Page 2 of The Omega's Third Wish
“We only have one ticket,” I groaned once again.
Her mouth curled into a frown and her lip puckered just a little bit. “I want you to make wishes too, Daddy,” she said sadly.
“Three wishes cost one ticket,” I reminded her. “So, you get three.”
“Can I share them with you?”
I smiled sadly. “I don’t want to take away your wishes, go ahead and make your own.”
The man cleared his throat. “You did give me two tickets.”
I looked at him, ready to tell him that the offer was appreciated but not required.
He raised the ticket Mindy had handed him and a second one, still attached, flipped down from behind it and hung there. I had to admit in spite of myself, he was good; I hadn't even seen him switch out the ticket. His other hand flashed and he extended a purple card to me.
“And three wishes for you,” he said with a smile.
I took the card and before I could even look for a pen, a golden feather waved in my direction. I took it and sat on a cushion next to Mindy, who was eagerly scribbling out her wishes. I considered what I wanted and then began to write in, what else, shiny gold ink.
When we were both done we folded the cards in half and put them in a box that he held out. He shuffled it a little as they fell in, and then set it aside with a smile.
“I hope your wishes come true,” he said with a grin.
“Thank you,” chirped Mindy. She slipped her hand into mine and we left. “I hope they come true, Daddy!”
“Me too,” I said.
I took one last look at the hokey tent as we left and murmured softly, “Me too.”
~~~***~~~
The Genie
I returned to my tent with a slice of pumpkin pie and a cup of cider that the vendor down the row hadn't been able to sell; one of the perks of working the fall carnival. One of the game vendors passed me on the way back to my tent.
“Are you a genie or a clown?” he asked.
I smiled politely at the man I could reduce to a tiny pile of dust and said simply, “I'm whatever you wish me to be.”
He rolled his eyes and I chuckled at my own joke.
“I can't believe you just sit there all day ripping people off while they write their stupid wishes on pieces of paper,” he said disdainfully.
“I grant some of them,” I told him with a smile. “At least I'm not running a game where the holes you're supposed to throw the balls through for the grand prize are too small.” I probably shouldn't have said that, but I couldn't resist.
He spun, glaring daggers at me. “Excuse me?” he snarled. “Did you just accuse me of cheating?”
“You must have misheard me.”
“Listen here,genie,” he growled. “You watch your step around here or you're going to find yourselfwishingyou were somewhere else. People actually win some of my prizes.”
“I grant some of my wishes,” I said, maintaining my smile. “And considering most of the people who purchase my productdon'texpect wishes to be granted at all, I'd say that puts me on a level above someone who has no intention of giving away some of their better prizes, wouldn't you say?”
He snorted. “You don't honestly believe you’re granting people's wishes, do you? And if you do, then you're not just running a scam out of your tent, you're also insane.”
“What is ityouwish for?” I purred. I produced one of my purple cards and held it up in front of him. “You could always write it down and see what happens,” I teased.
“How about I wish for you to choke on your apple cider, trip over your stupid shoes, and get impaled on that tent stake over there. What would you say to that?”
