Djinn in the City

"And another box gone," Jack muttered to himself, putting the heavy box aside. "Only what, a billion more boxes to go?" The silent storage unit didn't respond, but Jack nonetheless felt like the sweltering box was mocking him. It was in the mid 80s outside, a lovely summer day. But inside this metal hell the temperature was hovering in the high 90s. Jacks' shirt was plastered to his sweaty body, and his jeans felt like a swamp inside. "Thanks again, Uncle Al."

Uncle Al was actually his great-uncle Albert. No matter how much he wanted to, Jack really couldn't be mad at the old coot. He had been more like a grandfather to Jack during his life, and had even helped him six months ago when Jack moved to New York against his parent's wishes. Even though he was nearing a hundred, his death had surprised everyone. More surprising than that was the will that left his worldly possessions to Jack, bypassing several other members of the family and ruffling a few feathers in the process.

Everyone knew that Albert was a packrat, and had been for his whole life. Not like one of those horrible hoarders like that TV show, he wasn't collecting 20 tons of newspapers or anything. But his house was always cluttered with knick-knacks and tchotckes from all over the place. It had taken Jack the better part of a month to go through it all and get Al's place ready for sale. It was only after the closing that he received the bill from the storage company about Uncle Al's storage locker. And that's how Jack found himself sweating to death in a metal box looking through dozens of smaller boxes sorting through crap.

"Alright..." Jack said to himself as he lugged another box down. He had three piles: junk, keep, and sell. Right now almost everything was landing in the junk pile, which he had conveniently put inside a nearby dumpster. All Jack had kept so far was a box of old beer glasses, a cool art-deco picture frame, and a box of old Playboys that he thought he might be able to sell himself. Everything else was going straight in the dumpster: old National Geographics, text books, old buttons, boxes of other people's business cards... Yeah, maybe Uncle Al was one of the hoarders.

Jack opened the box, finding various old pots and pans. He dug to the bottom and found something wrapped in a bright cloth. Working at the bundle, Jack laughed when he found a dingy brass oil lamp. He tossed it with the other pots and was about to toss it into the dumpster when he noticed some smudged writing on the side of the lamp. He pulled it out and tossed the rest in with the trash, heading back into the storage locker to take a better look under the lockers' bare light bulb. Under the light he could see that there was definitely writing, a faint inscription that he could barely see. Taking his sweaty tee shirt he wiped the area vigorously, hoping to get the grime off. Suddenly the lamp seemed to throb and vibrate in his hands, a purple mist beginning to leak out of the lamp's spout. Jack dropped it in surprise, which only deepened as the mist formed a thick column of smoke in the dim locker.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me..." Jack said to no one in particular as the smoke began to take shape in front him, solidifying into the shape of a person. The body seemed to form first, spinning out of nothing until there was a short young woman standing in front of him, her long dark hair floating around her. A beautiful young woman with shocking violet eyes, Jack was stunned to realize. A naked beautiful young woman. Her body was pure perfection: lightly tanned skin without a tan line in sight, perfect teardrop breasts that defied gravity despite their size, a narrow waist that swelled into delightfully curvy hips and lovely supple thighs. Her pussy was covered with a thin smattering of soft dark hair, her lips barely visible through her bush. But just as soon as she had formed, her clothing formed around her, the smoke swirling about her to take the form of silky coverings and sashes, leaving her tummy and arms bare. Jack stood before her, dumbfounded, and the lamp fell from his limp fingers with a metallic clatter.

"Master," she said, bowing deeply. "I am the djinni of the lamp, and I exist to serve you. I am to grant you-"

"What?" Jack asked, interrupting her.

"I... I am the djinni of the lamp, and I exist to serve you. I am to –"

"You're a genie? You're a genie."

"I am the djinni of the lamp, and I exist to serve you, yes," the woman repeated, clearly thrown off by Jack's repeated interruptions. Jack stepped forward and touched her on the arm, cautiously, as if he expected her to burn him. When she didn't, he touched her again, gripping her arm, feeling it's soft solidity. He pinched her. "Ow! Master, is something wrong?"

"Uh, I'm not sure," Jack said. He was still covered in sweat, but he suddenly felt the cold sweat of terror. "You're real."

"Yes, yes I am real," the genie replied, starting to get a little exasperated. Jack took a step back, then dashed to the storage unit door and shut it, hiding the genie from the rest of the world.

"Okay, what is this? Is this some sort of prank? Where did you come from?" Jack said, stalking up to the woman. I'm not calling her a genie, not even in my head, Jack thought to himself. "Genie's aren't real, so you aren't a genie. So what? Answer me!"

"I am a djinni. I belong to the third caste of Oridonno, of the house Allajjadiene. I have served 33 masters in my time. I have the power to grant you three wishes, to make your desires manifest, to give you whatever you want. Why do you doubt me? Surely you have heard the tales of the djinn."

"Yeah, tales. Stories. Fucking Aladdin. Everyone has. Children's stories. I don't want to blow your mind, but I don't believe in Hansel and Gretl either, honey."

"Then believe your own eyes, Master," the genie said, taking a step closer. Jack couldn't help but notice her tiny adorable feet as she did, adorned with a few jeweled toe rings. "Did you not see me emerge from the lamp? Please Master, I am not here to deceive you, only to serve," she finished, bowing again at the hips.

"Alright, fine!" Jack said, exasperated himself now. "I wish this storage locker was cleared of all this crap!" he said, waving his hands around, indicating the hundreds of boxes.

"Your wish is my command," she said solemnly as a wind started to whip through the storage locker. Jack froze as the wind whipped through the boxes, lifting them up and blasting them out the door and into the dumpster. Occasionally a little bauble or knick-knack would fall out onto his "keep it" pile, but within 20 seconds the entire locker was empty and the dumpster was groaning under a pile of junk.

Jack was dumbfounded. She's real, Jack thought. She's a genie. She's a real genie. Jack couldn't quite wrap his brain around it. He went to check the "keep it" pile, and found a gold watch, some jewelry, a box of financial documents. Looking closer, Jack could see that they were stock and bond certificates. She certainly kept the valuable stuff, Jack thought as he flipped through the items.

"Okay... Okay," Jack said as he stood, a plan beginning to form in his head. "Okay. Okay! Alright, we're done here, so... I guess we can go," Jack said quickly as he gathered up his few finds from Uncle Al's stuff, making sure to grab the lamp. "So let's go... It's not that long a ride back to my place." Jack opened the storage locker door before he realized what he was doing. "Wait a second, you can't go out like that."

"Like what?" the genie asked, her hands on her hips.

"Dressed like that. You'll stick out like a sore thumb. You've got to put on something more fitting to the times..." Jack paused for a moment. How do you describe fashion to an omnipotent being? Is she an omnipotent being? Jack shook his head; there would be enough time for questions later.

"I could copy your clothing," the genie said, and almost before the words had left her mouth, her clothing began to disappear into swirling smoke, again exposing her amazing body to his eyes. As the smoke reformed, the genie was wearing an exact copy of Jack's clothing, right down to the sweaty tee shirt. Although it did look much better on her, accentuating her breasts and stiff nipples.

"No, no that won't work. I mean you might blend in, but then we'd be attracting stares. Here," Jack said, putting down the box of Playboys and flipping through them. "Here, here. Look, copy this outfit," he said, pointing to an ad. The magazine might be from the 60s, but at least she would be wearing women's clothes. And it would give him another chance to see her naked body as she changed. She really was exquisite.

"Is this acceptable, Master?" she asked, indicating her clothing. The jeans were tight and high-wasted, but Jack thought it made her hips and ass look fantastic. The top was a sort of flouncy blouse, and it didn't do much to hide the lovely shape of her breasts. He noticed her feet were still bare.

"It's fine. Just copy my shoes and we'll get going," he said as they exited the storage locker and locked it up. He handed her the lamp as he hefted his boxes and they headed down the windowless hallway to the elevator. Entering the elevator he punched the button for the lobby, the doors closing behind them. The genie got a confused look on her face, looking around the small room. When the doors opened again on the ground floor, she gasped.

"You did not tell me you were a sorcerer!" she gasped, attracting a confused look from an old lady as they exited the elevator.

"What are you talking about?" Jack asked, mystified. He glanced back at the elevator and figured it out. "How long..." he began before lowering his voice to a whisper, "when was the last time you were out of that lamp?"

"During the reign of Alashkaban the Merciful."

"Who?" Jack decided to try again. "What year was it? Had Rome fallen yet? What year was it on the Christian calendar?" Jack had studied history in college, and was curious what era she came from.

"I believe it was the Christian year 818. Why? Why are we whispering?" she whispered, confused.

"My dear... I don't know which one of us are going to have a more shocking day," Jack said as he pushed open the storage facility's glass doors, leading the genie onto the busy thoroughfare in downtown Brooklyn. Her gasp told him all he needed to know.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And here we are," Jack said as he led her into his studio. Their trip had been interesting to say the least. The towering buildings alone stunned her into silence. Then there were the cars, which seemed to terrify her. But the best part was when they came to the subway entrance.

"I'll not enter some dungeon!" she had said indignantly, attracting a few looks on the street. Jack was eventually able to convince the amazed and terrified genie to enter the subway and board the train, and during the ride back to Queens did his best to answer all of her questions.

"This is your home, Master?" she asked, looking around the small apartment. Jack's studio was a true studio: one medium sized room with an attached kitchenette and a separate bathroom. It may be small, but Jack kept everything pretty tidy and actually rather liked his tiny home.

"Uh, yeah. Not much space, but I find it rather cozy. Um, please, take a seat," he said, indicating the futon. The genie sat daintily and Jack pulled his kitchen chair over so he could sit facing her. "So. You're a genie."

"Yes."

"Who grants wishes."

"Yes."

"Three of them."

"Yes. You have two wishes left, Master."

"Okay... Are there any restrictions? Limitations?"

"Yes Master. First, you cannot wish for more wishes." Jack nodded. "Secondly, I cannot bring any living creature back from the dead." Jack nodded. "And thirdly, I cannot make anyone fall in love with you."

"Why not?" Jack asked. He wasn't particularly interested in any love magic, but it seemed an odd limitation.

"Love magic is simply beyond my abilities," the genie said, shrugging.

"Well what about sex?" Jack asked, changing tacks.

"What about it?" she replied, her eyebrow arched.

"Could you make me sexually irresistible to women?"

"Is that a wish?" she asked, standing.

"No! No, take it easy, I'm just trying to figure things out here!" Jack said, standing as well. "Okay, new rule: If I ever wish for anything, you are to stop and repeat it back to me, okay? I want you to double-check all wishes with me before you grant them. Okay?"

"You want me to confirm that you do, in fact, want to use a wish."

"That's right. I already blew one on the storage locker, so I'd like to get my money's worth on the other two, okay?" The genie nodded in understanding. "Good. Now I wish I had wings like a bat." The genie's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"You wish to have wings like a bat?"

"No I don't! That was a test. Very good," he said, laughing. Jack went to the fridge and pulled out a beer. "Would you like one?" he asked, holding out a bottle.

"One what? What is that?" she asked, taking the bottle from him. "It's cold!"

"It's a beer. I know you know what beer is. Here," he said, opening the bottle and handing it back to her. She took a tentative sip, humming in approval.

"It's very good!"

"Thank you... That's another thing. Do you need to eat? Can you eat? Can you get drunk? Do you need to sleep at night?"

The genie laughed. "That's several questions. While I don't need to eat, while I am out of the lamp I will get hungry. If you don't wish to feed me, simply allow me to return to my lamp and that will replenish my physical form. Same with sleep." She took another healthy pull on her beer. "And I can get drunk, although it is has been a very long time since I have."

"I see," Jack said, taking a pull of his own beer. Putting it aside, he pulled a big pot out of the fridge and set it on the stove, setting the heat to low. The genie watched all of this closely, taking a special interest in the blue flames of the oven. "Split pea soup. I made a big batch of it the other day using some leftover ham. Care to join me for dinner? We can figure out my next wish."

"Very well, master," she said, bowing at the waist. "What do you desire for your second wish?"

Jack didn't have to think too long. "Wealth, I suppose," he said absently, stirring the soup. "If I were to say 'I wish I were rich,' what would you do?"

"Well, I would seek out any nearby mass of gold and deliver it here," she said simply, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Jack's eyes snapped to her. "What? You said you wished to be wealthy?"

"What good would a couple of tons of gold do me? And... Wait, you would steal someone else's gold and give it to me?"

"What do you mean what good would gold be? Don't tell me that gold is now so common as to be worthless?" she asked, exasperated.

"No, no gold is still valuable. But... Okay," he said as he took out his wallet and pulled out what little money he had in it. "This is money. While gold is still valuable, we use these pieces of paper to represent it in day-to-day life... Or it did until like the 60s I think, I dunno... Anyway, to be rich today, you need lots of this stuff." The genie took the bills and looked at them closely, feeling the rag paper in her fingers. As she looked closely at the bill, Jack couldn't help but glance into her gaping top, seeing her large breasts hang beautifully, her gumdrop nipples all puckered up. He shook himself when he realized he was staring, finding the genie's violet eyes watching him.

"So," she asked, taking another pull from her beer, "you want me to make hundreds of these?" she waved a five-dollar bill around. Jack laughed out loud and went back to stirring the soup.

"No, I don't think that would help either," Jack said as he tested the soup, turning the heat down a little. He poured two bowls and took them over to the coffee table, telling the genie to grab spoons from the drying rack. They sat quietly for a few moments, the sounds of their slurping the only noise.

"This is very good, Master," the genie said, scraping up the bottom of the bowl.

"You can have more if you'd like," Jack said, indicating the pot on the stove. The genie went to help herself, taking Jack's bowl as well. "And you don't have to call me Master. In fact, in public that would probably raise some suspicions. I'm Jack, Jack Sommers." He held his hand out to shake.

"Jack," she said, taking his rough hand in hers.

"Do you have a name?" he asked, and she laughed.

"My name cannot be spoken by mortals," she said. "The djinni language transcends the spoken word, so there are no sounds to be made."

"So you don't really have a n-" suddenly there was a light knock on the door. Jack was on his feet quickly, his mind racing. He wasn't expecting anyone, but he didn't want to have to try and explain the genie's presence. "Okay... You're an old friend of mine from school who's crashing here for the week. Alright? Just follow my lead."

"Yes Master," she said, earning her a quick look. "Jack. Sorry." Jack opened to the door to reveal a tall blonde haired woman dressed in tiny shorts and a tank top,

"Hey Jack, gotta minute?" Stacy asked as she leaned against the door. Stacy was one of his neighbors on the floor, a part time model/part time waitress. She was also a horrible flirt, which probably helped her in both fields. Tonight she had her long blonde hair in a messy ponytail, giving her the look of a sexy student.

"Sure Stace. What's up?" Jack had been into Stacy pretty much from the minute he moved in, but knew that he really didn't have much of a shot with her. But he would never turn down hanging around with a beautiful woman.

"My laptop's doing that thing again, and I can't seem to get on the Internet. I know it's just that stupid-oh! Shit, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," Stacy said, noticing the genie for the first time.

"Oh yeah. Stacy this is... Ginny, Ginny Powers. She's a friend of mine from college," Jack said. He cringed at the name, but it was the first thing that came up.

"I'm just crashing here for the week, probably," the genie said helpfully, flashing a broad smile at Stacy.

"Oh, oh cool," Stacy said, clearly a little put out. "Well if now's a bad time..."

"No, don't sweat it. I've shown you before, this is an easy fix," Jack quickly showed Stacy, again, how to change her network settings to access his wireless network. Jack knew that he was being too nice letting her use his Internet for free, but it really didn't cost him anything, so what was the down side?

"Thanks again Jack, really," Stacy said as she clicked her laptop shut. "Are you guys doing anything tonight? Wanna head out to O'Reilly's maybe?"

"Ah, maybe later in the week? Ginny just got here this afternoon and we were looking to catch up a bit. But rain check, definitely."

"Oh sure, you two catch up," Stacy said, her eyes flicking to Ginny. "I'll talk to you later Jack. Night." Jack nodded goodnight and shut the door.

"Ginny?" the genie asked, a smile on her face.

"Yeah. Short for Genevieve, obviously," Jack said, laughing. "It's the best I could come up with on short notice, sorry," Jack said as he rejoined her on the futon, she handing him his bowl of soup. "Where were we?"

"We were discussing my name, which seems to have been decided on, Master," she said, smiling. "And before that we were discussing your second wish to be wealthy, and how that green paper is the only real kind of wealth."

"Uh, right, that's right," Jack said. He thought for a moment. "And you couldn't just make me a mountain of money, because where would I say it came from? The IRS would be all over that."

"Erse? What's an erse?" the genie asked, finishing her second bowl of soup.

"Huh? The I-R-S. It's an acronym, the interna... Taxes, Ginny. Didn't whathisname the merciful collect taxes?" The genie nodded. "Well they're even better about it nowadays. And if you have a bunch of money appear with no income, you could end up in prison. So I need a way..." Jack smiled suddenly, and then checked his watch. "Okay Ginny, I know what my second wish is going to be."