Wish

We take up positions opposite each other with the circle in the middle.

"Mr. Broome, if you will go first." I say extending my hand.

"My question is this: Did you wish for anything you own now?" He asks as he folds his arms. We been doing that a lot and I fight the urge to do that.

"No." I step into the circle unimpeded. He gives a little 'hummp' sound from his mouth.

"Your turn." He sneers. He does that a lot in the short time I have known him. I am still waiting for him to twist his mustache and make threats at me.

"My question: Have you ever killed anyone before?" I ask.

"Yes." He passes through with out any trouble.

"Now before Leaira asks the last question. I am going to make my final wish, if that's ok with you." I say standing in the circle of light.

"Weren't you supposed to make that before we started this?" He asks meanly.

"I can make it anytime, as long as it doesn't interfere anything with the challenge." I state with a smile.

"I must protest, this could change the outcome of the challenge!" He is now clenching his fists.

"I'm not changing the rules of the challenge, just making a wish. It can be anything I want. That is what I want. There is nothing in the rules saying I can't use my last wish like this." I tell him.

"As long as this doesn't change the rules of the contest, so be it." He's still angry.

"Leaira, I wish you would ask the third question I had written in the notebook." I say.

"Alan? Are you sure?" She asks meekly.

"Yes." I say.

"The rules for last question have changed, in order to easily declare a winner. When you answer this question you must give the right answer in order to leave the circle. Is this understood?"

"Yes" Mr. Broome scrunches his rather large forehead.

"I understand as well." I say

"Before I ask the question to you both, there are rules to it, just to make things fair. After the question is asked you may ask each other three questions. When either of you is ready to answer my question, let me know." Leaira states calmly. I'm surprised, she's taken the more subdued approach since Mr. Broome got here.

"Enough of the rules, what is the question?" Mr. Broome, seem steamed.

"Alright then, final question is: What was the other's first wish." She now folds her arms.

I look at him and smile. He doesn't look amazed with the question.

"Well, he told me yesterday, that Aladdin's ring was his first wish." I say, then taking a moment to exit the circle.

He thinks long and hard. He stares at me like a guy in a club finding his one night stand for the night. It's creeping me out.

"Mr. Scott, it appears I have three questions to ask you." He still has his fore head all scrunched.

"Yes you do." I state as I move to my refrigerator, free of the circle.

"Was your first wish for money, power, or something else?" He asks.

"Something else." I say as I grab a bottle of beer out and open it.

"Did you use the wish to talk to any of your dead relatives?"

"No, sorry." I say and take a sip. Leaira just stands there, watching the exchange.

He is infuriated now, he is almost hitting the force field with just his rage and frustration. He doesn't seem any closer to the answer.

"Mr. Scott, was your first wish for anything at all?" Still fuming.

"Yes, it was." As I look with love at Leaira and she nervously gives me the same look, trying to hide if from Mr. Broome. I think he sees it, he does, and gives a knowing grin.

"Genie, was I believe Mr. Scott's first wish was for you to fall in love with him." He takes a step forward and the force field stops him. He smiles for a few seconds at me and Leaira, who shakes her head no. Then flies into a rage pounding the force field. His greased back hair, becomes un-greased. His tucked in shirt becomes un-tucked. He screams in a language I have never heard and Leaira looks shocked at his choice of words.

I walk over to the table with the ring and the lantern. I pick up the lantern and the ring. Leaira smiles at me and winks.

"You can't take that. Give it to me." He says still very, very, much full of rage.

"You really just know enough about the rules just to help you, don't you? When you challenged me, you also had to put up your magic item against the lantern. The contest is always winner take all and as the winner I claim it. Oh, yeah you are still trapped in that circle till I ask Leaira to let you out. It's really up to her." I say as I put my arm around her. "You tricked me. You made sure I would become trapped in here. I issue another challenge!" He yells and screams. Oh, is he mad.

"Sorry one challenge per customer. Leaira, I wish the power and souls that are trapped in this ring, become free, so they finally may find rest after all these years." She looks at me fearful, then nods. I have become a wish making fool.

"Yes, Alan." She smiles and waves her hand over the ring I am hold in front of us.

The room becomes filled with white light and ghosts silently screaming for their freedom and now receiving it. This lasts for a few moments, before stopping as suddenly as started.

"You can't do this. You have abused the rules, this can't stand." He yells and carries on. "You been using only half of the rules for this long in unfair contests. I won using all of the rules." I say.

"YOU WILL PAY! ONCE YOU ARE DONE WITH YOUR GENIE , I WILL FIND HER AND GET BACK EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TAKEN FROM ME!!" He is still yelling and I don't like it.

"Leaira, may I have my last wish?" I sound remorseful.

"Your last wish?" She asks pleading.

"Trust me, it's the last wish I will ever make." I say, with a wink.

"Ok, Alan. Your last wish" She sighs, with a hint of sadness, but yet she is hopeful.

"You are making this your last wish? How many did you get? How many have you used? Well, it doesn't matter, because once you use that last wish, she goes back in the lantern. You might as well hand it to me when she's back in it, for it will be mine. Then I will take my revenge upon you." He interrupted me.

"You. Shut up!" I say pointing at him. "I will deal with you as soon as I make this last wish." I finish.

"Leaira. I love you more than you can possibly know, that's why I make this last wish for you. I wish you were free from the lamp." I say as moving to hold her to me and looking into her eyes. I see tears forming in her eyes and shaking her head no, again.

"Do you know what you are wishing for? If you make this wish I go back to my land, according to the rules of the council. Please change your mind." She looks at me pleading.

"No, Leaira. I wish you free. I know what I am doing." I say.

"Yes, Alan." She raises her hand and makes a whip motion as the lantern in my other hand is now in hers. It begins to crumple and glow with a green light. It finally disappears. She cries and waits for something else to happen.

"Hahahahaha, now she leaves and you let it happen. This is your reward: nothing!" He yells some more.

"This is strange, I haven't been called back to my land." She kind of asks rhetorically.

"Leaira, you are the last genie. That makes you the genie council. I guessed the laws governing that ring are along the same lines for governing yourself. He told me that the magic of the ring was bound to the same laws governing imprisoned genie magic. So long as there is one imprisoned genie left, the ring would still have rules." I put my hand up to stop her from interrupting me.

"So, that means, I don't have to leave, if I don't want to?" She asks.

"Why are you asking me? You are your own genie council, I guess you can do what you want." I answer holding her.

"Really? Hold on." She closes her eyes for a moment. There's a flash of light and opens her eyes.

"What did you do?" I say.

"Made some rules." She smiles.

"Like, what?" I ask suspiciously.

"Well, my powers are no long limited. So I granted you immortality, as a thank you from the genie council for everything you done for the them." She smiles and pulls me closer.

"That's some gift. Why immortality?" I ask.

"I want to spend forever with you." She tells me as she pulls me in for a kiss. We hear clapping.

"Oh how good for you. What about me? Are you going to keep me trapped in here forever? If so I will be in here for as long as you two will live." He states now folding his arms.

"No, you won't. All the magic you had enchanted on you, became canceled once you entered the circle. I mentioned that before you entered." I remind him. "WHAT? HOW DARE YOU TRICK ME! OH YOU ARE GOING TO PAY. YOU ARE..." He is interrupted by Leaira.

"I should kill you where you stand, but that wouldn't make me any better than you, so I am going to do something to you, that you really don't deserve." Making her voice echo loud, she tells him angrily. I just stand there, in awe of her.

"Wait, before you sentence me with what ever you chose. I want to know one thing, Alan. What was your first wish? I have to know." He looks at me, straightening himself out.

"My first wish, I made it today. It was for Leaira to ask the third question I had written down." I state.

"Wait, how long have you had her?" He asks.

"About four months." I say holding her and look at him.

"You took this long to make a wish? How could you resist the temptation?" He asks.

"I love her and didn't want to take advantage of what she was offering me. And I had no real need for anything I couldn't get myself." I am confident

"This is impossible. How can someone resist? How can you have that much will? Any other man would have used her up and cast her aside." He sneers unbelieving.

"I'm not any other man. I am what I am." I tell him.

"Now if there are no more questions. Time to give you, your punishment." Leaira moves out of our embrace and steps towards the circle, making sure she is holding my hand.

"Oh, punish me." He says with his hands up like we pulled a gun.

"I am going to let you know what it is like for an imprisoned genie. By making you one." She states.

"You don't have the pow..." He starts and stops.

"YES I DO!" She yells.

"He has no memory of what we just told him. She has the powers of the genie council now, her powers are no longer limited." I remind.

"YOU CAN'T DO THIS! I WON'T ALLOW THIS TO HAPPEN!" He starts to plead as Leaira starts her magic. She waves her hands and the magic free zone circle disappears. She mumbles in a language that I can't understand, and a light show begins. That light surrounds Mr. Broome. The next thing I know there is a golden yellow old fashion lamp where he once stood. She then claps twice and it's gone.

"Where did you send him?" I ask.

"I don't know." She tells me as she moves back into my embrace and we kiss.

I break the kiss and I stare deeply into her eyes.

"Leaira, I have a wish I want you to grant." I ask her, almost becoming breathless.

"Yes, my love, anything you want." She answers sheepishly.

"Leaira, I wish this ring was on the sun. You can do that right? Cause this thing is really creeping me out." I say as I open my hand to show her the ring.

"Yes, I can do that. The sun it is." She says and cups her hand my hand holding the ring. When she removes her hand, it's gone.

"You don't have to use the words, 'I wish', anymore Alan, you have special privileges with the genie council." She tells me as she moves me back in for a kiss.

I wonder if this is the end of the adventure, or just the beginning.

The end.