Page 1 of The Omega's Third Wish
Chapter One
Theo
“Oh Daddy, Daddy, I want to go in that one!” my seven-year-old daughter cried.
I looked where she was pointing and spotted an absolutely garish purple and gold carnival tent. It wasn't a very windy day – just cool enough to be perfect for a fall carnival – yet the silk drapes over the tent were billowing dramatically. All around it were tiki torches with purple flames and sparkly smoke. Furple tinted smoke was curling out from the doorway, between two gold curtains.
“That one?” I asked skeptically.
“Yes, it looks like Aladdin!” Mindy cried, pulling me toward it.
“We only have one ticket left,” I reminded her, “and you haven't gotten a toy yet.”
She paused to consider it, then tugged my hand again. “Let's go in and see what's there!”
Silently cursing her recent Aladdin phase, I followed her into the tent.
I stopped in my tracks when we got inside; I wasn't sure what I was expecting, but the interior was nothing but more purple smoke and bright flames. And there, smack in the middle, sitting on a large cushion, was a man in an outfit as outlandish as his tent. He was clad in golden pants and a matching shirt with a bright purple turban – the same shade as the long beard he was stroking as he watched us enter.
“He's floating!” Mindy squealed.
The man was sitting cross-legged and did indeed look like he was floating several inches off of the cushion. He wiggled his feet inside a pair of purple shoes with comically large curls at the toes and smiled at us.
“Have you come to make a wish?” he asked with a smile.
“A wish?” Mindy asked eagerly.
The man flicked his hand and a purple card appeared between his fingers. Mindy gasped with joy. With an equally dramatic flourish the man drew a golden quill from out of thin air.
“One ticket for one paper and what kind of genie would I be if I didn't give youthreewishes?”
“Let's do it! Let's do it!” Mindy cried.
“You know the wishes won't really come true, sweet kit,” I said.
“Are you sure about that?” asked the man.
I shot the carnival vendor a glare, silently telling him to shut up, before turning my attention back to Mindy.
“We only have one ticket left,” I reminded her. “Wouldn't you rather get a stuffed animal?”
That was our usual tradition. We both looked forward to the carnival every year and no matter how long it took, I scrimped and saved every year to make sure I had enough to pay for admission, enough for a meal, a couple of treats, and tickets to ride the rides and play the games. We were down to our last ticket and hadn't gone to one of the everyone-wins games that guaranteed you won a stuffed animal. I rarely had the disposable income for treats for Mindy and I always counted on getting a stuffed animal at the carnival. It was usually enough to hold her over until Christmas, when I picked up a few decent toys from the thrift store for her.
“I want to make the wishes,” she pleaded. I softened; I could never say no to her. “I don't mind not having a stuffed animal, really,” she said.
“You could always wish for one,” the not remotely helpful man said.
I leveled another glare at him and he merely smiled.
“No thanks,” my clever daughter replied with a grin. “I already know what I'm going to wish for!”
I smiled sadly and handed her the final ticket. “Here you go, little kit. Knock yourself out.”
She squealed happily and eagerly skipped across the tent and held out the ticket. The man handed her the quill and the paper with a smile and plucked the ticket from her fingers.
“Three wishes,” he reminded her.
“Daddy,” she said, turning to me, “you make three too!”
