(This is a first draft, and I have plans to do some work on it in the near future)
(This story came from Story Fragment #8--Genie Under The Sea)
(This story came from Story Fragment #8--Genie Under The Sea)
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR
I was not having a good evening. My best friend, Jill, had set me up on a blind date with her cousin Hudson. He was a nice looking man: he was six feet tall, had an athletic build, and blonde hair and blue eyes, along with an engaging personality. However, his choice of restaurant left a lot to be desired.
Some people might enjoy the idea of dining in an Italian restaurant located at the bottom of the ocean, but not this woman. I have a deep-seated fear of being underwater, which stems from nearly drowning in a swimming pool at the age of three. I had spent most of the evening teetering on the verge of a panic attack.
As I left the table to visit the ladies room, mentally willing myself not to lose my dinner, I ran straight into a rather exotic looking young woman.
“Excuse me,” I stammered. “I’m not feeling well, and I wasn’t watching where I was going. Are you all right?”
“Yes, thank you,” she purred, her accent one I couldn’t place. “And because you reacted so kindly, I have a gift for you—any three wishes you make this evening will be granted. The only rules are that I can not bring someone back to life and I can not make someone fall in love with you.”
“Are you serious?” I looked at her in amazement. “What sort of prank is this?”
“No prank, mistress. I am a genie, and I am granting you three wishes in exchange for your kindness to me. Whenever you decide on your first wish, just whisper it to yourself and it will be granted. But I must warn you to consider your choices and wish wisely.”
After a quick trip to the ladies room, I headed back to the table where Hudson awaited me. I considered telling him about the strange encounter, but after looking around the restaurant and not seeing the mystery woman anywhere, I chose to keep that little nugget to myself.
Hudson smiled at me and asked if I were enjoying the view. Considering the view was ocean water and fish, and I was still feeling like I might throw up at any second, I answered as honestly as I could.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it. But I do wish we were on dry land instead.”
Something like a sonic boom occurred, and I closed my eyes, thinking of ducking under the table, sure the glass of the restaurant had shattered. Then I realized hiding under the table would be futile, as I would drown no matter where I was. When I realized there was no torrent of rushing water, I cautiously opened my eyes.
The first thing I saw was Hudson, still sitting across the table from me. He had a serious “deer in the headlights” look about him as he stammered “Where are we and how did we get here?”
Thinking that was a ridiculous question, and that we must still be in the restaurant, I broadened my view to look beyond my date and our table. In that instant, I realized why he was so shocked and confused. Instead of the underwater restaurant where we had been just seconds ago, our table now sat on a rocky beach alongside the docking area of the submersibles which ferried people to and from the restaurant. It was incredibly dark, which was going to make eating our meals a difficult task.
“I wish we had more light,” I muttered angrily. Instantly, a bright spotlight shone on our table, nearly blinding the both of us.
“Seriously? Come on! That wasn’t really what I had in mind!” I exclaimed.
Hudson looked at me quizzically. “Do you know what’s going on here?”
“I’m afraid I might,” I confessed. “Remember when I went to the ladies room earlier? I literally ran into this woman—a very exotic looking woman, no less—and when I apologized, she gave me some line about being a genie and granting me three wishes for being kind to her. Apparently I’ve used two of them already, and that’s what got us in this mess. So I guess I have one last wish to try to put things right. Any ideas?”
“At this point,” Hudson huffed indignantly,”I’M wishing this entire evening had never even happened, and that I was at home watching a football game.
“You could be on to something there,” I readily agreed. I closed my eyes tight, and whispered my last wish: “I wish this night had never happened, and that we were both at our own homes.”
When I opened my eyes again, I was in my warm flannel pajamas, curled up on my sofa, with my gray tabby cat purring next to me. I picked up the novel I had been reading, and smiled to myself. The next time I met a genie, I was going to say thanks but no thanks to the wishes!
