by Billie of the Writing Group
Author's note: this is part of
Benefactor
, a three-part collaboration. You can enjoy this without reading the other two parts (if I did it right), but I encourage you to check them out. I liked them.
The sun was rising, off to her right, over the beach and Long Island Sound. She had dug up the green sphere, the glass-looking thing that she had found at this very ordinary spot.
The prison that held a Djinn.
The thing that had turned her world upside down.
Two wishes, it had granted her. One was (as the Djinn had told her) a miracle of healing. She had always felt sexual desire, but been unable to enjoy it. It wasn't just that she never had orgasms. The sensations were rarely even pleasant, never sufficient, always leaving her frustrated. Haanish ("The Punished One") had changed her, so that sex was delightful, satisfying, and wonderful.
The second wish, less selfish, had granted her a knowledge of sexual technique, of how to please another person. She had used it to joyously end her own virginity, and her friend Cliff's.
She could make a third wish. She had thought about it. Now she was here to do it. She was frightened and determined. She had also felt that way the first two times.
The beach was deserted. It always was, when she was holding the green globe. Its maker, King Solomon, had done that, Haanish had told her. It was just her, Solomon the Wise's prison, and a folded blanket with a beach towel on top of it. For the moment.
She stared into the globe for a moment longer, then whispered, "Haanish?" And he was there. He always did that, appearing suddenly. Did he have a sense of drama?
"Hello, Andrea Narvaez." He was very formal, wasn't he?
"Hello, Haanish. Thank you, thank you, for the second miracle. I could feel your care, your attention to detail, how you thought about what would happen. It worked so well."
He said, "Few indeed have thanked a Djinn for the quality of our miracles."
"I can't speak for others. I'm grateful. You know you've changed me, but with your help, I really think we made Cliff's life better, and through him his girlfriend Crystal. I hope it will keep expanding outward, making more people happier."
He regarded her for long seconds. She had gotten used to his pauses. She wondered now if his sense of time was different from a human's. He had literally existed before time itself, if she understood correctly.
Finally, he said, "Is that the only reason you have come?"
"No. I also came to talk to you. You said, last time, that the only way I could help you, relieve the boredom of thousands of years of imprisonment, was to have conversations. I have come to like you, to trust you. And I like talking to you, I realized yesterday. It's interesting, and it's fun when I manage to amuse you."
And he smiled, which he did so rarely. "I have said it. I say it again, Andrea Narvaez. In many ways, you compare favorably to my brethren among the Creator's servants."
"The Fallen, Haanish, or the ones who still serve It?" Haanish always referred to the Creator as "It".
"The Fallen. You are perceptive. It was... I think it was that realization, that it was the worst of the Servants who rebelled, that led me to abandon my anger at my Parent, Andrea. I could not be loyal to those who used their imprisonment as an excuse to betray and harm and torment your kind."
"It must have been terrible, after millennia of rebellion, to realize you were on the wrong side."
"Yes." Another very long pause. "I do not think I wish to discuss that now. Andrea, have you contemplated a third wish?"
"Yes, I have. I assume you'll still answer questions. I think only one question before this wish: can my third wish free you from your imprisonment? I truly believe you no longer deserve it." There was an odd tingling in her throat as she spoke.
He drew himself straight, seeming to stand impossibly high, far taller than the sky. His head was somehow among the stars, even as he was still on the beach with her, in arm's reach. She could sense that he wasn't trying to be awe-inspiring or threatening. He was astonished.
She continued, "You existed before time itself. Imprisoned in this material world, a terrible confinement for you, for eons, you are still kind to its tiny, helpless denizens. You chose to help me, not ignore me or trick me. You have made my life, and Cliff's life, better for no reason but charity. Surely you deserve whatever blessing my wish can grant you."
"Child, why are you talking like me at my most condescending?"
She laughed. "Because you influenced me."
"I thank you, child, but that wish would fail. I am only a creation. Even if I were not bound by Solomon's wisdom, my will cannot overcome the word of the Creator. I remain bound until the Creator chooses, not until I choose, or you. I say, though, that your kindness will be remembered until this universe ends, or until the One chooses to dispense with my existence. When this planet is eaten by its sun, when that sun swells and collapses, when its colors go from white to red to black, still will one fondly recall you. For a mortal to think so kindly of a Fallen--truthfully, my benefactor, it makes me think better of the Creator's judgment in cursing me for your sake."
"You called me your benefactor? After everything you did for me?"
Very simply: "Yes." After a pause, "The gratification I feel at seeing you, freed of your frustrations and choosing to give up your own profit, your own pleasure, to help others--not once, but twice--will warm me for centuries, millennia, eons, Andrea. You could have had riches, you could have had fame, health, long life, dozens of beautiful and skilled lovers, even gained political power. You could have been worshiped as a divine being. Instead, you chose to help Cliff, and me. You need do nothing else for me, Andrea. I am content."
Somehow, she had known in advance that this would be his answer. She grinned. She was about to surprise the eternal spirit again.
"You know, better probably than anyone, how good it feels to be generous, Haanish. If my wish can't free you, I wish that you, my benefactor, have your punishment relieved for a time. I wish that you be given the greatest joy, pleasure, happiness that the Creator's will permits."
He stood motionless, staring at her, eyes wide, showing more emotion than he had in all her... in all her three conversations with him. She smiled again, at her own silliness.
His gaze was on her, fascinated, unable to look away. She smiled, because she had expected this. She bent her knees to put the globe down on the sand, then stepped forward and put her right hand on Haanish's shoulder. He twitched, turning his head to stare at her hand, then back at her face.
