[Patreon Exclusive] THREE WISHES: Chapter 6 (Patreon)

Chapter 6

The Iraqi streets were peculiarly quiet that night, making it difficult for Seth to fall asleep. He’d grown accustomed to the odd distant gunshot or the thudding of a far away explosion. In a funny way, those sounds of war were like the Iraqi equivalent to crickets. There’s something disturbing about absolute silence, especially in a warzone. Seth was waiting for the silence to break at any moment, but it persisted, growing somehow even more quiet as the sun made its way around the globe, full-circle.

Seth liked the occasional distant gunshot because it kept him from drifting too deep into his own mind. Now, he was as deep as you can get, wondering what exactly was his plan—why was he trying so desperately to get back to his base when he had a genie at his disposal, ready to give him just about any life he wanted. He could have wished to be back home, discharged, or he could have wished to be in any country he wanted, complete with citizenship.

He imagined himself laying in the sun in the Dominican Republic, on a warm, white, sandy beach. He could practically hear the sound of the waves crashing gently against the shore, the smell of the ocean teasing his nostrils. It took Seth a few minutes to realize he was still a woman in his fantasy, laying in a bikini, skin almost entirely exposed to the sun’s warm rays. It was almost impossible to alter the fantasy, to become a man without losing some of the charm.

A chill ran down Seth’s spine. He couldn’t remain a woman for the rest of his life, could he? What would he tell his friends? What would he tell his sister. He laughed at the thought. He couldn’t even remember the last time he talked to his sister, and the only friends he’d ever made were killed by IEDs or in gunfights. So there really was nothing to lose by remaining in that feminine body.

Another chill ran down his spine—he wasn’t just entertaining the notion, but seriously considering it. And what was his other option? Return to the army, get sent out on another mission that might succeed in taking his life, and for what? For Iraqi oil? For the freedom of people who didn’t even want to be freed? As a woman, no one would ever find him—he could let them mark him up as killed-in-action, and he could disappear—enjoy the rest of his life without a firearm in sight.

He bit down on his tongue. He couldn’t actually do it—he couldn’t give up on his whole life on a whim like that.

The next morning, Seth and Idri drove to the army base and stopped about one-hundred feet back from the gate. “I hate to be a nuisance, but it’s time for you to make your last two wishes. I need to get going,” Idri said.

Seth couldn’t get the image of himself on the beach, in that bikini out of his mind, but he tried his best. He had a big decision to make. He could turn back into a man and make one wish, or he could remain a woman and make two. And if he remained a man, what would his wish be? A big house? One of Idri’s apparition sex slaves? He opened his mouth and his heart started racing. “I’d like to wish for a citizenship.”

“For where?” Idri asked, raising her eyebrows. She was surprised by the wish. Even Seth had surprised himself.

“The Dominican,” he said.

“Ooh,” Idri said, “good choice. Maybe I’ll come visit you there. And do you want me to change you back to being a man?”

Seth became tense. He looked forward at the army base and wondered, what exactly would he be leaving behind that was so important? What did he get out of being a man that he couldn’t get as a woman, or was it just his stubbornness keeping his from committing? “You said I can’t make a wish that would affect another human,” he said, “right?”

“That’s right.”

“What about a wish that affects a genie?”

“Well, technically all of your wishes affect me, seeing as I lose a little bit of power every time I grant you a wish. But I suppose that’s not against any rules…” She seemed reluctant to tell him that, worried he was going to be like all of those annoying princes from the Ottoman Empire, who kept wishing for more wishes.

“I wish you would consider coming with me,” he said. “I’d hate to force you, but I’d like for you to come along.”

She bit the corner of her lip in an attempt to hide her smile. “Wouldn’t you rather wish for a teleportation?”

“I don’t mind taking a plane—I have a passport, after all.”

She couldn’t stop the smile from finding her face as her cheeks turned to a shade of dark red. “Planes are for losers. C’mon.” She snapped her fingers, and in an instant, the harsh desert sand became soft and white, and the army base melted into a beautiful cerulean ocean. The humming of traffic turned into the singing of songbirds. Seth and Idri weren’t in Iraq anymore. Now, they were on a Dominican beach, under the shade of a tall palm tree. There wasn’t another person in sight.

“I think you made the right choice,” Idri said to Seth as she lay back on the warm sand.

Seth looked down at himself. His burka was gone. Now, he was wearing a skimpy little red bikini that he recognized instantly from his fantasy the night before. “I picked it out myself,” Idri said with a laugh. “I think it looks good on you.”

As far as anyone needed to know, Seth died with the Iraqi soldiers in that helicopter crash. And thanks to Idri’s three wishes, he was given a whole new life, a life he’d never dreamed he would ever had, a life he’d always assumed he didn’t deserve, as if it was too good for him. But now it was his: paradise to be spent with the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

THE END