Absolute Power 6 - Little Things       by: Joan Banks

 

"This has to be the most boring stretch of road I’ve ever seen." Debby said. The terrain was flat and the entire radio dial was blank.

"Mmmm." Sarah replied, her attention elsewhere.

"Do you really think that this might be a Genie thing?"

Debby asked.

"Could be...." Sarah drifted away again. They were driving to Florida. One person won the 150 million dollar lottery. Sarah was suspicious.

"WHAT IS WRONG?" Debby slammed the wheel in frustration. "I’m sorry, honey, something is bugging you. What is it?"

"What gave me away?" Sarah smiled. She was in her normal form, brown hair, shoulder length and about 20 years old. She was also stunningly beautiful. She was silent for several minutes and finally replied.

"Did I ever tell you about my family?" She asked. "About what happened?"

"No, I knew you would when the time was right."

"Okay then." She said, "Here goes."

******

The Jacobs family lived in a modest two-bedroom apartment. Both Larry and Sandy were home for the evening and Melissa was home from her friends’ house. The typical evening activities included a little television, dinner, and complaining about the bills.

"If we pay the Visa bill next month we can probably still pay the gas bill." Larry said, frustrated. "No good, Visa called today, they’re getting pretty nasty." Sandy replied.

"Phone bill?"

"I could call them. Maybe we can get by with a partial payment."

"Okay, if we do that then we can pay most of the gas bill and the power. Visa will have to be late, at least." "This is stupid." Sandy said, throwing her hands up in the air. Her beautiful face was showing the signs of worry, extra wrinkles and bags below the eyes. "We’ll get through this." Larry said, "Just one more month."

"Mom, Dad! I did it!" Came the excited voice from the living room, "Come see!"

Larry and Sandy smiled at each other, laughed and stood. In the living room their daughter, Melissa, was in standing on her head.

"What?" Larry smiled "I don’t see anything different."

Sandy punched him playfully on the shoulder. "Dad!" Melissa said, maintaining her position, "This is pretty cool, huh?"

"It sure is, honey." He said walking up to his 10 year old daughter "Can you still do it if I....tickle you?" he reached for her feet as if to tickle her. He never made contact. His daughter was right side up before he knew it. "Not if I get you first." She said. Melissa and Sandy tackled Larry to the couch and proceeded to tickle him. Soon the tables were turned and he had both of them rolling in laughter.

Times were rough but life was good.

******

Two days later, Larry came home early. Along with the mail there was a small package, about the size of a shoebox, on the front step. There was no readable address on the box so he took it inside for further investigation. The mail consisted of bills. Instead of waiting for Sandy, as was their practice, he decided to get the pain over with. All the bills were overdue and some were getting threatening. He arranged them on the table and started checking out the box.

Postage was the only thing that was remotely readable about the package. Apparently this package came all the way from Bahrain. The marks for the address were identifiable by the large ink smear all over the front side. Not knowing what else to do he opened it.

Inside were a small brass lamp and a small piece of paper with a name on it. It looked like something you would find at a Pier 1 Imports or a garage sale. He snorted. "Who’s Casper Collins?" He tossed the slip of paper aside.

Jokingly he rubbed the side of the lamp. "Genie of the lamp, I command you!" he set the lamp on the table.

"Command me to do what, exactly?" came the male voice from behind him.

Larry jumped and scurried backwards across his kitchen. There was a tall man wearing desert robes standing behind where he was seated. The man had a bemused smile on his face. He was roughly six and a half feet tall, balding and sported a pencil thin goatee and moustache. "Oh, and we prefer ‘Djinn’" He laughed.

"Who....what?" Larry could not get a sentence together. He kept pushing against the floor but the wall blocked him from getting any further away.

"Djinn, genie, either way." The man shrugged "But do calm down. I can’t hurt you."

"Can’t?" Larry managed to say.

"Can’t." the Djinn said "It’s one of the rules. There’s a whole bunch of ‘em. I can’t kill anyone or harm anyone directly. I can’t bring the dead back to life. I can’t change somebody’s heart." The Djinn smiled "And NO, I repeat NO wishing for more wishes. Everybody thinks of that one. Doesn’t work."

"Uh....Mister....." Larry started to form his sentences.

"Call me Omar, if you wish. That was my name, long ago."

"Omar." Larry said, a little calmer.

"Really Larry. You said the words yourself ‘Genie of the Lamp, I command you.’ Surely you knew." "You know my name?"

"Really." Omar sat at the table "Magical creature. Three wishes. You know the drill. Please sit down, let’s behave like civilized people, hmmm?"

Larry stood, brushed himself off, and sat across from the Genie at the table. A cup of coffee appeared in front of each of them. Omar now wore clothes that were similar in style to what Larry was wearing.

"Now," the Djinn said, "You know the rules, now what can I do for you?"

Larry stared the Omar in the eye. He had the most penetrating stare that Larry had ever seen. When Larry averted his eyes, they fell on the overdue bills on the table.

"Fine," Larry said finally, "I want a hundred million dollars in hundreds, fifties, and twenties on this table." "That is your wish?" The Djinn raised an eyebrow. "That is my wish." Larry said with finality. The Djinn smiled.

"Done." The table creaked and collapsed under the sudden weight of all that money.

******

The rain poured over the car and blurred Debby’s vision. She had to slow to a crawl just to keep from driving off the road.

"Welcome to Florida, the Sunshine State." She laughed. "I’ve had about enough of this." The wipers were going full speed and still could not keep up with the rain. "Gas station up ahead." Sarah said, squinting through the glass. "Why don’t we take a break?"

"What kind of name is Stuckey’s anyway?" Debby snorted.

"You’ll find out." Sarah said.

Soaked to the bone, the two women sat in the Dairy Queen that was part of the gas station. The store was filled with knick-knacks and various snack items. Sarah insisted on buying Pecan Logs before they sat down. "So you really think this is the work of a..." Debby looked around, "...Genie?"

"Could be." Sarah said, "It fits the pattern. I was rushed or I would have done it this way. One person winning a 150 million dollar lottery? Come on." "So, what do we do?" Debby asked.

"We get close to them and try to find out if there was a Genie involved. We look for lamps or maybe even the same one that I had. How many can there be?" "I hope you have a plan." Debby said.

"You may not like it." Sarah smiled "Mom."

******

Melissa’s life had been turned upside down. She was at a new school with new friends and nothing was the same. They lived in a bigger house, sure. But what is the point if you never get to see your folks? She knew it was kind of lame to be 11 and want to spend time with your folks, but that was just the way she was.

Kids on the playground remained aloof. There were a couple of fellow outcasts, like her, and they tended to stay together.

A large luxury car drove to the front of the school. The horn sounded.

"That’s my mom." Melissa said to her friends "Gotta go."

She ran to the car and rushed into the passenger seat. "Watch your feet." Her mother said sternly, turning her head from the cell phone. Melissa kicked off her shoes so she wouldn’t soil the carpeting in the car. Her mother pulled the car out without another word to her. For a mile or so, Sandy continued talking on the phone about nothing in particular. Finally, after an eternity to Melissa, she hung the phone up.

"Mom, it was really cool toda...." Ring! The phone sounded again. Melissa’s face fell.

"Hello?" Sandy said, "Hi honey. How are you?" she mouthed ‘it’s Dad’ to Melissa. "Really? That’s great. So what time will you be home?" Melissa pantomimed that she wanted to talk to her father. Sandy looked away. "Again? You really need to spend some time with your daughter, Larry. Fine, we’ll see you tomorrow." Sandy hung up the phone.

"Mom!" Melissa whined, "I wanted to talk to him!"

"Don’t whine dear." Sandy said primly, "It’s not..."

Ring! The phone rang again.

"Helen. Hi. What’s the scoop?" Sandy became engrossed in the conversation, ignoring her daughter. Melissa moped, which was completely ignored by her mother.

******

Sarah stood in the bedroom of their new place. It was a month-to-month rental but the rent was reasonable enough. She stared at the mirror.

"Scared?" Debby asked from behind.

"A little." Sarah replied, taking off her shirt and bra. "It’s kinda weird, I’m gonna miss these." She hefted an ample breast. "I sure hope I don’t get stuck as an eleven year old. Are you sure you don’t want to do this?" "No transformations for me. No way. Who knows what I’ll get stuck as?"

"I think it’s only me, Deb." Sarah sighed, removing her pants as well. "I’ve been able to change everyone else. Except that weirdo with the eye thing." "You just didn’t want to do that." Debby said, "You weren’t trying."

"I guess. Here goes. Younger, eleven years old." Sarah shrank before Debby’s eyes. Her womanly figure vanished replaced by a body just entering puberty. "I just don’t want to get stuck." Sarah said, in her juvenile voice.

"The boy’s name is Rick. He is apparently very shy and even more so now that they have the money. Apparently he’s a little sickly, doesn’t take gym. He’s missed a lot of school but still keeps his grades up. He’s your key to the family. You ready for junior high?"

"Is anyone?"

******

"I don’t care if you are talking with the IRS. You need to see your daughter once in a while. Have a meaningful conversation!" Sandy was driving, talking on her cell phone. She was almost to the school.

"Honey, they want to know where the money came from." Larry said, "They think I’m some kind of drug dealer. What do you want me to do? Tell them a Genie gave it to me?" She was just approaching the entrance. Melissa was playing with her friends.

"If that’s what it...." Melissa crumpled to the ground and started shaking. "Oh my God." Dropping the phone, Sandy rushed of the car to her daughter, not even bothering to turn off the engine.

******

Sarah thought that Junior High would be a cakewalk. She was wrong. Debby had entered her into five of the 8 classes that Rick was taking. Just her luck he was an honor student. Armed with a fake birth certificate (provided by Bull and his friends) and transcripts Sarah began her pubescent school career.

Sarah knew how fragile a boy’s ego could be. After all, she had one once. She knew what boys liked 25 years before and hopefully it would be close to the same. Dressing overly sexy was out. Boys this age were intimidated by rapidly maturing girls. Overt flirting was out too, it had a tendency to scare most of them away. She didn’t have to date him, just get close. After quietly watching him for a few days, she had her plan.

Sarah was a pretty girl, so it wasn’t long before the ‘popular’ girls from school enlisted her. They seemed to be decent enough, if not a little conceited, but she had to belong to some group if this was to work. He wouldn’t want to hang out with a social outcast, right? Computer science had to be the easiest class for Sarah. As Larry she had been an avid programmer, competent and innovative. This is the place where she would make her move.

"Rick?" She tentatively went up to him after class. "I’m having real problems with this graphics routine. Can you help me?"

Rick immediately blushed and stammered out "Sure, Sarah.

Umm....I.....where?" She smiled.

"I’m sure we could talk Mr. Jones into letting us use the lab after school. Say tomorrow?" She already knew that he wouldn’t.

"Sure, I can ask him after lunch."

"Thanks. You’ve saved my life." They both wandered off in separate directions. Rick was pleasantly stunned and Sarah happy that her plan was beginning to work. In history class after lunch, Rick did not want to make eye contact with Sarah. She saw him glance at her several times but as soon as she turned to him, he glanced away. History was the hardest class; all the facts seemed different than when she remembered. She vaguely remembered that Pilgrims weren’t inherently evil, but apparently she was wrong. After class, she caught Rick.

"Were you able to get the lab?" She asked innocently. "Uh....ummm..no." He stuttered, "But if you really want to work on it then I have a pretty good computer at home. Not that you’d want to come to my house. Of course you wouldn’t." His words were spilling out faster than his thoughts. "But if you wanted to work on it, I have a pretty good computer at my house." He turned beet red, knowing that he sounded like an idiot. Sarah smiled; she knew exactly what he was feeling.

"That sounds great!" she sounded excited "Hey, I have a copy of the latest Final Fantasy if you’ve got a Playstation?"

"Yeah, I’ve got it too." He looked confused "You like video games?"

"Sure, who doesn’t?"

******

Melissa looked smaller than normal in her hospital bed. Tubes and wires ran everywhere and just made the little girl seem all the more frail.

She woke up shortly after being put into the ambulance. Other than being a little weak and confused, she appeared to be all right. Larry and Sandy sat by the bedside, trying to keep her comfortable and entertained. The doctor came in. "Hi folks. Hey there, Melissa. Can I steal your folks for a second?" He was fighting to keep his voice cheery for the girls’ sake.

"We’ll be right back honey." Sandy said. They stood and left with the doctor.

The doctors’ demeanor changed as soon as they were out of earshot.

"You have a very sick little girl." He said grimly, "We found a tumor." He put an x-ray of Melissa’s head on the light board. "It’s right here. It is in an operable spot but we need to keep her here, for safety. As you requested one of the most skilled men in the business is heading this way as we speak."

"That’s fine. Thank you." Larry said. Sandy was sobbing.

He was doing his best to console her.

"Use a wish." She said through the tears, "Use a wish and make her well."

"The doctor didn’t think there would be much of a problem." Larry said, "She’ll be fine. Let’s not waste one."

"Make the wish!" she was more adamant. "Don’t be so damn greedy!"

"We don’t need to!" He said, "If it doesn’t look better in a week, then I’ll do it, okay? That’s all there is to it. End of discussion." He left the room and went to the gift shop. He was sure they would have a stuffed animal or something that would cheer Melissa up.

******

The bonding that takes place over a video game can replace hundreds of hours of dedicated flirting. Sarah sat on the floor, she was wearing a t-shirt, green jeans and her hair was up in a ponytail.

"I’m gonna kick your ass." She said, picking up the controller again.

"You can try." He said cockily "But you don’t have what it takes."

Christie, Rick’s mom, watched the two pre-teens from the kitchen. It was so good to see him making friends, she thought, its been so hard after the money. Keeping him in public school was difficult, but it was the right thing to do. She was constantly aware that the sudden wealth of the family had made life difficult for their son. They were never sure if they were just after money. His old friends parents started asking for money and that made for a real awkwardness.

Rick coughed, Christie bolted to the room to make sure he was okay. False alarm, she thought, he’s still okay. "Rick," she said at what looked like a slow point in the game. "Are you going to invite your little friend over for dinner?" Rick glanced over at Sarah.

"Wanna stay?" he asked. All his earlier shyness was gone.

Sarah was just a friend now.

"I’ll have to ask my Mom." She said, trying to remember what he would have had Melissa do.

"Certainly, the phone’s in the kitchen, dear." "Pause it, will ya?" she asked Rick, he did. "Thank you Mrs. Davidson." She said to Rick’s mom. Christie listened in on the conversation. "Hi Mom. Can I have dinner at Rick’s tonight? (pause) Yes, he’s a boy. (pause) Mom! (pause) I won’t. Can you pick me up at 8?" Sarah looked up from the phone. "She wants to talk to you, Mrs. Davidson." She handed the receiver to Christie.

"Hi, I hope my daughter isn’t being a pest." Debby said.

"Not at all. She and Rick are just playing video games." "I’m glad she’s found a friend here. We’re pretty new to the area."

"I don’t think we can get these two apart." Christie laughed, "I think there’s some kind of video vendetta going on."

"That’s Sarah all right. I don’t want her walking home in the dark. I want to pick her up around 8. Can I have your address?" Christie gave it to her. The two women gabbed for another ten minutes before hanging up. Dinner was definitely not a formal affair. Christie cooked lasagna and the entire family ate at the table. There was a friendly banter in the family and they made Sarah feel right at home. Rick’s dad, Rick Sr., kept the mood light and the meal fun.

"I can help with the dishes." Sarah offered. "No, you’re a guest. But thank you, dear. Do you two have any homework, by the way?"

Both children stammered and shuffled their feet. Christie sent them off to get to their schoolwork. Debby arrived around 8 and spent a good amount of time talking to Christie before leaving with her ‘daughter’. "Sarah’s got a boyfriend. Sarah’s got a boyfriend." Debby sang.

"Oh shut up." Sarah snapped, "We have a good chance of finding out. Just keep in with Christie, okay?" "We’re having lunch tomorrow. By the way you’ve been getting calls from all these girls all night." Sarah smiled. "Anyway, do you still think they might have used...."

"It’s possible." Sarah slumped in the seat. "But I hope not."

******

Melissa died in the middle of the afternoon three days later. There was no warning and the doctors had no idea what to do.

"Why didn’t you answer your damn phone?" Sandy screamed into the payphone. "You should have been here!" She broke into sobs.

"I was in a meeting with the IRS!" Larry was crying now, too "They want to send me to prison. I’m so sorry, I’ve ruined everything."

"You should have been here." She said plaintively into the phone.

"I’ll be right there."

"I can’t stay here." She said in a quiet voice "I’ll see you at home."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, it’ll be hard, but I can’t spend one more minute in this place.

"I understand." He said, "I Lov...." click! The phone hung up. "...you."

******

Sarah started hanging out with Rick almost constantly. They ate lunch together and Sarah started getting to know his friends. The popular girls were getting quite upset with her. Sarah was a bit of an oddity to all of them, a girl who knew computers and video games who was really cute. After the initial awkwardness she grew to be a real part of Rick’s group.

Sarah presented a real tomboy image with enough feminine flare to accent the differences. One of the popular girls, Jenn, tried her best to be a terror to her. The girl was constantly gloating that her breasts were bigger than any of them. Sarah was tempted to flatten her (literally) right there, but decided against a juvenile response. She was sure it was mostly tissue paper anyway.

Sarah soon became a fixture at the Davidson house and ate dinner with them often.

Finally, Sarah thought she was close enough to start probing the situation. They were eating in their backyard, barbecuing hamburgers.

"It’s a beautiful night." Sarah said. "Almost magical."

"Sure is." Christie replied. "What do you think, Rick?"

"It’s nice."

"It’s a night like this you could almost believe in magic. You know fairies, leprechauns, GENIES?" She emphasized the last word. "What do you think, Mr. Davidson?" Mr. Davidson looked like he was ready to explode. He looked at Rick and then at Christie and back to Rick. "I think you’d better leave." He said. "Now."

******

Larry had waited for 3 hours for Sandy to arrive. This wasn’t like her. They should grieve together. A call to the hospital confirmed that she had indeed left for home. There was a knock on the door. A somber policeman was standing on the porch.

"Mr. Jacobs?" He asked "Larry Jacobs?" "Officer, I don’t have time for this. Can’t you arrest me tomorrow? My daughter just dies and I can’t find my wife." The officer’s face fell.

"I’m so sorry, Mr. Jacobs. I’m not here to arrest you. You wife drove off the highway this afternoon. I’m sorry sir, but she died immediately. I am so sorry, if there is anythi..." Larry shut the door in his face. He collapsed to the ground, stunned. He kept saying "Nonononono" over and over to himself. Some time later he rose and proceeded to his den. He rubbed the lamp so hard he should have burnt a hole through it.

"Damn it Omar. Where the hell are you?" he threw the lamp to the ground.

"Right here." The Djinn walked up from behind. "I am so sorry, Larry. They were both beautiful women. If it is any consolation it wasn’t the wish that did this...." "Bring them back!" Larry yelled, pounding the Genie on the chest. Omar stood tall, ignoring the blows. "I cannot." He replied, "If it was in my power it would be yours, but I cannot. You may strike me again if it takes away some of your pain."

Larry tried to clear his head. His wife and daughter were dead and it looked like he would spend the rest of his life in prison. Worst of all, he had barely spent any time with them in their final days. They had grown apart ever since....

"I wish I never had that hundred million dollars."

"Are you certain?" The Djinn raised his eyebrow. "Yes," Larry said, "That is my second wish. I wish I never had that hundred million dollars." "Granted. Can I get you anything else, my friend? Here, I give this to you, not as a wish but as a gift. Sleep." Larry fell unconscious immediately. Omar carried him to his bed and tucked him in. Larry slept a dreamless sleep.

******

"My folks want to talk to you and your mom." Rick said, sullen as he sat down to lunch.

"I am so sorry for whatever I said." Sarah didn’t like that sad look in his eyes.

"It’s okay." Rick shrugged.

"What did I say?" Sarah prodded. Rick shrugged again.

They ate the rest of the meal in silence. "Can you guys come over tonight?" He asked "My folks would like it if you came over tonight." "Sure, anything." Sarah was a little perplexed. If this is what they thought it was, Rick’s reactions weren’t quite right.

******

Larry walked up to the children’s ward. Two days before he had buried the most precious people in his life and there was nothing he could do about it.

Omars’ gift. That’s what he called the double memories he was experiencing now. Instead of the months of neglect that he heaped on his family he now remembered closeness like never before. Omar said something about parallel time lines or some such. They were good memories so Larry didn’t care what they were.

The nursing staff of the ward remembered him. They had sent flowers to the funeral and even food to his home. Larry was coming by to thank them.

The world in the ward seemed to move in slow motion, Larry took it all in. Children, obviously sick, talked with their families. They laughed, cried, played games all as families. There were the bad times as well, a mother tried to hold her daughters hair out of a tray she was vomiting in, only to have the hair come out in a large clump. The nurses and doctors tended them all as best they could, but it never seemed enough.

The nurses made time for him. Each of them gave him a hug and asked if there was anything they could do. There wasn’t.

But maybe there was something he could do for them.

******

"Debby, Sarah, please come in." Christie met them at the door.

"Where’s Rick?" Sarah asked, looking around. "Resting, dear." She replied, "That’s what we wanted to talk to you about. Please come in, sit down." Mr. Davidson stood as they entered the living room.

"I’m sorry, Sarah." He looked like he was ready to cry.

"It’s just that..." He broke into silent sobs. "Rick is very sick, dear." Christie broke in. "He doesn’t have much time."

"Where is he?" Sarah demanded "Take me to him!" "There’s nothing you can do, dear." Christie put a calming hand on her shoulder and held her in the seat." Sarah could have broken free easily but decided to hear them out.

"That’s why we....I was so upset." The man said. "If there were such a thing as magic then we wouldn’t have wasted it. We would heal my son. I’ve prayed and prayed. I’ve sent for doctors from every corner of the globe.

Nothing can be done. I just wanted to explain that to you.

My response was childish and uncalled for. I’m sorry."

Debby finally stood.

"Take us to him." She ordered firmly, "She really can help."

******

"Omar!" Larry yelled as he entered the house. The Djinn had been staying very near the house since the funeral. "Yes Larry?" He poked his head out of the kitchen.

"What is the scope of my final wish?"

"Nearly limitless, Larry. You know my restrictions, though. I cannot bring them back."

"Omar, you’ve been a good friend. What will happen to you after the wish? Will you stay here?"

"I cannot. Another restriction is that I must take a new residence. I cannot remain in your home." "Will you be all right?" the Djinn laughed. "All the power in the universe and you worry about me? Do not worry, my friend, I will be fine. I still must appear at the command of the lamp but there are many things I still would like to do." He gazed out the window at the mountains. "Do not worry."

"I will miss you, Omar. I cannot alleviate the suffering that my family has felt. I cannot bring them back. I may be able to do the next best thing. If I can have anything, then for my last wish I want the ability to cure anyone of any infirmity that I name."

"As you wish." The Djinn smiled and disappeared.

Larry smiled too.

******

"Cancer." A ten-year old girl kneeled at the bed of her sleeping friend.

"Health and strength and healing." She said it almost as a benediction. The boy stirred, but did not wake up. "Rested." Was the final word she said as she left the room.

Amazed at the devotion and serious nature of her son’s little girlfriend, she ushered them out of the room. "He needs his rest." Christie said. Sarah and Debby just smiled an enigmatic smile at each other. "We need to talk." Sarah said, sounding very adult.

"Please."

They had not reached the foot of the stairs before Rick came running up to them.

"Richard!" Christie sounded worried. "Your headache." "All gone Mom! Cool, huh?" Sarah went up to him and gave him a huge hug.

"We really have to talk." Debby told her.

Sometime later they were all in the living room.

"So you thought that the lottery was some kind of wish?"

Mr. Davidson asked, laughing slightly. "We had to know." Sarah said from her seat on the floor next to Rick. "It is one of the classic wishes." "I guess it is." Christie said, "But it wouldn’t have been ours. So where to now?"

"We are thinking of going south, towards Miami. I’ve heard of a Middle Eastern community there that may be able to help us." Debby said.

"So I’m all better?" Rick asked.

"Good as new." Sarah said. "’cept I can still beat your butt at any game you name."

"As if."

"We should be going." Debby said, standing for the door.

"Come on Sarah."

"Sure thing. See ya later." She handed Rick a card with the drwhisper@hotmail.com address on it. "If you need us, just write. We check it every week or so." "Thanks again, Sarah." Rick hugged the girl ferociously "I’m gonna miss you. You’re the first cool girl I’ve met."

"I’ll miss you too, Rick." She leaned back from the hug and gave him a light peck on the cheek. "You don’t know how much."

******

 

Epilogue

The road was getting to be old hat. At least this drive was a short one. Within a day they would be in Miami where they had a chance of finding some answers.

In the back seat of the car, well after leaving the Davidson house, Sarah returned herself to maturity. It was a relief, really, the hormones and pressures of Junior High were really starting to wear on her.

"Let me get this straight." Debby said, "This Genie, Omar, lived in your house for over a year and you don’t have a clue as to where he would go?"

"I don’t know if there is a choice involved. The lamp disappeared and so did he. I assume he just went back into the lamp."

"But you never saw him come out of it?" "No, he always appeared behind me." Sarah said, "What are you thinking."

"Maybe it isn’t like the movies. Maybe he doesn’t live in the lamp, he just has to come when its owner calls." "That does open up some possibilities." Sarah said, "Maybe we can get some answers soon."

"Well find them!" Roberts voice changing apparatus fit neatly into his small hand. Using it, his voice sounded exactly like Casper Collins, his father. It was a little disconcerting even for Montgomery who knew this little girl was also his older brother.

"Montgomery," the little girl was trying to get his attention "Those losers knew she was here, in Denver only a month ago. The incompetents actually let her get away." "Building blew up." He said in his simplistic speech "Real loud."

"And you are giving them excuses!" she child/man was furious. It was almost funny to watch. Montgomery stifled a laugh. This only made her more upset. "Send teams out all over the country. Spare no expense.

We will find her, mark my words, we will succeed."

The little girl was acting so much like a mad scientist that

Montgomery nearly hurt himself, trying not to laugh.

 

© 2001
The above work is copyrighted material. Anyone wishing to copy, archive, or re-post this story must contact the author for permission.