Balsamine Chen, Period 8, 9/24/21

 Creativity & Fiction

I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was like straight out of a fantasy book, with a “genie” standing in front of me saying that he could grant any wish. Even more astonishing was the fact that he came out of my grandma’s ugly vase. This vase was the most horrible shade of muddy brown with small blunt engravings of a hulking man chasing a pig around a grassy field. As you turned the object, the man got larger and larger, growing off of its frustration, until it filled the entire side of the vase. Then the pig would stop, the man would shrink back down, and the cycle would start again. As a child, I would get nightmares of this man chasing me and sitting on me. My dad thought that it was the funniest thing in the world and called me his special child. Of course, who wouldn’t find this amusing? Most children get nightmares of some sluggish monster catching and devouring them, but being the “special child” I was, I had to dream about a man who looked like a sumo wrestler.

It was a Saturday afternoon when I headed to Grandma’s house to help her plant her new garden. Blessed with a green thumb, she constantly called me to help her plant seeds, pull weeds, and do every chore imaginable. I didn’t mind it, though. I loved spending time with her. On gardening days, she told me stories about her family, including Grandpa, who died three years ago. I wish that he was still with us with his great booming laugh and amazing wood-crafting skills, but there’s nothing I can do about it. For some reason, Grandma refuses to tell me how he died, only saying that it was a tragic accident.

“Emmaaaa?” she called from the kitchen.

“Yeah, I’m here! Where are the tulip bulbs you’ve been talking about the whole week?” I shouted back.

“They’re next to the living room table! Gather the gardening tools and I’ll meet you outside in the front yard!”

I walked to the end of the living room and reached for the burlap bag of bulbs, but just as I stepped forward, I tripped over my shoelace. As I grabbed the table to steady myself, the vase teetered on its edge and crashed onto the wooden floor, breaking into what seemed like a million small pieces. I froze as Grandma yelled, “What’s going on there?”

She popped her head around the door and her eyes bulged. “Wha-what happened?!”

I quickly stood back up. My grandmother loved that vase to death—she would always sit and admire it and tell me about how my grandfather made it when he was a teenager. I said, “Uhhh… I kind of broke your vase?”

“Wh-why are you here?”

“Huh? What do you mean? You asked me to come here to help you with gardening. Look, I am very, very sorry for breaking your vase, Grandma! I’ll glue it all back together! It’ll be as good as new! Well, maybe not new, but…” I stopped when she shakily raised her finger to point at something behind me.

“I’m not talking about you, Emma, I’m talking about the genie behind you.”

I slowly turned around and saw wisps of smoke rising from the fragments of the vase on the floor. Lo and behold, a man in a black suit stood behind me. He would’ve looked like an ordinary businessman, with slicked black hair, a gold wristwatch, and polished dress shoes, if it wasn’t for the fact that he was slightly transparent. He slowly opened his eyes and stared at me.

“Well?”, he said. “What’s it gonna be?”

“Huh?” I stammered. “Wha-what do you mean?”

He rolled his eyes and scoffed at my question.

“Your wish, Emma Taylor. What do you desire? Money, fame, a mansion?”

“How do you know my name?” I whispered.

“Well, I’ve been sitting in your living room, haven’t I? Jesus, all those times you stared at me have taken such a toll on me.” He shook his head. “You were such a rude kid, poking me and turning me around and around. You would think being a genie would get you special privileges and a fancy home, but noooo they just had to put me in your stupid vase. Now come on, don’t waste my time. What’s your wish?”

“B-b-but… you just came out of a vase.” I was sputtering like an absolute fool. Who wouldn’t be? Here I was, standing in my grandma’s living room, talking to a genie of all people, and…. wait. Was he even an actual genie? I stepped forward to take a closer look, but paused when Grandma spoke.

“Stop. Don’t get closer to him, Emma.” She turned back to the man. “Why are you here?” she demanded. “I thought you were gone for good.”

The man rolled his eyes. “Really, you’d think that humans would be more grateful for us genies. For your information, that little ritual you did 10 years ago did nothing. It was all just a sham. The only reason why I was “gone” for so long was because I had to do so much paperwork after the whole mess. But now I’m here, so give me your wish so that I can get away from all this nonsense.”

“Well, I don’t want a wish.”

“I’m afraid you don’t have a choice, Irene. It’s not your wish, it’s…” He turned and pointed at me. “...yours.”

I was flabbergasted. “What are you even talking about?”

He squinted at me. “Oh right, you’ve never met me before.” He stood up straighter, stared straight ahead, and announced, “My name is Robin Clayson and I’ve been sent from the Golden Wish Association to fulfill all of your greatest desires. Tell us your wish, and we’ll carry it out with a swish.”

Robin slumped back down and eyed me. “Emma Taylor… what a very ordinary girl you turned out to be.”

I sputtered, “Excuse me?”

He replied, “Well, I’ve been sitting here all this time because my boss was convinced you’d be some special person, but you’re quite normal.” He shook his head. “I guess it was too good to be true. Anyways, what do you want? Come on, I haven’t got all day for this. I’ve been sitting here for 20 years, waiting for someone to crack me open and finally make a wish, and I’m terribly late for my next appointment. I’ve been berated enough already by wrinkly old badgers, thank you very much.”

I looked back at Grandma and saw her warily watching me. 

“Don’t make a wish, Emma,” she said. “There will be some price that you’ll have to pay.”

I turned back to Robin and asked, “What happens if I don’t make a wish?”

He frowned. “I’m not sure if that’s actually ever happened, a human refusing a wish.” He closed his eyes for a moment and opened them again. “According to page 267 of the Genie Handbook, I have to come back again in a few days for the wish.” He sighed. “You Taylors really like making my life harder. Well, I’ll be back.” 

And he vanished with a poof.

To be continued…