Page 16 of Genie's Boy
“This place is amazing. But why is it so big when it’s only you? Well, and now me. Hopefully.” His open-ended comment was meant for me to close.
“Great question. Possibly while building it, I had a lover in mind to share it with me. The perfect boy who held my heart and could warm this large space with his wonderful personality and bright spirit. What do you say, Raj, are you that boy?” I pressed my lips to the top of his head.
“I hope to be, Genie.”
“You are, my love. What do you say to a seaside dinner while we watch the sunset?” I regretted the fact we’d need to leave shortly after that, but the only safe space for us to be together for long periods of time had to be non-magical. The small room Raj lived in fit that bill, so until the Maharaja used his last wish, or died, that's how it would be.
In a blink, I had the open-sided tent set up on the west side of the island. A small table, two chairs, and candlelight adorned it. Dinner for two kept warm and insect-free under silver domes. Raj ran out into the water, only going knee deep, and splashed around. His laughter carried through the wind, and I dreaded taking him from here. A place he truly seemed to love. As soon as the sun began its descent, he ran into my waiting arms.
“Genie, I wish we never had to leave.”
“One day, my love, one day. Now, come, let’s eat while nature works its magic as night falls. Dinner and a show.” I’d seen a million sunsets and sunrises but never had I seen them through another’s eyes as I was now.
“So different from watching it over the barren desert.” How Raj managed to eat without spilling, while his eyes never reached his plate, I’d never know. “Every color of the rainbow can be seen from here. Not just oranges and reds. Magic not created by a genie.”
“Cheeky boy,” I chuckled. “Mother Nature’s majesty is beyond compare.”
When the plates were emptied, Raj’s previous excitement subsided as I cleared it all away.
“Come, my love. It’s time to return.”
Reluctantly, he stood and tucked himself inside my arms. Seconds later, we were back in his familiar place.
“Will you stay tonight, Genie?”
“I stay every night, my love. Even the ones you never knew I was here for.” It made my heart hurt to leave him, though I had no clue how to convey those feelings to him.
“Why must you go when he calls? Has he threatened to kill you?”
An honest question from someone who’d seen firsthand what our ruler was capable of, but didn’t know the full story behind my existence.
“No, my love. He controls the lamp, therefore he controls me.”
“Lamp? I guess I don’t really understand. Can’t you just get it back from him?”
“I wish it were that easy.” While others I’d been intimate with in the past got a shortened version of my life, Raj was getting it all. Hopefully, he didn’t freak out and try to run. “The magic by which I was created went horribly wrong. Honestly, my existence was a mistake. The warlockwas dabbling in magic he ought not be. Magic beyond his capabilities. Dark magic, and in his quest for immortality, it backfired. Subsequently, he died and yours truly came to be.”
Raj’s eyes widened. “Whoa.”
“Whoa is right. It took years of trial and error to figure out where and what my magical limits were. The fates barely acknowledged my existence, considering it an abomination. One day they explained that I'd been condemned to a life of servitude and that the lamp would be my permanent entombment.” Immortal tomb was more like it, though I chose to leave that part out.
“But it wasn’t your fault. You had nothing to do with this.” Raj’s anger, though appreciated, was misplaced. There was nothing either of us could do to change this.
“Yes, and sadly, that was thousands of years ago.”
He blinked once, twice, then his head seemed to clear enough to find his words.
“Let me see if I have this right. One, you’re not human.”
“Correct.”
“Two, the lamp is your home. A magical home, but you somehow manage to fit into it.” His statement sounded more like he questioned his thoughts as the cogs in his brain turned, trying to make sense of it all.
“Correct. Shrink to fit.” That got a smile at least.
“Now, explain the wishes to me. How do they earn them? What can they wish for?” He ticked each question off on his fingers and counted aloud. “Do they expire if not used fast enough?”
“I wish. If that were the case, this current sentence would be over.” A limitation I wish the fates would’ve taken into consideration. “Through centuries of fairytale retelling, though more often than not the tales were true, stories of the lamp came into play. Men have hunted high and low for it, seeking the three almighty wishes. Some perished while doing so. The beholder rubs the lamp three times and receives three wishes, which brings us to current day and the Maharajah’s one remaining wish that he dangles over my head.”
