witnessed his initial transformation will be able to see him. Maya is still dead set on "world peace" as a wish, though Anna insists she wish away her disease. Maya asks Anna to let her decide for herself, and Anna quiets down but mutters a few bitter words under her breath. The genie explains that he's had the wish posed before and never been able to pull it off, and tells her she's going to need to guide him if she wants that wish.
So basically, she and the genie travel the world to various places to evaluate and help things. Anna sometimes comes along, and the thief tracks them down and stalks them frequently. The thief's motivations are uncovered (it's a family thing) and his little brother accompanies him at times.
Sound interesting?
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