Short Story: In Pursuit of the Genie

Genre: angst, fantasy

 

He had sacrificed everything in his pursuit of the genie. Material, immaterial, personal, nothing was spared, because once he found the genie, he could wish them all back and more.

No one told him that the genie was actually G.E.N.I.E., Girl Engraved Nicely In Entranceway. She couldn’t grant anyone’s wishes, and the entranceway was just a shadow of its formal glory leading to a devastated wasteland.

He sat heavily on the ground.

This was what he sacrificed everything for?

* * *

On the other side of the entranceway, a young genie broke away from the rest of her playmates.

“There’s a human outside,” she said, one finger pointed at the gateway between their realms.

Her teacher stopped her by the shoulder.

“Stay away from humans. Their greed has no limits. That’s why we left. Come, little one, to where it is safe.”

Her teacher pulled her away. She turned her back on the human and returned to class.

~End~