A Lamp Like No Other

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Per Request by MissRedX : A boy accidentally summons a Genie. 

I never really believed in Santa Claus, the tooth fairy or even the Easter bunny. As a child I was very skeptical, if I couldn’t see it then it must not be real. I mean all those things are fiction. Fairy tales were made up to make kids feel better about life.

As you can see at sixteen, I have a very pessimistic outlook on life. Well, anyways, the point is that I didn’t believe in things that were based on fact until a few days ago. A few days ago, my entire perspective on life changed.

It all started when my older sister’s car radio broke in her 95’ Jeep Cherokee.

“I can’t believe this,” Molly sighed slamming her hand into the radio. “This is ridiculous. I just bought it – I’m going back to that pawn shop. I want my money back.”

I sighed as I slid my seatbelt over my shoulder. Molly could be a tad bit overdramatic at times. I mean she was fussing over a car radio that she probably bought for twenty dollars. 

She turned the car the opposite direction and headed straight towards the pawn shop in a rage. Throughout the entire car ride, she went on and on about it. It was a good thing that I had brought my Ipod along. Her voice was drowned out by the sound of Mumford and Sons.

When we got to the store, Molly insisted that I come along inside. She literally pulled the radio out of the car and shoved back into the box it came in, which she so conveniently had in the trunk. I chuckled as she marched up to the register.

I wandered around the store, looking for anything of value. The store was like an episode of hoarders. There were all sorts of knick knacks spread out and there was barely any room to walk. There was no sort of organization either – everything was just kind of tossed about.

I was staring at an old Gameboy Advance when something fell off of the shelf above me. I picked up the shiny gold object and stared it for a second. It was some sort of lamp. It was like something out of Aladdin except more elaborately made.

My little sister’s birthday was coming up and her favorite Disney movie was Aladdin. It would be the perfect present for her. I grabbed it and walked up to the register and placed it on the counter.

“Thanks for nothing,” Molly spat at the man at the register. “Sam, what is that?”

“It’s for Erin,” I sighed. “I found it over there.”

“That’s not for sale,” the man at the register said.

“Oh really – You just said I could have anything in the store for free,” Molly retorted. “This was in the store, was it not? Therefore I want it for free.”

“Fine! You want it! Take it,” he sighed. “Just get out of my store and don’t think about coming back.”

“We won’t!” Molly shouted back and she made her way to the door. I grabbed the lamp and followed her out of the store. Molly was quite the character. She pulled out of the parking lot quickly and headed home finally. Molly always seemed to have some errands to run every time she picked me up from school. I was better off taking the bus.

“Let me see that thing,” Molly said grabbing the lamp out of my hand. “This is nice. Good choice – little brother. Erin will definitely love this. It’s actually really beautiful.”

“I know,” I replied as she handed it back to me. It had all sorts of engravings on it and was a shiny metal. It was definitely not from America. It was like an antique. It was definitely worth something. If it wasn’t for Molly’s loud mouth – he probably would have charged us like one hundred dollars for it.

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