Page 7 of Genie's Boy
It appeared Genie enjoyed stunning me, based upon his smirk. He stood and held out a hand. Up I went, directly into his arms.
Wait, had I answeredhim?
“I’ve waited far too long to hold you.” As I sank into his embrace, all thoughts of what, why, and basically anything I’d initially planned to question him about faded away. A perfect fit, my head on his chest, ensconced in the safety of his arms. Our size difference was intimidating until he held me with such care and compassion as he was now. As though I were precious to him. But how long could it stay like this?Time to give up the dream, Raj. Slowly, I opened my eyes and found we were no longer in my room.
Chapter Three
Raj
“Where are we?” In front of us there was a candlelit table set for two. A silver dish with a matching dome over each plate. Beyond that, the room was eerily dark and tomb-like.
“My home. Far away from prying eyes.” Genie glanced around but said nothing.
I wondered if he had the capability to see in the dark. No wonder he preferred the tiny room I lived in as opposed to this scary place. How could he live here with only a table?
“How-how did we get here?” Thankfully a portion of my brain worked enough to ask. This place wasn’t for me, and even though a part of me wanted to get to know Genie better, the other parts wanted to get the hell out of here.
Genie sighed as he released me, walked over toward the table, and pulled out a chair for me. “Please, have a seat and I’ll explain.”
Fear. That’s what I should have felt, yet curiosity led me to sit. Cautiously, I walked over there. The ground beneath my feet was black and I couldn’t tell what it was made of. Not too hard, not too soft. Stone and dirt I knew, but not this. “Why is everything so dark?”
With a wave of his arm, Genie brought our surroundings into light. Almost too brightly, but after a few blinks, I focused.
“Oh my. Is that?” My finger shot out at the massive piles of treasure. Literally. Gold, jewels, tapestries, all separated accordingly. Artifacts of all kinds were displayed on pedestals and behind glass cases. Things I’d only seen in textbooks, but never in person.
“Did you steal this, or does it belong to the Maharajah?” Maybe Genie guarded the Maharajah’s treasure as part of his duties, thought that still didn’t answer how we got here.
“No, it does not belong to that imbecile. It’s mine, I’ve collected it legitimately over the centuries. I’ve been alivefor eons, during which I've gathered all of this.” Genie’s gaze wandered as he stared off, though he focused on nothing before it returned to me. Had he changed his mind about my being here? Maybe I’d seen too much now, and he was having second thoughts.
“Wait…” Had I been hit on the head? Was this some sort of coma-induced dream? “Eons? This had to be a dream. No one lives that long, nor do they have this much gold.”
“You’re not asleep, Raj. Please, look at me.”
There before me floated a barely visible whisp of green with Genie’s emerald eyes. No legs, but two arms adorned with his same gold bands around the wrists.
“You’re green. And see-through. And floating. You look like…” I drew a blank, this apparition was like nothing I’d ever seen. There was no way to describe it other than ghostly.
“Don’t you dare tell me I look like a lizard, boy. If you do, there will be hell to pay.” He winked, or at least I thought he did. I wasn’t sure, and right then I didn’t trust my own judgment.
“A lizard?” Not quite how I’d describe what I saw, but I guessed someone had called him that before. “What? Lizard?” I still had no clue what I was looking at, nor could I finish a sentence for my life, at least not verbally. For sureI was sleeping. I had to be, there was no other explanation. Right?
There was no other way to explain this idiotic dream. What an imagination I had. I shook my head and laughed. The gold and jewels were easy to rationalize. They represented the wealth I’d need to achieve the freedom I longed for. To get away from this village and start again somewhere new. The bed depicted a comfortable place to lay my head. Both things I’d need to survive—money to buy food and a place to sleep.
That’s it, I just had to lie back down and let it play out, then wake with the sunrise and I’d be back to my boring life. But at least it made sense. This though, not so much. “Time to sleep. It’s been a long day.” I walked toward the bed, not my bed, but then again this was a dream, and it was so much better than my lumpy one. Warm and inviting. It looked so comfy. If I could just put my head down on the fluffy pillows and nap for a bit...
“Raj, you’re not sleeping. Now for the last time, please come and eat.” Genie’s irritation with me increased, though I didn’t understand why. This was my dream, after all. Shouldn't I be running it?
I crossed the room, sat, and vigorously dug in, but kept my eyes facing downward. I didn’t want to see any more apparitions, nor did I want to hear ghostly voices. Thisdream-turned-nightmare had to end. Even if the food was fantastic and the gold called to me. Still, if I ate maybe he would take me home.
“Good boy.”
Do not look up. Do not look up. Do not…
You are such an idiot, Raj.
Genie was back to the form I was used to. More like the one I could handle. Human, and sitting in the chair beside mine.
“Did you drug me? What did you put in the food? Am I hallucinating?” There was no other reason for this. I’d heard of things like that happening, people getting drugged and kidnapped. Never to be seen again. Oh no, is that what happened? Did I get kidnapped? My heart raced and my head throbbed. I’d had enough of this.
