The heat of the day was radiating off of the ground and it burned the bottoms of my feet as I ran across the market.  Desperation definitely brought to this point.  For two years I had heard rumors of how the old widow kept herself.  They ranged from a wealthy relative to a new much younger husband.  I knew the truth though, I had seen the young man with my own eyes and witnessed what he could do.

    I hadn’t meant to spy, I was only going there to check on her.  My mother had a soft spot for the old woman and when her husband died my mother asked of us to check on her and bring her anything she might need.  I went there one evening with some bread for her, no one had seen her at the ovens for several days and I feared she was ill and unable to cook for herself.  I quietly approached her home, careful not to wake her in case she was sleeping.

I heard goats bleating in the distance and knew they were hers.  How could she afford to keep goats? As I approached her home I heard talking inside, one voice was hers and the other did sound like that of a younger man’s.

    “Remember to ask for just a little bit, you don’t want to raise suspicion it could be the end of both of us.” His voice was strong  but sweet, it drew me closer.  

    “I know the rules by now John you don’t need to worry.” She scoffed at him.  I was close enough to see them inside the house now.  The old woman seemed stronger somehow and her clothes showed no sign of wear the way almost everyone else’s did.  Around her neck was a beautiful pendant, some sort of red stone that a black shape in it.  I was too far away to see what.

    “Well then, what is it that you desire?” He asked he calmly, unmoved by her.

    “I wish to have everything I need to live the next few months comfortably.” She held the pendant at her neck and closed her eyes murmuring the words again to herself. The young man closed his brown eyes and bowed his head with his hands pressed together in front of him.  He whispered something and I thought for a moment that he might be praying.  But then I saw strange lights illuminate the room around them.  Her bucket of olive oil refilled itself right before my eyes and the wood in the corner grew in number.  Her clothes lost what little damage they had them, her fingers straightened and the joints shrunk to a normal size.  I felt my eyes grow wide and begin to tear up.  What could possibly do this? This man had to be sent from God himself, but why would he only help one old woman?

    For months I kept those events to myself. I was afraid that I would be branded a liar by everyone in the town and be segregated.  Soon I would be of marrying age and I didn’t want to have something like that affecting my bride price, my parents would be counting on that money.  

    But one day while we were eating our evening meal my father’s face got red and he began to sweat.  Before my mother could get him some more water he grasped his left arm and then his chest then he fell over dead.  We all stood up and stared him in shock.  For a few moments none of us moved at all, we just stared at him as if we were waiting for the life to come back into him.  After a while the shock seemed to wear off and we all began to wail, my younger sister ran to find someone to come and help us but of course there was nothing they could do.

    We were left with no money to hire people to help us.  No one wanted to come and work for a bunch of women on just a promise of payment later.  My sisters, mother, and I all tried our best to keep up on the work ourselves but without Father there to help us we fell further and further behind.  Soon we had nothing to eat and no prospect of money or food for any time soon.

    After days of sitting around sick and hungry I decided that it was my job as the oldest child to do something about it.  I waiting until everyone was fast asleep and the night’s darkness would provide me with cover and I set out to the old widow’s home to talk to the man of God.  I ran as fast as my weak legs could stand until I made it to her house.  Just as before I heard the call of her goats in the distance as well as some sheep.  This woman had received so much good fortune from this man, certainly it would not hurt for my family to receive some as well.  I didn’t want to steal the man away from her just ask for his help.

    I snuck into her house almost silently, careful as I could be to not disturb anything. There were no fires burning that night so I could see nothing.  I would have to let my ears tell me where to go.  I stood completely still and listened.  The wind was blowing gently outside, and the animals called quietly in their sleep. Then I heard the old woman snore up on the loft.  I felt around carefully with my feet and hands and soon found the ladder to the upstairs. I stopped to listen again, she was up there alone I was sure of it.  So I grabbed the ladder and moved it, I didn’t want her waking and following me before I had convinced the man to help me. I turned slowly with it in my hands and rested against a wall.  Again I stopped and listened, this time trying to hear the breathing of the man.  At first I heard nothing and my heart sank thinking he had moved on from her and I had missed my chance.  But then, I heard him take a deep breath.  I turned to the direction it came from and willed my eyes to see in the pitch dark.  Seeing nothing I help my own breath so I could better hear, small quick breaths in.  The sound my sisters made when they were dreaming.  I closed my eyes then and tried to imagine the house when it was lit by the sunshine.  I saw a corner where there was a low table and mats for sitting on.  There was a space there were someone his size could sleep comfortably it they didn’t mind the floor.  I decided to keep my eye closed thinking that the image of the house during the day would help guide me to him.  I was so focused on it I didn’t hear the change in his breath or the sound of him standing.  All at once I felt a hand clasp around my wrist and another cover my mouth.  I tried to shout but it came out as a quiet sort of squeak from behind his hand.  He twisted my body and held me against him as he led us outside of the house.  I didn’t try to struggle knowing at this point my only hope of redemption was if he let me go.  If I was suspected of stealing my hands would be cut off and then my family would only be worse off.

    He dragged me with him for quite a ways away from the house and the town.  I was too panicked to think about where he was taking me or even why, I was too worried about my hands.  We walked together in silence for several moments until I heard running water.  He had taken me to the bank of the small river that ran through the old woman’s farm.  Finally he let go of my mouth and wrist and immediately began making a small fire.  I should have run but my legs were too heavy.  So I stood there and stared into the direction I knew he was, my eyes still not adjusting to the light.  I knew what he was doing by the sound of it and I could not figure out how he could see or why he was bothering to make a fire.  I saw sparks fly as he struck the rocks together and heard him blow on them.  Soon a small fire was going and I could finally get a good look at this man.

    His skin was darker than mine, as if he somehow spent even more tie in the sun than I did.  I could see that he was only a few years older than myself, his nose was straight and thin.  His light brown eyes were set perfectly apart and they seemed to glint even in the dark.  There was a mischievous smile playing across his full lips that I didn’t trust.

    “You are a curious little one aren’t you?” He asked me.  There was no malice in his voice at all, I was beginning to think I might not actually get into any trouble. “I have seen you before Little One, watching me help the old woman.”

    It wasn’t a question but I felt as though I should reply.  Unable to find any words I simply nodded.

    “You didn’t tell anyone what you saw. So I know you are not here to run me out.  Tell me Little One, why is it that you came to me tonight?”

    I took and deep breath and swallowed.  I was so ready to beg him for help not too long ago and now that he was standing in front of me asking me what I wanted I found I had no voice.  My heart raced and I looked back and forth as if the words would be written on the ground in front of me.  When I saw nothing I closed my eyes again and answered him.

    “I wanted to ask you to help my family the way you help the old woman.” I opened my eyes to see the smile still on his face.  He knew that was what I was going to say, I could tell.

    “You would steal me away from a defenseless old woman?” He asked.

    “No!” I shouted taking a step towards him. The air from my movement made the fire flicker and then it seemed to roar. I put my hands up and took a step back away from him again. “No, I only mean to borrow you.” I stated more calmly.  His smile widened and he walked up to me placing his hands on my shoulders.  They felt heavy to my weak body and I almost collapsed under the weight.  When he noticed this he helped me to sit on the ground.

    “Ah Little One I would like very much to tell you that you could do that.  But that is not how it works.”

    “Why not?” I asked with tears in my eyes.  If he would not help me then we would surely starve.

    “You see, the way I helped the old woman it comes from a power inside of me.”  I nodded.

    “You are a man of God.” He shook his head.

    “Perhaps I am but I do not think so Little One.  My maker told me that I am Djin, a magical being who draws their life from another.  In exchange for this I provide them with what they desire most.”

    “So...you can only give the old woman what she desires and no one else?”

    “That is right.”  He sat next to me then and placed his arm around my shoulders holding me close to him. “I can only use my gifts to help the old woman until the time comes for me to move on.”

    “When she dies?” I asked.  He laughed a powerful laugh at me and shook his head no.

    “No, my time with her will be ending much sooner than that.  Although with how much I have done for her I don’t think she’ll survive a month without me.  Alas that it how it is. Three years with each person and then the talisman pulls me back.”

    “The talisman?”

    “Yes, that is what ties me to the person I get my life from.  So you see Little One, as long as the talisman is her’s I can not be yours.” I nodded in understanding.

    “The necklace…” I whispered to myself, although he nodded.  We sat in silence for a while enjoying the warmth of the fire, he reached into the sack he had kept his flint in and pulled out some dried meat.  He handed it to me and I eagerly ate it.  He sat silently while I chewed greedily and when I was done he put out the fire and starting leading me back to town.  We walked in silence and I hatched a plan to get my family what they needed.  Soon I would go back to the old woman’s house and steal the talisman from her.  Then the Djin would be free from her and belong to me and my family would get back on their feet.  I would use him to get us all good husbands so that we would not need him after his three years were up and then he could be on his way and my family would be alright.  I would even wish that the old woman continue to have what she needed to live so that I would know her death would not come because of me.

    It was nearly dawn before I was back home with my family.  I could see the first kiss of morning light on the horizon.  I would pay for my late night adventure later in the day but right now I was buzzing with excitement.  The Djin told me that he would be leaving the old woman soon so I knew that I had to act fast. This week would be too soon, I suspected he knew that I would be returning and would have his guard up.  So I would wait a little for him to feel comfortable again.

    This task proved harder than I thought.  Wherever I went the following days he seemed to be  His piercing eyes staring at me from across the market, or I would catch a glimpse of him from the corner of my eye.  His watching me quickly became unsettling and I found myself having a hard time sleeping at night.  I began to feel as though I was the one waiting for him to come and steal me away not the other way around.  When I saw the old woman I did my best to act as though nothing was amiss.  The Djin must not have said anything to her about my visit because she wore the same smile on her face for me as she always had, she had also twice brought us roasted goat and bread a gift we were most thankful for.

    Other people on the town also began bringing us small bit of food, olive oil, and firewood.  No one had helped us for months after my father died, my mother told us it was because they believed that we were cursed, why else would a healthy man drop dead over his dinner?  But maybe after months of no further unexpected harm coming to any of us they began to realize this wasn’t the case.  We even had a visits from two brothers who came and helped us with our olive trees. The young men were very sweet to me and my middle sister Allaya and we began to think that they may ask to marry us.  I knew they would probably do it so that they could take over our land and expand their families’ fortune but I didn’t care.  If it meant no more hungry nights for my family than I would do it.

    Things were going so well for us that I began to forget all about my plan to steal the Djin away from the old woman.  If he still followed me around I paid no attention to him.  I slept well at night cuddled with my sisters and enjoying the warmth of the fires we were now able to keep going at night.  I awoke with hungry only a couple days out of the week now, and my mother had even begun getting visits from an older widower in the town.  We all believed that he was simply waiting for us older girls to get married before he married my mother.  He wasn’t poor but bringing on five mouths to feed was a lot for anyone.  If he could take on only three that was all the better for him.

    One night I was sleeping soundly dreaming of running with sheep through a green field and playing with my sisters by a quiet river when my dream was interrupted.  The face of the Djin appeared before me.    He was smiling his mischievous smile again and whispered to me.

    “Don’t forget the talisman.”  I shook my head at him.

    “I don’t need it, our fortunes have changed.”  The Djin laughed meanly and shook his head.

    “The old woman took pity on you and wish your family some happiness.  But I will leave her soon and when I do…”

    “Our lives will be miserable again.” I finished for him.  He nodded at me but I shook my head defiantly at him.

    “No! Everyone knows that my sister, mother, and I are all about to marry.”  More cruel laughter.

    “My time grows short Little One, you will not be married before I go.” I could feel tears streaming down my face.

    “You’re lying to me!” I shouted at him. His laughter grew louder and louder until I couldn’t stand it any longer.  I put my hands over my ears but it did nothing to drown out the noise.  I snapped awake drawing a deep breath and sitting up.

    “Remember the talisman.” His voice said to me.  I looked around the dimly lit room for him but saw nothing out of the ordinary.  My sisters continued to sleep peacefully around me, my mother up on the loft was snoring softly.  He hadn’t been here, it was just a dream.  Or did he use his magic?  I sat crying trying to determine what to do.  If the Djin told the truth and all of our good fortune came from the old woman wishing it then soon we would be just as doomed as we were before.  I had a choice to make and it wasn’t an easy one.  I could leave things alone and trust that the Djin was lying to me and risk losing everything.  Or I could risk my hands by stealing the talisman from the old woman and insuring our lives continued without hardship.  I was so ready to steal the talisman before when we were cold and hungry.  But when there was a fire in our hearth and food in my stomach it was a much more difficult choice to make.  My parents had raised us to be good girls, girls who didn’t steal from helpless old women.  

    I was coming to learn now though that my days of being merely a girl and a daughter ended the day my father died. I was the oldest child and therefore the first to become a woman, and women had to make choices and sacrifices.  If I got the talisman and lost my hands I realised that it was a worthwhile trade.  It would be selfish to let my family come to ruin all because I was scared for myself.  With determination in my heart I knew now exactly what it was that I needed to do.  Although I was still scared I had enough courage to stand up and tip toe silently out of my home and into the black of night once again.  This time though I knew it would be different, this time I was coming back with the Djin.

    Our town was not enclosed inside walls like some others were nearby.  So at night the  sounds of sleeping animals drew the attention of large predators.  Even with that danger looming in the back of my mind I was not afraid of being eaten by a large cat.  I moved swiftly and without sound in between the houses.  Just like last time there was no moon light to help guide my way, I had to get by on my memory of where everything was.  My mind was strong though and on my side.  I found the old woman’s house with little trouble.

    I knew from my last visit to avoid the corner where the Djin was sleeping.  My goal this time was the ladder up to loft where the old woman lay sleeping.  Ignorant of my plot to steal away her livelihood I’m sure she slept without a care.

    The door made a slight sound of protest as I eased it open.  I held my breath and stood still for a moment.  A short and small noise would not draw attention but I had to be careful.  My mission tonight was paramount to my survival so I could not fail, mistakes would not be made on this night like they were the last time I was here.  I stepped gingerly inside and walked on the dirt floor on the balls of my feet.  I took short breaths every few seconds and only took a few steps at a time, listening in between for the sleeping sounds of the occupants in the house.  When I reached the ladder I allowed myself a few seconds to breath easy.  One deep breath and then I began to climb.

    The old woman’s silver hair glowed in the night, it was in fact the only thing I could see of her at first.  A few moments passed and then I saw the talisman begin to glow red in the dark.  I could feel its power radiating from it, it was calling me to it.  With a steady hand I reached out to it, for a moment I paused.  I was afraid again, taking this meant so much more than I had realised before, The sacrifice I stood to lose was not just my hands but also my morals.  I would live with the stain of what I had done for the rest of my days.

    I had to push those thought aside.  I was being selfish again, my mother and sisters needed this.  If I had to suffer it was a reasonable price I reminded myself.  I grasped the talisman in my hand, it was warm and seemed to have a pulse.  Pulling on it gently the strap the old woman wore it on gave with almost no effort.  I realised then the Djin must have loosened it.  He wanted me to take it, I smiled.  He knew we needed him more than the old woman.  I tied the talisman around my neck and climbed back down the ladder.  When I turned to leave the Djin was face to face with me.  

    “So you took my invitation Little One?” He asked me in a whisper.  I nodded, not wanting to risk waking the old woman before I got back to my own home.  I started to leave knowing he would follow me out.  As soon as we got out the door he grabbed me again and turned me to face him.  I was not afraid, I already had what I came for and I knew he could do nothing about it now.  I looked up into his face and he kissed me hard on the mouth.  I didn’t fight him, instead I leaned into him.  There was a pain in my stomach and I opened my mouth the cry out. He laughed at me.

    “What’s happening to me?” I asked him in a panic.  The pain worsened and I doubled over as he laughed in his cruel way at me once again.  I laid on the ground freezing all of the sudden but I knew there was sweat pouring out of me. When the breeze picked up I could feel where it had soaked me and I shivered.  “Please help me!” I yelled at him, no longer afraid of waking the old woman.  He laughed some more and shook his head.

    “I can not help you now. But I must thank you.”

    “Why?” I asked him before another searing pain shot through me.  This one was in my lower back and it was so intense I felt my bladder release against my will.

    “Oh poor Little One, you still don’t know?” I shook my head.  “You have set me free. I can be human again.”

    “What about….what about…” I stammered.

    “What about you?” He finished.  I nodded as best I could.  “Your body will die now.” I stared at him, it was all I could manage to do now.  “But don’t worry, the talisman will keep your spirit alive.  You will become like I was, even now I can feel the shift.  As you die my spirit ties to this form.  I have waited for this moment ever since I laid where you are now.”

    “You tricked me.” I whispered.  He knelt down and cradled my head in his lap.  He shushed me and stroked my hair.  As much as I wanted to pull away from him I couldn’t.  My body betrayed me and relaxed at his touch.  I couldn’t manage to do anything anymore but feel the terrible tremors of pain shoot through me as I died.  He didn’t say anything else he just held me.

    I’m not sure when I left my body exactly, or where it was that I went.  But after a time there was no more pain.  There wasn’t anything, just neverending darkness and silence.  I had no form anymore just my thoughts.

Friday morning, it came too damn fast. I swear it was just a couple of hours ago I signed of the Infinite 2 network.  I turned over and let out a groan, my alarm screamed at me as the time 5:45 burned into my sensitive eyes.  Oh I did only go to bed a couple hours ago, that would explain the splitting headache.  I was tempted to press the snooze and go back to bed for 20 more minutes but then I accidentally caught a whiff of myself and knew I really needed to take a shower.

    I shuffled into the bathroom scratching my 2 day old stubble while I turned on the shower and stripped off my tee shirt and boxers.  When I saw steam rising up from behind the curtain I knew the water was hot so I got in and scrubbed myself clean.  After I dried off I sprayed on my usual coat of Axe body spray and went into my room to get dressed.  My alarm was still going off, I had pressed snooze on accident after all.  I grabbed the least wrinkled shirt out of my closet and put on the khakis I had worn on Tuesday, they were pretty clean.  I felt like I had all the time in the world when I walked into the kitchen and then I saw that all had taken me a shocking 35 minutes and I had to leave right then if I wanted to catch the bus for the trip to the museum today.  I shoved a granola bar in my mouth and attempted to eat it as I tied my shoes and donned my coat.  At one point it broke and half fell on the floor, being a big believer in the five second rule I picked it up and shoved the rest into mouth, getting several crumbs on my shirt in the process.

    I grumbled a few curses and ran outside to my car.  The sun was fully shining by now thanks to the end of daylight savings time.  At least I didn’t have to drive to the school in pitch black that always made me want to turn around and crawl back into bed.  Don’t get me wrong I love my job, teaching History at Poplar High School but the early mornings were a bitch.  I was almost all the way to the school before it hit me, I had never called the bus depot back and confirmed that I needed a bus today from 7 to 2.

    “Shit.”  I reached into the side pocket of my backpack that was sitting on the passenger seat.  I turned the slide lock and went into my contacts, keeping the phone on top of my steering wheel so I could mostly watch the road at the same time.  I scrolled down until I found Joe’s number and pushed dial.

    Joe Garrett is the Gym teacher and basketball coach at my school, he’s also the only friend I have who’s in the same age group as me.  He was a pretty neat guy, we hung out every other Friday night and the occasional Saturday.  He brings his football games and a case of beer and we play for the night.  I like it because its a cheap weekend that I’m not spending alone and Joe likes it because he gets to escape his wife and four kids for a few hours and get back some time to himself.

    “This is Joe.”

    “Joe this is Erik, please tell me your team bus is free today.”  There was silence on the other end and for a few minutes I thought I was screwed.

    “Uh...yep. I don’t see anything on my roster.” I breathed a sigh of relief.

    “And your classes today?” I didn’t want to push my luck but I was not certified to drive the bus and my ass was already almost constantly on the line for one thing or another.  Like I said before I actually do love my job and it would suck the big one to lose it.

    “No classes today the gym is being set up for homecoming.” I could not believe my good luck.

    “Joe I need you to take my class and me to the history museum, can you be ready to roll out by 7?” Joe laughed.

    “Only if you buy the beer and pizza tonight.” I smiled.

    “Its a deal.”

    As I pulled into the faculty parking lot I could see that most of my kids were already lined up at the bus drop off.  As promised Joe was there with his team bus wearing his usual gym shorts, tube socks, sneakers, and school sweatshirt.  Poor Joe couldn’t be any more a cliche if he tried, but he seemed mostly happy so I left it alone.  I waved to them from my truck and pulled into my assigned parking spot.  My mp3 playlist cut out when I opened my door reminding me to grab my player and shove into my backpack.  All of the staff gave me crap for carrying a backpack instead of the usual briefcase but it made me feel more “in tune” with my students and I think they liked it.  I like to think that I’m known around the student body as the cool teacher.  I have an open kind of class, no seating chart, not a lot of homework, and I only test when the district absolutely makes me.  Heck I had even managed to get the school take all my student’s to the museum for the entire day.  Effectively giving us all a three day weekend without getting into trouble.

    A few of my students greeted me as I approached the bus.  Most were texting or talking to each other, it was early I didn’t blame them for not firing on all cylinders yet.  I was barely awake myself and I was supposed to be leading them.  I shook Joe’s hand and thanked him again for getting me out of hot water before I turned to the kids.  There were about 30 of them, a mixture of Juniors and Seniors.

    “Morning kids.” I called to them while glancing down at my wrist watch. “Well looks like it already a few after 7 so anyone that’s not here yet will have to meet us at the museum or spend the day in detention.”  I waved them onto the bus and waited for them all to file in a sit down before climbing in myself.

    A perk to taking the team bus instead of one from the depot was that this bus had better heating and tinted windows.  I smiled again at the students before taking a seat right behind Joe and tapped him on the shoulder.

    “Everyone who’s going to bother showing up is already here.  I’ll take attendance on the way.” Joe nodded in reply and close the doors.  We took off onto the main road and towards the highway, it was around 30 minutes to the museum so I settled into my seat and chatted casually first with Joe and then with the kids seated near me.  I loved field trip days, I didn’t have to worry about giving lectures or grading papers I could just spend some time with the students and enjoy the trip with them.  I really do love history and it is its most fun to teach when we are immersed in it entirely.

    Once we had been on the road for about 10 minutes I stood up and started to take attendance.  All of my Junior class was there and I was only missing 5 Seniors, not too bad.  Seniors were the worst ones for ditching field trips, assemblies, and other non graded school events.  I tried not to be a hard ass on them, this was their last year of really living like a kid and they wanted to enjoy it.  I marked down the absent students but I didn’t call them into the school office.  Some might show up at the museum opting to drive in their own cars so they could smoke and the others I could call in when we got back to the school.  If I reported them at the end of the day sometimes the office didn’t even bother calling their parents.  I wasn’t into getting my kids into trouble.

    The museum was run by the community college here in town.  The history majors ran the front desk and were in charge of giving tours and small oral reports on all the exhibits.  We were going there today to check out the new wing on the Ancient Middle East.  It was the first exhibit in a long time that had actual artifacts on display.  Being a community college everything that was on display had to be donated by archeologists or other museum’s.  I remembered working there myself when I was doing my first 2 years of school before I transferred to the state university to finish my degree.  The timing couldn’t have been more perfect for me either since we were discussing the same topic in my Junior classes right now.  I brought the Seniors along as a refresher before they took their PSATs in a few weeks.

    The ride went smoothly, everyone was still pretty tired so they mostly talked quietly.  Before I knew we were pulling into the parking lot of the museum and parking in the bus lot.  Before everyone started filing off I had to give them the run down of rules.  No pictures were allowed, we would break for lunch in the cafeteria down the road food was pre arranged and would be waiting for us, and there would be a 15 minute visit to the gift shop before we headed back to the school.  I asked Joe if he was coming in with us and he said no.

    “I brought my book I’m just going to hang out here and read in silence. Come and get me before you head to lunch though.” I told him I would and started leading the kids into the building.

    The building was your average two story brick building.  It looked like one you would see featured on any college pamphlet but the outside was a little misleading.  The history department took their space very seriously.  The whole bottom floor was the museum while the second floor was dedicated to classrooms, lecture halls, and study rooms.

    Manning the front desk was an attractive brunette in a soft pink sweater and jeans.  She smiled at us and waved as we filled up the lobby.  She wore a lanyard around her neck with a name tag on it that read Sadie.

    “Good morning everybody, you must be my group from Poplar High.”

    “That would be us.” I confirmed.

    Sadie grabbed some papers off of the big cherry wood desk and began handing them out to all the students.  I was the last one to receive one and started leafing through it right away it was all information on the new exhibit.  Sadie directed my attention to the sign in book on the desk and I walked over and wrote down all of our information.

    I can’t speak for the excitement amongst the students but I was pretty amped up to see the new section of the museum.  We breezed past the front part of the museum opting instead to focus most of our tour solely to it.  

    When we arrived I was blown away, it was put together so much better than I thought it was going to be.  The dark blue walls had large prints of hieroglyphs and mosaics from ancient Egypt and Persia as well as photos of various dig sites.  Each print had its own accent light shining on it to draw attention.  Scattered about the room were recreations of statues ranging from people to creatures of myth.  Then there were display cases that had the real artifacts inside of them.  Next to each thing was the typical poster talking about what it was exactly, where it came from, and who found it.  I knew from the internet that most of this exhibit had been put together by Dr. James Summer an archeologist whose work I had been following closely since my senior year of college.

    The beautiful Sadie did a wonderful job leading us around the large room, spending extra time at spots she was personally interested in.  I thought she did a great job at selling why each thing was fascinating and painted a great picture of what everyday life was like for an average citizen.  A big problem I had had with other museums and a lot of books was that they only talked about the rich and royal.  I felt it was important for my students to get a full picture of life for everyone in that time period so that it would come across in the term paper.

    I caught myself staring at Sadie a few times throughout the tour.  Her hair wasn’t just brunette, it had red highlights in it that looked copper when a light would hit them just right.  Her blue eyes were bright and turned up at the edges when she smiled which I found somewhat distracting.  I was supposed to be teaching my students not checking out the tour guide.

    Time passed quicker than I realized and soon it was time to break for lunch.  Sadie led us back to the front of the museum and grabbed her purse.

    “I’ll take you all to the cafeteria and if you don’t mind I think I’ll take my lunch break with you all.”

    “We don’t mind at all.” I answered maybe a little too excitedly.  I cleared my throat and continued. “I’m sure the kids have some questions for you.”

    Sadie smiled at me and swung her purse strap onto her shoulder.  I rushed ahead of her and opened the door for her and the students trying to avoid making eye contact with anyone after embarrassing myself.  I stayed a few paces before everyone on the way to the cafeteria and made sure to go and get Joe on the way.  By the time the two of us arrived most of the kids were in line getting their food and a few, including Sadie, were already seated at the round tables and chatting loudly.  I didn’t see very many college students in the cafeteria today and figured it meant classes were out for the week already.  Joe and I went through the line together discussing the book he was reading, some sort of murder mystery he wanted me to read when he was done.  I was very tempted to go and sit with Sadie but didn’t want to risk further embarrassment to myself so I scoped out an empty table and sat with just Joe.

    After lunch was over we all headed back to the museum to tour the rest of the facility.  Joe joined us for the shorter part of the tour complaining that sitting on the bus too much gave him a back ache.  We chatted quietly as Sadie showed the kids through the exhibits on Ancient Europe.  I was grateful to have my friend there as a distraction from our guide.  The last thing I needed was one of my students cracking a joke back at the school in front of a faculty member and landing me in water for “inappropriate behavior” or something else of that nature.

    The tour ended without any incident and we all headed to the gift shop so the kids could get a souvenir or snack.  I was browsing the book section to see if they had anything worth picking up and adding to my collection when I saw a stone of some sort on the floor.  I picked it up and it felt warm in hand.  I turned it over admiring the red color and the natural swirls, they reminded me a little of a person or a spirit.  Deciding it would be an interesting piece for my desk in the classroom I walked over the cash register to purchase it.  I handed it over to the cashier and she looked it over for a price tag.  After a few moments she shrugged and handed it back to me.

    “This isn’t a store item sir.  Someone must have dropped here by mistake.  You can take it upstairs to the lost and found if you want but I doubt anyone will be looking for a rock.”  I thanked her and took it back.  I thought for a moment about taking it to the lost and found but something held me back.  She had a point, it was only a rock and even if someone did come back looking for it I doubt they would be devastated if it was gone.

    “Alright kids times up.  We need to get back on the bus and heading to the school so you don’t miss your rides home.” I called.  Joe looked up from a magazine he was reading and nodded.  We all piled back onto the bus one final time for the day and headed back into town.  I was going to put the stone into my backpack but I really liked the way it felt in my hand so I continued to hold it instead and roll it in between my hands.

    “What have you got there Mr. Dahl?” Dana, one of my Juniors asked me.

    “Oh just a rock I found.  It’s neat isn’t it?”  I handed it to her to look at for a moment.  She turned it over a few times admiring it before handing it back.

    “Yeah its pretty but it’s not just a rock.”

    “How do you mean?” I asked her.

    “Well, see here at the top where it’s chipped?  There used to be a hole or something there, this was pendant.”  I looked to where she pointed and saw she was right. I felt a little bad about taking it now, thinking it must have fallen off of a chain or something.  Still though, I didn’t want to give it back.

    “Huh, I guess you’re right.” I shrugged.  I decided it was time to put it in my backpack, suddenly feeling very protective of it.

    The bus arrived back at the school and everyone headed their separate ways.  I called to the kids letting them know we would be discussing the information in their museum pamphlets on Monday so not to throw them away. Joe’s wife had called him just as we arrived and he had lingered on the bus to talk to her.  I waited a few minutes for him to wrap up his phone call and come out.

    “Bad news buddy.” He grunted. “Mags’ mother had a bad fall and she has to take off to go see her in the hospital so I’m home with the kids all weekend.  Guess you’ll have to pay me back next weekend.”  I was a little disappointed to hear he wouldn’t be joining but I nodded in understanding.

    “Tell the misses I hope her mom is feeling better soon.” I said patting him on the shoulder.  “I’ve got to turn in my attendance sheet and then I’m heading home for a marathon session of castle building.”  We said our goodbyes.

    I drove home with my mind preoccupied on Sadie.  She was gorgeous and I felt pathetic that I didn’t make more of an attempt to talk to her when we were there.  I wondered if I could use the stone as an excuse to call her next week and maybe even see her again so I could maybe ask her out.  I decided it probably wasn’t and put myself into a bit of a bad mood.

    That evening I nuked some frozen wings and sat down.  I felt a little better when I saw my favorite trilogy Indiana Jones was playing on TV and had just started.  I sat and watched all three before crawling bleary eyed to my bedroom.  On my way I accidentally kicked my backpack and the stone fell out.  In the dark of the hallway the black swirls almost looked like they were glowing.  I picked it up and carried it with me to my bedroom.  I placed it on my night stand before stripping down to my tee shirt and boxers and crawling into bed grateful I didn’t have to get up early in the morning.

    I remember the last few thoughts running in my head before I fell asleep were of the stone, Sadie, and glowing blue black lights.

I felt a familiar pull from somewhere off in the distance.  Someone new had found my talisman and soon I would be housed in a new body.  It took some time for the talisman to work its own magic, reading the desires of the human who possessed it and forming a body that would please them for me to be housed in.  After over a millenia I still wasn’t sure how the talisman did this or where it’s power came from.  I stretched out my thoughts trying in vain to determine how long I had been in the darkness.  Time had no real meaning in this state, I had spent mere months like this that felt like centuries while other times decades have passed that seemed like a fleeting moment.  But the return to awareness was good, it allowed me to wake in my body alert.  My first few wakings had been rough, I was just as confused and scared as the humans who had unknowingly summoned me.

    Re Entry into a body is a wonderful feeling, so much better than the painful exit.  I felt myself settling in and enjoyed the feeling of a beating heart and breath entering my lungs.  My existence was no longer scattered over a vast distance but held firmly and safely inside a mortal body.  I took some time stretching my new limbs, twisting joints, arching my back and getting the feel of commanding once again.  The last thing I did was open my eyes, I wanted to treasure that short period of time I had to myself before my newest tether discovered me and we went through the inevitable violent disbelieve period.  Although the talisman made a form that me human will trust and sometimes even desire there is no amount of magic that cover the shock of finding a naked woman who has appeared out of seemingly nowhere (because I have) sitting in your home.  My only protection was the weak shield the talisman kept over me for the first few days that protected me from fatal harm and drew the attention of my human.

    But time enough had passed and it was time to open my new eyes and take in my surroundings.  I blinked them open, it was dark in the room but the dim light of morning glowed in the air.  Soon the sun would shining and the first day of my three year turn on this plane would really begin.  I sat up from the floor where I was laying, there was a bed to my left and a small table behind me.  I used the bed to help stand up completely and take a full look around the room.  I turned and on the the table behind me was my talisman.  I was tempted so much to grab it but the knew it would sear my skin.  It was one of the rules, I could never touch it myself and no one but my human could handle it without getting severely ill.  A few had tried over the years to steal it as I once had, but none had reached the same fate as me.  I still wondered to myself how the Djin so long ago had managed that trick.

    The room was a good size but it wasn’t decorated.  Aside from the bed and two small tables with lamps and an alarm clock there wasn’t anything in there.  There were a couple small piles of clothes sitting about, men’s clothes.  I groaned quietly, my last four humans had all been men. I looked at the form wrapped in the blankets on the bed, he was too covered for me to get a good look at him.  There were three doors in the room, two were open. One to a closet and the other to a pitch dark hallway.  Curiosity grasped me and I gingerly opened the third door.  It was a small bathroom.

    The cold tile was a delicious sensation on my feet.  I spread my toes out and soaked it in before shutting the door quietly behind me and turning on the light.  The bathroom like the bedroom was on the bland side.  It was small and all white, including the towels which were bunched up in the corner.  There was a wrap around tub with a shower curtain sporting a world atlas, the only color in the room.  I walked the few steps over the pedestal sink and looked at my new body in the small mirror.

    I had wavy auburn hair that fell at my shoulders, creamy white skin with a splash of pale freckles across my nose and under my blue eyes.  My lips were pretty full, I liked that but wasn’t quite as fond of the button nose.  I was pretty but not beautiful.  My body was trim but not lean, a true hourglass figure.  I ran my hands across my torso admiring the flattering dimensions.  At least I wasn’t a lean, flat chested, athletic looking type again.  I liked getting stares and this voluptuous figure was just the one needed for that.  All in all not too bad, I had been more striking and also much more homely before.  I looked through the bathroom to see if there was any evidence of a woman living here and found none.  That mean I was going to have to wear mens clothes until I got him to wish me some of my own.

    I clicked the light back off before opening the door to the bedroom again so as not to wake the sleeping human before I could dress myself.  I liked to flaunt but first impressions were quite vital in my line of work and  strange naked woman didn’t always send a great message.  I stepped quietly over to the closet and began searching through the things still hanging up in there. Most of his clothes were on the floor and in need of washing.  Hopefully his living habits would improve while I was here with him.  I selected a plain gray top that fell to hips.  There was a dresser just outside the closet that I hadn’t paid much attention to before.  I looked through a couple drawers but couldn’t find anything that would suffice as a bottom or underwear so I was going to have to hope that this shirt would cut it for now.

    For a while I sat cross legged on the floor but as the sun grew brighter and brighter with the day my human didn’t stir and I began to get restless.  I could see clearly into the hallway now and felt the rest of the home beckon to me.  Plus my stomach was starting to turn with hunger, a feeling which I can not stand.  I threw the sleeping man one last glance before deciding to find the kitchen and procure myself something to eat, then I promised myself to come straight back to the room.  It was better I thought, if he saw me first thing after waking than if he found me while walking about the house.  If I was there first thing he might for a moment think he was still asleep and allow me to get a few words in.  But if he saw by surprise in the house he might mistake me for a burglar and attempt to have authorities deal with me.  

    Quickly I stood and tip toed out into the hallway, more white.  I ran my hands along the walls of the hallway as I walked, every single sensation was so wondrous to me.  Down the hall there was another door which I opened, it led into a second bedroom which was being used as an office.  There was a plain desk with a small computer on it and a globe.  I peeked further into the room and saw two fairly large bookcases on one wall filled to the brim and a plain bed made up with an heirloom quilt.  I stepped back out of the room and shut the down slowly so as not to make any noise and continued on my hunt for some food.

    The kitchen was in a small alcove off of the living/dining area the entryway was a large arched doorway.  The tile and countertops were matching shades of dark gray and the appliances were all black but other than that it was all once again white.  I opened cabinets full of mix matched dishes until I found one that had food in it.  Nothing looked too appealing but there was a fresh pack of bagels so I opened it up and pulled one out.  I found a knife block tucked into a corner behind a coffee maker and pulled one of to cut my bagel in two.  I didn’t see a toaster anywhere so I opened the fridge to see what I could put onto my bagel.  Inside the fridge was almost nothing, some milk and juice, and a small container of strawberry cream cheese.  I pulled it out and used the knife I already had to spread it.

    I moaned a little as my new teeth sank into the sweet treat.  I missed eating, the feeling of food in my actual mouth.  I was so happy to be in a body again.  I finished the bagel and put everything away, washing the knife and putting it back into the block.  Then I paused and realised something.

    “This is different.” I looked around at my plain surroundings again.  This was not the lavish home of the family who summoned me.  This was new, this human wasn’t a member of the family who had past down my talisman from generation to generation.  I moved into the living/dining area and looked around.  There were no familiar looking family portraits or ancient heirlooms sitting about as there always had been.  I got so giddy I almost laughed.  A thousand years I had served different generations of the same greedy family, using me to further their financial and social status over and over and over again.  This feeling was almost as sweet as freedom. “I’m...its different.”

    I pivoted and ran full on back to the bedroom of the sleeping man.  I needed to wake him and ask who he was, how he found my talisman, what year it was.  I was suddenly desperate to know everything that was going on in the world outside of that awful family.  If Samuel, my last human could see me now running down a hallway in nothing but a tee shirt he’d lose his mind.
    I burst into the room, throwing caution to the wind so that I could wake up my human.  He jerked under his pile of blankets but didn’t wake all the way up. I took three large strides over to the foot of his bed and jumped in excitedly.  That woke him up all the way.  He sat up and looked me, at first he smiled but less than a second later his expression changed to one of shock and disbelief.

    “Who the hell are you!” He shouted, jumping out of the bed.  His foot caught on a sheet and he twisted and fell onto his face on the floor.  I watched him with wide eyes as he attempted to jump back up only to trip on the same foot and fall again.  A smile forced it way onto my face and I stifled a laugh.  He tried a third time to stand and managed it this time.  He stood at around six feet tall, he had dark brown hair cut short and had the start of beard growing.   He rubbed his brown eyes with the backs of his hands and stared at me.  “Who in the hell are you!” He yelled again.

    I sat up excitedly, he certain didn’t look like anyone else in the family.  The all had dark olive skin and jet black hair, and I had never seen one this tall before.

    “That’s not important right now.” I assured him.  “Who are you?”

    “What do you mean its not important.  You’re sitting in my bed, wearing….my shirt and I have no idea who you are!”  He reached for his cell phone on the bedside table.  I leaned forward quickly and snatched it before he could grab it.

    “I’m a Djin.” I said, hoping against hope that it would explain everything.  I could tell by the look on his face it didn’t do anything.

    “There’s a crazy person in my house.” He was breathing hard and looked like he might pass out.  I was starting to get concerned he might have a heart attack and die.  I couldn’t go back into the darkness so soon after this victory.

    “You should sit down and I’ll explain everything to you.  Do you want a bagel?”

    “A bagel? What? Who are you?”

    “I already told you, I’m a Djin. Who are you?”  He started to calm and stared at me as if I had a third eyeball growing out of my forehead.  I self consciously lifted my hand to my forehead.  “What, is there something wrong with my face?”

    “Yes! Its in my house!”

    “Well you’re the one who summoned me, and I might add you are being very rude.  Sit down!” I was starting to get a little irritated, here I was all excited and ready to hear all about him and all he could do was freak out and yell at me, humans.

    “What do you mean I summoned you?” He sat and I pointed to the talisman sitting on his bedside table.

    “With the talisman?”  He stared at it for a moment before reaching over and licking it up.

    “The ankh? I just found this yesterday.”  Now it was my turn to stare at him like he was a crazy person.

    “You just found it and then accidentally summoned me?”
    “Yes?”  I jumped up, flashing a little bit of my behind in the process.  I pulled the shirt down, feeling my cheeks grow hot with embarrassment.

    “Alright human, before we get down to business could you wish me some clothing?”  

    “Wish, human?

    “Yes, what part of I’m a Djin do you not understand?”

    “The Djin part?” He said cautiously. “I don’t really know what that means.”  I sighed loudly and resisted the strong urge to hit upside the head with something.

    “Its like a genie.” That term was hard for me to use.  I am an ancient creature of unbelievable power, capable of raising entire empires if the human who possessed the talisman had the mind to think of it.  It was painful to compare myself to some twitty little woman living inside of a perfume bottle blinking over crossed arms to make cocktails appear.

    “You’re a genie?” I grimaced at the question.

    “Like a genie, I am a Djin.” I growled behind gritted teeth.  “Now can we momentarily move past that and wish me up some fucking clothes?”

    “A foul mouthed genie.” He muttered under his breath, I raised my hand to hit him and he flinched. “Sorry, foul mouth Djin.  I...wish you some clothes?”  

The red stone in the ankh lit up and I felt the magic course through me.  I mouthed his wish silently and closed my eyes with my arms outstretched.  The magic tingled cooly on my skin as it worked draping me in first undergarments and then changing the gray tee shirt into a simple green dress.  I opened my eyes and caught the human staring at me with his mouth agape.

“Holy shit, you really are a genie.” This time I didn’t stop when he flinched.  I slapped him right across his stupid human face.  “Ouch!” I raised my hand to do it again. “Djin! You’re a Djin, I get it, I won’t forget again.”

“You better not.” I gave him my speak on the difference between a Djin and a genie, leaving out the bits about being able to raise an empire and replacing it something about making his most ambitious desires come to life.  There was no need to alert of him of my full potential lest he be some sort of maniac psychopath out to rule the world. Although most of those types of people seemed to have died out a few centuries ago.  You didn’t run into evil dictators these days, not like you used to.

“So, if there are no more questions for me I have a few for you.” He nodded.  “Good. So let’s start with something simple, what’s your name?”

“Eric.” I waved him on. “Dahl.”

“And what year is it?”

“You don’t know what,” I held my hand up to stop him. “It’s 2013, November.”  

“That son of a bitch!” 15 years I had been in the darkness, Samuel had promised he would never let me be summoned again. I thought at the time he was just angry but now I knew he had meant it.  

“Who?” Erik asked me.

“Never mind about that, its not important.  Okay, so I have missed out on the last 15 years.  Obviously there are some things I don’t know about.  I need you to keep that in mind so you’re not giving me a look or asking me a stupid question. It will take some time for me to catch up.” More nodding.

“So, if I only get three wishes didn’t I just waste one giving you clothes?”  I felt my face growing hot with anger and took several deep breaths.  I could see Erik’s face tense up, recognizing his mistake and he held up his hands in surrender. “I’m sorry, that’s a genie thing isn’t it?”

“Its a genie story yes. Genie’s are a made up version of what I am.  Something leaked into media probably from rumor of my kind.  Djin are not limited to something as simple as three wishes.  This body will house me for three years before it burns out.  Then this body will die, I will return to darkness and the talisman will no longer work for you.”

This conversation went on like that for a while. I would ask a question that would spark a few other questions from him.  I banned questions about my previous humans, implying that it was against some sort of rule of magic.  He didn’t need to know about the family.  Then I gave him a run down on the real rules of magic, not being able to change things in the past, can’t create or destroy life things like that.  When he seemed like he was getting a fairly good grasp of what was going on we moved into the kitchen and I finally convinced him to eat that bagel.

While Erik ate and absorbed my presence I walked around the living room and really looked at everything.  Everything was cheap but mostly clean.  The most expensive thing in the room was the television which was simultaneously the biggest and smallest television I had ever seen.  It was wide and totally flat, mounted on the wall as if it was a picture.  I didn’t even realize that it was a television until I was standing right next to it and looked around the edges finding a power button.  I pressed it and the screen lit up with a clear and vivid picture, I was impressed with how far technology had come since I had gone into darkness.  Things had stayed so much the same in the dark ages for centuries and then out of nowhere there were leaps and bounds around every corner.  I had a feeling that other Djins were involved in this but couldn’t say for sure since I had never met one.