In 1993, a 43-year-old Brian was depressed. Really depressed. Last week, his wife had filed for divorce, after Brian had caught her in bed with another man. And another one. Even worse, today he"d lost his job, after his boss had announced they were making cutbacks. Brian had had enough. He was going to end it all. He was sat on a bridge over a small cliff, with a fast-moving river underneath it. Honestly, he wasn"t sure if it was big enough to kill him, but he"d give it a go regardless."What on Earth are you doing young man!?" An old man shouted. He came up to him, and tried to pull him back. "Get off of there this instant!"
"Why should I? My wife"s gone, my job"s gone, and I"ve got no friends. There"s nothing left for me in this world."
"Now now, that"s not right. Whenever you hit rock bottom, just remember that things can only get better."
"Can, not will. The sweet release of death has surely got to be better than this."
The old man sighed.
"Listen to me, young man," he said. "I"m dying. I"ve not got long left. Minutes maybe, if that. I have something which has kept me happy for many years. I was going to just let fate decide who gets it next, but I can tell you need something."
"What on Earth are you talking about?"
"I a.s.sume you know what a genie is?"
"Of course I do. I"ve seen Aladdin. They give you three wishes."
"Not 3, as many as you want. It could solve all your problems."
"Sure it could. If genies existed."
"Why, of course they do."
"Old man, I"m about to kill myself. Cheap jokes aren"t going to stop me."
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"No, but this might."
The man reached into his coat, and pulled out a metal lamp.
"Inside this lamp is a genie named Lexia," the man explained. "She can grant your every wish." Brian looked at the lamp, and remembered. He remembered doing this before. He remembered the future. He remembered being given this lamp, releasing Lexia, and sorting his life out. He needed this lamp. He reached out to get it, but as he did, the old man collapsed forward. He lost his grip on the lamp, and it fell off the bridge, into the river below.
"Nooooo!" Brian shouted. "I need that lamp!"