Afriteh

            I stared up at her in wonder, though not at what she was. I had been raised on the tragedy of the genie – the Jinn, as they are known in the homeland, bound to their own power, terrible and majestic for all to behold. I think my father would have had me retain my composure thanks to my familiarity with their stories, yet nothing could have prepared me for her in person.

            I was fixed to the spot, looking on at Iulia Unliai, the Afriteh – a malevolent female of the Jinn – who had been bound to my family since the time of my great-grandfather. He wisely kept her hidden away and never used the wishes, instead building a foundation for my family. Then when he had a son, my grandfather, he waited until he was of age and offered him one of the wishes, and bade him do the same for his own son.

            This continued until I now possess the final wish of our family. I do not know what my father chose, nor his before him. It was a secret to keep forever, or so they would have others believe. It cannot be guessed what they might have been.

            Thinking now, I cannot fathom what I would wish for. I have known nothing but happiness in my time, few hardships and none of them more taxing than my own resolve could conquer. So as I finally collected myself from my awe of the power she possessed, I imagined this final wish should I not use it for myself. I imagined who else might benefit from my wish, not of those that I knew but of those I have yet to know.

            I imagined my children and their children, should they inherit all my family already possesses as I have; they will have all they could need or want already, and just as in my own life, nothing would be denied them should they seek it for themselves. So I imagined the only wish that might be left to me and mine, to my bloodline that I have inherited and those who might one day inherit from me, and I spoke the only thing I could think of that might be of benefit to all.

            “Peace, in all things.”