The Lamp

Hanna had many dreams in her eight years on this Earth, but none could measure up to the one she had the night before Christmas. She sat alone in an empty room before a fire in her family's red brick fireplace, and looked deep into the whisping flame. She reached out towards it. Although she wanted to pull her hand away she could only reach deeper. And when her hand had touched the flame it was cool to the touch. Her eyes had lit up brightly at this discovery, and she reached deeper until her hand touched something metallic.

The Flame had hid the object well, but when she grabbed it, pulled it out from the fireplace, and held it in her hand like it was a soiled rag. What use would she have of a strange looking bronze teapot? But it wasn’t like any teapot she ever saw, and it had a flame coming out from its spout.

Suddenly as she was holding it it grew extremely hot, but she could not let it go. She screamed as her hand grew burning welts upon it. As this happened the fireplace fire had grown low, and was dying, and the darkness of the room looked to swallow her up.

When Hanna had woken up in her dark bedroom she awoke with a soft scream, and looked at her hand to see that it was uninjured. She took deep breaths to calm herself down, and wiped the cold sweat from her brow, before looking at the clock on the nightstand. 4:35 Am. If she woke her parents now they would tell her that Santa hadn’t delivered their presents yet (Even though there were presents under the Christmas tree already).

As her eyes adjusted to the morning darkness she could see it. The teapot stood there by the clock. She knew that it couldn’t be a teapot, but she also knew that she didn’t want it in her room. Traumatized from her dream she rubbed it a couple times to see if it was burning hot like it was in her nightmare, but then it began to shake, and spin, and glow with a color like bloody fire.

There was a loud and long groan as some shiny, sparkly purple essence seeped from the spout of the Teapot, and the essence began to coalesce into the form of skinny gaunt man in chains. Hanna was about to scream, but no air had come out of her lungs. And the form put his finger to her lips to stay silent.

“It is very early master. You must not disturb everyone's slumber.” The form had a wispy voice as if coming out of the Teapot had taken a toll on its body.

Hanna took a few deep breaths as she stared daggers at this strange being in her room.

“Who are you?” The being had smirked at the question, and with a light flare of sparkle, and shine he answered.

“I am Jamal, The Grand Genie of Cyrus’ Lamp.”

Hanna looked confused

“You do know the great Kalesian emperor Cyrus the Wise?” Hanna had just shook her head.

Jamal thinks for a moment, and floats around Hanna’s room for a moment, looking at posters of Billie Eilish, and her spelling Bee medals.

“I’m not sure where I am, but I suppose since you rubbed my lamp you are my master, and I will grant you three wishes of your choosing.” Hanna still looked a little scared, but she was intrigued by what Jamal had to say. “The only rule is that you can’t wish for more wishes. You have no idea how many people try to do that.” Jamal had a warm smile upon his face, and had his hands behind his back like a loyal servant.

“I can wish for anything?” Hanna had some doubts, but the Genie looked assured in his abilities. Still Hanna didn’t take it seriously, and believed that she was still dreaming.

Jamal nods silently.

Hanna thinks for a moment.

“I wish for an ice cream cone!” Jamal had given her a slight look. “My brother took my last one and ate it in my face. I just want some ice cream.” Hanna held her hand out, and with a flourish of his skinny wrists Jamal had made the Ice cream that she Hanna had earlier appeared in her hand.

“A simple task, but I will do anything to make my master happy.”

Hanna didn’t answer; she was too enthralled with the taste of her Ice cream to care. Once she had finished eating it all she licked her fingers of whatever sugary goodness was still left. When she was done she sat in her bed satisfied.

There was a thinking silence in the room for a while. Jamal had waited by her patiently until she blurted out.

“I wish David didn’t exist.” Hanna looked pleased with herself, but Jamal looked confused now.

“Who’s David?”

“My older brother. He’s rude, and he smells.” After she explained it Jamal looked as if she understood her now.

“Of course Master! Smelly men are the worst.” Jamal had begun to wave his hands around, and a sparkly purple mist had filled the room, and as quickly as it appeared it quickly dissipated.

Nothing in Hanna’s room had changed as she looked around, and there was some disappointment. On top of that Jamal was nowhere to be found, but the lamp was still on her nightstand. The only difference that Hanna didn’t notice was that it was 5:55 Am.

Hanna had gotten out of bed, and quietly opened her door that led to a small hallway. Across the halfway was the door to David’s room. Hanna slowly creeps up to it thinking that David would probably still be asleep, and if he heard her trying to sneak in he would certainly throw her out, literally.

Trying not to make a sound she slowly opened the door, and just as she was about to get a good look into the room, both Hanna’s parents had barged out of their room in their Christmas onesies, on their way to wake up Hanna to open their gifts.

“Sweetie! Why are you trying to take a peek at my studio?” Hanna’s Mom spoke with a cheerful smile.

“Studio?” Hanna was confused.

“Were you trying to play hide and seek with us before we open gifts, Honey?” Hanna’s Father looked as if he thought that hide and seek was a good idea, but Hanna’s Mother had stopped him.

“We have to open gifts first! I can’t wait to see Hanna’s face when she sees what we- I mean Santa got her!” Hanna’s father nodded in furious agreement, and he walked over to Hanna, turned, and squatted down to give her a piggyback ride. Not knowing what else to do Hanna gets on, and the three of them travel down the stairs to the family room where the tree is.

The morning light is just starting to peek in from the frost covered windows, Hanna sits near the tree as her Mother sits in a chair, and her Father lights the fire in the red brick fireplace. Hanna is weary of the fire for a moment, but her Mother urges her to start opening her gifts.

As she scans the gifts she notices that there are none for David. Her mother notices this. “What are you waiting for, Hanna? Next Christmas?” Her Mother, and Father both chuckle at the bad joke, and when her Father lights the fire, he goes to sit on the ground next to Hanna.

Hanna goes to open one of the gifts with her name on it, and when she tears off the wrapping paper, underneath reveals the new iPhone 20. Hanna is enthralled with the sleek white packaging, and in a frenzy tries to break the phone out of its cardboard prison. Her parents smile, and clap her on while cheering her name.

This goes on for a few minutes until she hears footsteps coming down the stairs. But only Hanna can hear the footsteps as they look confused when she stops to look at the staircase.

“I didn’t know you guys were already down here. Nobody thought to wake me up?” Neither of Hanna’s parents answer a half-asleep David, dressed in shorts and an old green robe.

“Wait, you shouldn’t be here.” Hanna was very confused, but when she turns to her parents they also look at her confused.

“Who are you talking to, Honey?” Her Father looked a little worried.

“What do you mean, Dad? I’m right here! Hello!?” David was starting to get scared.

“You don’t see David, Dad?” Hanna pointed in David’s direction, and her Dad scanned the staircase as David jumped around, slapped his cheeks, and started barking like a dog for attention. Her dad just shook his head.

“You think you need some more rest, Hanna?” Hanna’s Mom looked concerned, but Hanna ignored them, and spoke to David.

“I’m not sure what's going on David.” David looked at her with a scowl. 

“You guys are just pranking me on Christmas, I get it. I know I failed my Math test, but this isn’t-” Then something had caught David's eye. On the wall was a family photo, but David was missing. David looked at another picture and he was missing from that one as well. David scoured the house, but couldn’t find a single photo of himself.

“What the hell is happening!?” Hanna started to shake, and looked around in panic until she saw the lamp at the foot of the fireplace. She went to grab it, and she rubbed it quickly. Hanna’s Mother was about to speak, but was frozen in time along with Hanna’s Father, and David as the Genie squeaked out of the lamp.

“My master what is your-”

“Why can’t my parents see my brother?” Hanna knew that whatever was happening was Jamal’s fault. Jamal had only smiled at her.

“You had asked for David the rude, and smelly older brother to not exist, and I had made it so.” Jamal bowed to Hanna as if pleased with himself.

“He still exists! I can see, and hear him!”

“Well I can’t erase him from your mind, and so I did the next best thing… Make him invisible to everyone except you.”

Hanna didn’t know what to say. This was torture for her, and David, and she knew that she had to make it right.

“I want the wish to end. I wish that I never wished for the wish. Please, I don’t want this!” The Genie hesitated and looked around for a moment.

“I cannot undo my wishes. A rule I had… Forgotten. Only another Genie can undo another genie’s wish, but the chance of meeting another one is very rare.” Only slightly does Jamal smirk.

“There has to be something we can do!” Hanna looks back at her Brother frozen in time.”

“There is one thing you can do, but I could never suggest it to my Master.”

“Jamal! Please!” Hanna is begging for the floating cluster of mist to help her, and after a brief pause he speaks again.

“You can wish to become a genie. You’ll take my place in the lamp, and I'll rub the lamp, and wish for everything to go back to normal.” Hanna looked unsure of the plan, but she looked at the terrified look on David’s face one more time, before nodding her head.

Hanna stood up before the Genie, and she began her wish. “I wish to become a powerful Genie!” Jamal had bowed his head, and the pink mist from earlier had filled the room, and did not dissipate for a while. Just as she was about to speak Hanna realized she was in another room, the same room from her nightmare. The fireplace was lit, and darkness had surrounded everywhere the light did not touch.

“Jamal! I think it worked! You can rub the lamp now! Jamal?! Jamal?!” Hanna’s voice spoke with a loud endless echo, and that was the only sound that had accompanied the crackling of the fire in the fireplace.