Djinn

“There weren’t always dragons in the Valley.” The unfamiliar voice surprises Mona away from the campfire’s hypnotic flames that dance before her. She’s sure that she had been alone in her camp just a heartbeat ago. She spent an hour walking into the forest from the road to ensure her fire wouldn’t be seen from the path. Yet now, as Mona’s amber eyes stare across the fire, she finds a pair of silver ones staring back at her. They belong to a young man with slightly pointed ears, who smiles warmly from atop a downed log. Mona is unsure when the stranger approached her but demands he leave her be as she scans the forest for any companions in tow. “Many people have made speculations on why the creatures have selected the Valley,” continues the young man. “Ranging from a lack of hunters in the area, much more plentiful food, or even better conditions to raise their offspring. Yet I’m sure every person who lives near the Valley would be surprised to find out the truth.

Mona raises an eyebrow in question at the young man as she speaks, “What is the truth, and how do you come to know it?”

The young man’s smile deepens. “Dragons came to the Valley because a little girl named Lillian missed spending time with her father and wished he didn’t need to travel so far away to study the great beasts. To answer how I came to know this is obvious, for I am the one that granted the child’s wish.”

Laughter from the dark-haired young woman’s mouth fills the silent forest. “Forgive me, mister genie, I didn’t see your lamp there at your feet,” teases Mona, thinking the man some traveling jester until she notices how the man isn’t wearing anything to protect his bare feet from the rocky ground of the forest.

“Oh, you do need to be so formal, Mona. You can just call me Gin,” his use of her name causes Mona’s body to go still, like a beast waiting for its moment to pounce on its prey. “There are many misconceptions about my kind that I would like to set straight, if you don’t mind,” explains Gin. “First and foremost, the lamp. Where you all got the idea of djinn or genies, as you put it, needing to be confined in a lamp or any other type of mundane vessel waiting for someone to come along and rub it before we can be free confounds me. So allow me to finally put it to rest. No, the ageless being that can grant your every desire with a snap of its fingers doesn’t need to live in a lamp. We travel, eat in restaurants and sleep in beds like any average person. Much more comfortably, I must admit, we are magical after all.”

Mona breaths deeply as she reaches for her father’s knife she keeps on her belt. She doesn’t draw the blade, only wants to know it is ready if she needs it. “What brings you to my campfire, Gin?” wonders Mona keeping her voice calm.

“Ah, that brings us perfectly to our next subject,” starts Gin, seemingly unaware of the slight change in the woman’s demeanor. “Have you ever had a bad day and felt like someone was watching you but noticed you were all alone after looking around? That’s me, or at least a djinn like me. You see, we djinn need to discover if we should intervene in your life because we aren’t servants. If I were to describe a djinn’s duty, it would be to punish the wicked and reward those in need as an avatar of choice. An example of my handy work is about two hundred years ago. King Beldon, the Greedy, ruled over Advalur and nearly taxed his kingdom to ruin. I placed a monkey’s paw empowered with wishes in one of the carts of gold he was extorting from his people. Beldon hardly had the paw three days before he foolishly wished for a pool of gold so deep he could drown in it, which he ultimately did. Had Bledon chosen to wish his kingdom into a golden age, would his fate have been different? Who’s to say, but the choice undoubtedly was his.”

Mona’s hand tightens around the knife’s handle. “On the other hand,” continues Gin, “you have people I come across, like young Lillian I told you about earlier. Sad, lonely, and in need of a little touch of magic to brighten their lives. I transformed into a rabbit that she chased after while playing in the woods. I led her to an old abandoned well and placed a shiny silver coin on the ground before it. Her every desire was held within that simple coin, and all she asked for was time with her father. For her, I brought dragons to the Valley.”

“Why are you telling me all this,” asks Mona candidly. “Am I the greedy King or the lonely girl chasing after the rabbit?”

Gin shrugs, “I don’t know, maybe I’ve grown bored. I’ve been in existence for over seven hundred years, and in all that time, I have only ever observed people before granting their wishes. I never actually took the time to get to know someone personally to understand why they choose what they do. Perhaps you’re a girl who follows a lonely rabbit towards a question he’s too afraid to ask. Only time would help us find out, wouldn’t you agree?” Gin stands, extending a hand in Mona’s direction.

Mona sighs and stands, letting go of her father’s weapon to clasp the djinn’s hand with hers before saying, “If we happen upon any greedy Kings, we split the gold fifty-fifty.”