* Note to the reader- this story was originally written for a short story competition awards ceremony and is meant to be read aloud to an audience. When SNAP is written, snap your fingers or clap your hands instead of reading the word. You may have the audience do this with you. Consider inventing other actions as well t engage younger audiences.*
Kendra granted quite a few wishes that weren't worth mentioning. The first wish a new master would ask was often useless. One asked for biscuit. Another requested a glass of cold water. Wasted wishes.
But this boy's wish truly surprised her. Did he search her out in the attic of this dilapidated manor house to stump her? He couldn't be more than five-years-old!
“Say that again?” Kendra cleared a bit of purple fuzz from her pointed ear. Her mind blipped quickly over the possibilities available to grant his wish, but she wasn't sure they were right. “A go-what?”
“Here, Miss Genie, I drew it for you.” The boy held out a crumpled paper. “The kids said this house was haunted by a Genie lamp. And I just knew I could find you if I kept looking all week. And I did find you. Look, I wrote the words myself.”
Kendra pinched the worn bit of a page, careful not to touch the pudgy hand. Touching human beings was unpleasant. She retreated a few wisps backward before studying the paper.
The boy's crayon illustration showed an oblong disk marked with the uneven blue letters “W-E-E-L.” A brown line jutted forward and looked something like a cart. It was marked “B-U-K-L-E.” The line wrapped around a bright red scribble that looked like a sausage with eyes. It was clearly marked, “D-O-G.”
“Can you grant me my wish now, please Miss Genie?” The boy swayed as he stared hopefully at Kendra.
“Little master,” she said. “This looks like a cart for a dog to pull. Do you want a little chariot to attach onto your pet so it can pull you around?”
The boy frowned. “No. I don't have a dog. But...”
His face turned rosy as he scuffed one shined leather shoe against the floor. A large tear formed in his eye and flowed down one chubby cheek, splashing on his shirt collar.
“Can you show me?” she offered.
His eyes grew round as he studied her.
“Can you make it so nobody knows you're a Genie, 'cept me?” He asked.
“If you wish it, young master.”
“But then, will you be that way forever?” His worried expression was endearing. “You look so pretty now.”
What a darling! It had been centuries since anyone bothered to stoke her ego with anything
besides'All-powerful genie, grant me what I desire!' Kendra liked him.
She smiled. “You could wish for me to change temporarily,” she said.
The boy put his feet together decisively and stood up straight.
“Ok,” the boy said. “Miss Genie, I wish you were a kid, but just long enough to help me.”
Snap!
“Granted,” Kendra said in a newly childish voice.
“Oh, that's better. You're a little girl now,” said the boy, a dimple appearing in each round cheek. “Follow me!”
He dashed away before Kendra could blink. She hurried after him, careful to avoid the rubbish in the attic. The old house had fallen into disrepair since she had been employed there.
Employed? Baugh! She built the place. Now it sat in ruins, wallpaper hanging off the walls like moss off ancient trees.
She was so distracted passing through the relic of her former work, she lost track of her new master. She tripped down the spiral staircase, straining her ears for the sound of the boys feet against the creaky floorboards. She stumbled on the lowest stair.
“This way, Miss Genie.” The boy was a the end of the hall, his short frame illuminated by the light from the lower half of a broken door – kicked in or rotted away years before.
Reaching the door, she ducked outside. The sun-soaked woods greeted her. She breathed in the smell of a New England spring. Thousands of birdsongs met her ears. Millions of trees, flower buds, and grasses filled her senses. She could taste the fresh turned soil and melting snow.
“Sorry I ran so fast. I'll slow down,” he said. “I'll even hold your hand. The path gets bumpy.” He grabbed her hand before she could pull it away and led her through the woods.
Ew! Human hands! She shuddered. But inside her little person form, her own hand was substantial enough that his felt rather nice: warm and strong, if in a childish way. He swung their hands in rhythm with his footsteps as they walked.
“We've gots to get back to my school. I get to live there now, since I'm a big boy,” he said. “I sneaked away with my lunch today, just like I did before. I told my friends that I've got a secret hiding spot to eat.”
“Oh, I see.”
“It's a real nice school. Momma says it's the best school in New England. Only the smartest kids gets to go.” He puffed his chest out with pride.
“Is the school close?” Kendra asked.
The boy nodded. “Oh, yeah. It's just past the woods. Teacher says this old manor belonged to a rich man a long time ago. When his wife and baby died, he donated the land for our school.”
The brief history hit Kendra with the strangest sensation. Thoughts of her thoughtful old master and his young wife flashed across her memory. An archeologist, he found Kendra's lamp among the ruins of a long dead city and brought her to New England. Kendra designed the nursery for his unborn child as her last gift to the generous man. What was this aching in her chest? It was quite painful. Moisture built on her eyelashes. Was she crying?
“Are you ok?” The boy reached a stout arm around her back.“There, there. What's the matter?” He patted her awkwardly.
“I don't know,” Kendra sniffled. There was moisture dripping from her nose, too. Oh, no!
“Uh-oh,” the boy said. “Here.” He handed her a white cloth. “Teacher says she can't stand snotty-nosed little boys, so I've always gots a hanky.”
Kendra wiped the hanky under her nose and dapped the wetness from her eyes. She held the wet cloth out for the boy.
“Oh, you keep it,” he said. “What I need help with is pretty sad, too.”
Kendra blinked her eyes, the painful feeling subsiding. She nodded, remembering her eternal purpose: serving her master.
“I'm alright, young master. Show me what you need.”
The boy grabbed her hand again, forgetting his promise to walk. He tugged her along, their short legs pumping with the boy's renewed excitement. They skirted around the edge of an elegant wrought iron fence that enclosed staunch brick buildings and a wide green lawn. Some sheds sat outside the fence.
“I couldn't bring him to school, you see. If teacher sees him, she'll call the dog catcher,” he said. “And 'sides I know he's gots a home somewhere. He's gots a collar.”
Kendra thought the old shed the boy stopped beside might collapse at any moment. The squat, leaning wooden wall planks were warped by winter storm and summer sun. The door hung loosely on it's rusted hinges. He pushed the door aside.
“In here.” The boy's gaze rested to an old barrel laying on it's side.
Kendra dodged worn out garden tools and low hanging cobwebs until they both stuck their heads in the end of the dark barrel. She strained her mortal eyes to see inside.
A swift movement caught her by surprise and Kendra yelped, backing away from the wriggling creature that emerged from the shadows.
“Hello, puppy,” the boy said. “Come here, good puppy.”
The ball of orange fur hopped unsteadily around them. Kendra sat up, pulling her hands to her chest. Ugh! Humans and dogs. What was their fascination with each other?
The dog whirled and yapped, licking the boys face. It touch Kendra's bare arm with it's cold nose and scratchy tongue, sending a tingle up her spine. But the puppy grew tired quickly. It's back leg hung limply behind it, dragging with every step.
“Oh, you're a good dog. Here, I brought you some of my samwich.” The boy produced a plastic bag from his pocket; smashed bread with ham and cheese.
“You want the cart for this dog?” Kendra asked. “But he can't possibly pull anything. He can barely walk.”
“Well, he's got to be able to pull his leg along,” the boy said. “The little wheel will let him walk so he can find his way home.”
Kendra noticed the tattered ribbon tied in a lop-sided bow around the animals neck.
“He's gots an owner. See the collar?” The boys eyes looked sad. “I know his owner must miss him... I would sure miss my dog, if I had one.”
“And you wanted that go-cart just so he could walk back to his owner?” Kendra said.
“Yup.” The boy nodded. “I knew you could help me.”
Kendra frowned. “Surely you don't need a genie for a job like this. Genies build palaces and kingdoms. I could give you riches beyond your wildest dreams! A wheel for a dog is a wasted wish.”
The boys eyebrows scrunched downward, his lip jutting out. “But I don't need any of that. My families gots plenty of money and gives me everything I need. But this dog, he makes me happy.”
He picked up the puppy and stroked the bright orange fur. “But I can't keep him. I know somebody wants him back, and it will make me happy to see that he can go back home... even if I'll miss him.”
Kendra's vision blurred with tears. Tears again? Humans were a sensitive bunch. But this time when she cried, her heart felt warm. She felt very, very good.
“Let's modify that first wish just a little...” Kendra began. She explained what his wish could be.
The boy seemed to glow with the new possibilities opening in his mind. Kendra was amazed at the questions tumbling from his mouth.
“Could I wish he never got sick? Can I wish they won't be hungry never?..Can I...” He asked questions until he ran out of breath and had to gasp for air.
Kendra smiled, nodding at each inquiry. “Yes! You're getting it. Now think about the wish very carefully.”
The boy took a deep breath. “Ok. I'm ready. Miss Genie, I wish this dog would get well and stay well and always have enough to eat in his doggie dish, but not too much so he doesn't get fat and him and his owner will be always be happy and that I can see him sometimes and say hello.”
He exhaled and slumped against the wall of the shed. “Did I do good that time?”
Kendra nodded, “Very good. Your wish is granted.”
Snap!
A ripple of magic curled around them and circled the little dog in sparkling light. The puppies gaze followed the glittery path until the light gathered to a single point and popped on it's nose like a shining bubble.
The dog's eyes opened wide and it sat on it's haunches. It's gaze went down to the foot it had dragged just moments ago. It sniffed the newly healed foot, then tested it's weight.
The boy giggled as the dog leapt in the air. It ran around the shed with more energy than Kendra thought possible. Each time it passed the boy, the dog hopped up to lick his hands or face. When it licked Kendra's nose, she actually enjoyed the sensation that tickled her skin. Being human felt good.
“Oh, it worked! He's better!” said the boy, his eyes twinkling in delight. “What would we have done without you? You're a real good teacher, Miss Genie. I wish I could have a nice teacher like you at my school.”
Kendra's mind reeled with the possibilities of the boy's innocent wish. She saw the teachers transform under her magical touch. She saw the dog visiting as a therapy animal. She saw herself in a prim sweater and a plaid skirt smiling at the boy and his classmates. She nodded.
“Granted.”
Snap!
