The Genie's Final Wish

It took me a century to see through the genie's rouge and another century to find him.

The genie's greatest trick has been the myth he's spun about himself. Encouraging tales of evil magic and glamorous wishes. The genie has fooled the world. There is only one genie, both man and women, the genie has never appeared in the same form twice.

Born with time and so the genie will die with time.

Which happens to be tonight.

Seven hours to be exact.

But before time unravels and the universe collapses, the genie wants to grant me his final wish.

“Life would have been easier if I'd have known we'd meet again.” I joke. I've been drinking since breakfast. The end of the world is not easy to absorb over scrambled eggs. Mimosa's have been helping.

“I am not the one who wished for immortality. In fact, I believe I warned against it.” The genie said.

“I was twenty five, close to death, what did I know? I just wanted more time to see the world.” I tip my drink to him and signal the waiter to fix another.

“There is never enough time to see the world.” The genie says, eyes fixed on the ocean, “not even I have seen the world.”

“What if I wish against the end of time?” I ask as the waiter delivers a fresh cocktail.

“I cannot answer that question. You must make a wish, and I can tell you if it is possible.” The genie said.

“Then I wish time would never end.”

“I cannot grant that.” The genie states.

I twist my face.

“Try as you may, finding a loop hole to the end of time through wishes may be impossible.” The genie said.

“I don't believe in impossible.” I say.

“Ahem.” the waiter clears her throat, “May I offer you a dinner menu?”

“No, just keep these coming.” I say, slipping her a twenty. “A tip for the first three, keep my glass full and I'll triple that.”

The tip I offer adds a kick to her step as she slips away.

“Well, I guess if I can't find a loop hole, watching the end of the world from a beach in Hawaii isn't half bad.” I say.

“I agree. But might I suggest you use your first wish to regain your mortality?” The genie flicks an eyebrow. I rather enjoy the form he's chosen this time, young like myself and close enough in appearance we are like brothers.

“I just want to choose my words wisely.” I answer.

“I fear you are pushing your time limit. I cannot say what will happen to you when time ends. Your immortality is forever, even beyond time. This is why I have given you my final wishes. I cannot leave you behind.”

“Yeah, I know.” I finish the fourth mimosa, the waiter sees from a distance and prompts the bartender for another.

“Do you have wishes?” I ask. I don't know why, it just felt right.

“I do, but I am bound to bite my tongue. I cannot share my wishes.” The genie answers

“Huh.” A thought occurs to me. I only need one wish for mortality. The remaining two wishes. . .

“Genie, I wish you could tell me your wish.” I say.

This is the first time the genie really looks at me. Infinite knowledge lingers in his stare, so captivating I can hardly find my breath. Like gazing into a cluster of galaxies filled with all the answers to life. All time stands still in the center of his stare. I blink and remember to breath.

“Well? Can you grant it?” I ask, the waiter exchanges my empty glass for a full one.

“I can.” The genies says, voice softening. “it's funny, you see, my wish is the same as yours. It is not time which is ending, it is I who is dying. When I die, time will end. That is why I wish I were immortal like you.”

I choke on the sweet liquid and laugh.

“Will your immortality prevent the end of time?”

“It may.”

“Then that is my second wish. Genie, I wish you were immortal.”

A strange thing occurred next, it was as if the earth and everything from the ground to the sky took a deep breath giving a renewed sense of vitality to existence.

“What just happened?”

“You've just saved time, my friend.” The genie said. A silver tear rolls from the corner of his eye, “thank you.”

“No need to thank me.” I say. My reaction is dulled with my age and the mimosas. I could have cared less either way.

“Would you like to make your final wish?” The genie asks.

“I dunno. . . can I have a night to think about it?” I ask.

“Of course you may. There are no time constrictions now. You have all the time in the world to make your final wish.” The genie smiles.

“What if I never make a final wish? Would you be forced to travel with me?” I ask.

“You know the rules. I am bound to a wishmaker until all three wishes are fulfilled, or until the wishmaker dies, which ever comes first.”

“Interesting, isn't' it? We are both immortal. So you are only bound to me by my final wish. . . “ The mimosas have began to guide my thoughts.

“I guess I am. . . “ The genie said.

“In that case, now that I have you at my disposal, I think I'll take the next two centuries to enjoy my youth.” I smile.

“I can make the next two centuries even more miserable than the first two if you drag your final wish out.” The genie snarls. I remain silent, soaking in the power shift between the pair of us.

Neither of us speak for the next several hours. Secretly anticipating the end of the world, we remained on the beach until daybreak.

“Its official. I am immortal. Time continues.” The genie finally broke the silence, exhaling a thousand lifetimes of stress into the sunrise.

“I've seen enough.” I say, “Genie, I wish I were mortal.”

The genie laughs, “Thank you my friend. I'll be sure to weave a myth of the man who saved time. The world will forever know your name. Take care.”

I blinked and the genie was gone.

“At least he said good by this time.” I say to myself, chin dipping to my chest.

As much as I wanted to see the world it is not mine to see. It is everyone's to see, even if only one piece at a time. In the end, I guess I am glad I could help the genie, but even happier to be mortal again.

And once I fall asleep on this beach, I hope I never wake up. Two centuries of life deserves at least a lifetime of rest, don't you think?

MYTHICALISLAND.COM

Author's Note

Rough draft. Any opinions are welcome. Thank you!

Reviews

[Glen Yumang Manese]

The theme and the entire read flows well...the embodiment of the write is long enough to keep the reader in...by that I mean the plot lines of the three wishes is played out just enough for the reader to stay convinced to reach the final verdict...

and the story line gives a bit of humanity in the aspects of things...about immortality and the gifts of being mortal...and you say that reflection in the ending of this...that life is built around each individual person...

I did not see error/misspelling in the write...so that helps also to give more time on the preview of this story...

again kept my interests...and the Mimosa...can I have one now...on you of course...good to read your work...

[Rimpi Saikia]

It kept me engaged the entire time. That flow in your words is mesmerizing.

[Irish SOaP]

Wow...this is so captivating and wonderful. This really makes me think about what I would wish for if I had a genine. I have a few suggestions though. Why not add a few lines about the struggle to say "Genie, I wish I were mortal," I know that the whole point is that you have lost the will to live and just want to die but still it's like pulling the trigger, or jumping off a roof. Maybe you might regret it a little but that's just me i may be wrong. So over all this is quite a lovely short story.

[Wolfwind]

This was a wonderful little tale. I loved how it delved into so much with just the idle banter between two characters. The story could used a bit more detail or perhaps explanation in a few places, but they aren't any distractions from the overall piece.

I felt that the overall theme of the piece was to question if immortality is cracked up to be all that we think it is. In this tale, the answer turns out not really.

I wasn't clear on the genders of either character until the end, and the genie was vague at best. In fact at first I felt the main character was a female, in the way they spoke of mimosas'

I don't think I could really connect with either character personally. I felt the genie cared to much about his own selfish desires and the man was to care free about the world in my opinion.

Overall though, it made for an interesting flow of storytelling, that leaves one wondering if it's safe to trust the next genie they meet. =)

Great Ink! Thanks for sharing your craft!
Aaron - Wolfwind

[SquinklaPsyOps]

Very compelling and interesting piece, well written with a strong, clear voice.

It is easy to read, the facts are presented clearly and concisely.

Congratulations and thank you for sharing interesting master piece.