The sleepy sun was sinking slowly, apparently gliding into the depths of the ocean. The watcher stood, tired eyes appreciating the clichéd scene before them. Sighing reflectively, the figure turned back to the narrow beach, and his fugue was immediately interrupted by a stubbed toe. Wincing with pain, he stared in the fading light at the metal shape, half-buried in the sand. Beach material was quickly smoothed away to reveal what looked like a battered, round tin, not more than five inches long. The lone man creased his brow in puzzlement, gently carressing a cold metallic surface. There was something intoxicating in that small object; something almost hypnotic in its graceful iridescence…
He looked up sharply, suddenly aware of another presence. A strange figure stood before him, and with it came a vague sense of unease. There seemed to be a faint glow emanating from this vision, making it stand out against the encroaching gloom.
After a few silent moments, the man realised that whenever he concentrated on where the face should be, his view was gently nudged aside, making it impossible to know what this stranger really looked like. There was something else ”“ a feeling that this thing was viewing him in a most peculiar way. If there had been an identifiable face, it would almost certainly have been smiling; slickly, unpleasantly, and perhaps betraying a certain alarming prescience.
The apparition seemed to be expecting something, and its sole viewer felt a faint nagging sensation at the back of his mind. The words, ”˜yes, master?’ asserted themselves in his consciousness. Clutching his head, he heard himself say, ”˜oh god, it’s finally happened. I’m cracking up.’
The reply seemed to drift into his brain, like picturesque clouds through a summer sky; ”˜no, master, you have woken the genie. That is all.’
”˜Genie?!’ He could feel the hysteria rising. ”˜I wish I could believe that!’ The laughter shattered the relative peace of the beach, then subsided as the thoughts hardened.
This was indeed a genie. No doubt about it.
Recovering from his outburst, he looked at the figure once more. It had not moved, and there was still no sign of a face.
”˜You have had your first wish. You have two left. Master.’ The last word seemed to be an afterthought.
”˜Well. Umm…’ a sigh overtook him and he chortled. ”˜I wish I knew what to ask for.’
That ethereal voice sidled into his mind once again; ”˜one wish left, master.’
There was a brief pause, and then, ”˜I wish…’ he started, staring into nothing. ”˜I wish the world would stop changing.’
There was the faintest fluttering sensation in the back of his mind, as though a ghost was flittering away. And then he was alone once more on a beach that had become strangely alien.
The lone figure shivered. But not from cold, from that indescribable feeling of not-quite-right-ness. The air seemed inexplicably still as he tried to reason with himself. The workload had been heavy of late, and presumably the stress had affected him… His train of thought ground to a halt at the sight of a seagull frozen in the air. It had obviously been coming into land and had just stopped, apparently defying the laws of gravity. The gull had apparently been painted against a background of small waves, similarly frozen.
By now the watcher could barely contain himself. Ragged breaths ripping out of him as he remembered those last words - ”˜I wish the world would stop changing.’ He scrambled up the beach towards the little town, almost certain of what would meet his eyes. Despite having prepared himself, the shock still hit him like a blow to the stomach. The entire vista lay frozen. An elderly man had paused indefinitely in the middle of the road. At the restaurant, a glass lay motionless in the air, contents spilling through the night. All along the sea-front, similar scenes met the eyes of the horrified wisher. He alone had been spared, to witness this hell. Emotions overcame him, as he fell to his knees and wept, tears tracing rivulets through the sand on his trousers.
A little way away, in the bowels of an old tin, thin whisps of smoke congealed into a sly smile, as a strange creature wondered why no-one ever wished to know the meaning of life.