Philip laid in bed that night, thinking about what had happened. Everything he desired. That"s what the girl had said. He could get money. No more working in the factory. No more struggling to feed his kids. Maybe...she could bring his wife back.No. No. This girl was trouble. She was a demon, or a succubus, or something evil. But she"d been playing with Jane and Michael. She"d not seemed evil then. Maybe it was all an act, in order to gain his trust. But he wanted to know. He had to know.
Philip got up, and opened the drawer where he"d put the lamp. He stared at it, as it sat there, looking inviting. He picked it up, and held it in his hands. It felt warm. Though it was apparently made of metal, it felt vaguely...alive. He"d let her out last time by rubbing it, so maybe that would work this time. She"d said he could summon her again by rubbing it, so that"s what he would do. He slowly began to move his hands along the surface of the lamp. Light-blue smoke immediately began to pour out of it, which formed into Alexis, who laid casually on his bed.
"Changed our mind then, have we?" She smiled.
"What are you?" Philip asked. "And don"t lie to me."
"I told you, I"m a genie," Alexis replied. "Your genie, specifically. Or at least for the next few decades I am. You people do have such short lifespans, don"t you?"
"And what, you"re going to grant my wishes?"
"Yes. If you actually ever make any. No rush though. I"ve got all eternity."
"And what happens when I make a wish? You take my soul?"
"Honestly, you humans and your superst.i.tions. No, I"m not going to take your soul. I"m bound to serve you from today until the day you die, whenever that may be."
"And you can give me anything I want?"
"Well there are a few provisos. A few quid-pro-quos. But for the most part, yes, anything you want."
"Alright then...I wish for money. Lots of it."
"Typical, but hey, who am I to judge what you want to wish for?" Alexis smiled. "Your wish is my command, Master."
Alexis snapped her fingers, and they were instantly in a glorious mansion.
"Wow..." Philip said in amazement.
"Daddy! Daddy!" He heard his kids shout. They ran into the bedroom in their nightclothes.
"Daddy, what just happened to the house!?" Jane asked in a panic.
"Your daddy just wished for money, so I gave it to him," Alexis said proudly.
"I wished for money, not this big house!" Philip shouted.
"If you go down to the bank, you"ll find that your account balance is somewhat more substantial than it was a few minutes ago," Alexis said. "I just a.s.sumed you"d want a big house to go with it."
"This place is cool!" Michael said. "How big is it?"
"VERY big," Alexis simply replied. "But I wouldn"t get too used to it if I were you. I don"t think your daddy"s going to let you keep it."
"Daddy, no!" They both shouted.
"Kids...go and explore the house," Philip said. "I want to have a grown-up conversation with Alexis."
"Yay!" The kids shouted, and ran off to explore.
Philip sat down on the bed, and turned to face Alexis.
"So...there"s something I"ve wanted for over a year now," Philip said.
"You want your wife back," Alexis said.
"How did you know?"
"Just a wild guess."
"So do it then. I wish for my wife to come back to life."
"I can"t."
"Why not?"
"Because death is permanent. It"s one of the rules."
"You said I could have anything I wanted!"
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"Almost anything. You can"t break the rules."
"So I can"t bring my wife back?"
"No. But you can have pretty much anything else you want."