Story Prompt
You are given three wishes by a genie, but the twist is, you don't get to chose what you receive. The genie does.
Do you remember the day that the earth decided to stop hiding the magic in the world? No one ever discovered the reason why. It was as if Mother Earth had just decided that there was too much pain in the world and decided to give us the magic that we knew, or hoped, was under the surface. Just outside of our vision. But no longer.
What became interesting was what was folklores were true, what creatures were real and what we had in fact made up in our heads. Fairies? Real. Trolls? Real. Dinosaurs? A hoax, apparently perpetrated by pixies (also real) to mess with the human race.
Dragons were real, but had in fact become extinct. The Loch Ness Monster, was real but also now extinct. I was sad about that one.
Crime rates went down, though this was a technicality because it turned out that a lot of unsolved murders were actually committed by vampires and the occasional werewolf and no one was quite sure yet as to whether those beings could be charged with a crime. You certainly couldn’t put them in prison. They would eat the population.
The Yeti and Big foot were real, but decided to stay in the shadows. They were still not interested in interacting with humans.
Magic was real, although who was magical and who wasn’t was still not obvious. A bit like Harry Potter with us being the muggles. Magical people prefer to keep to themselves and have their own government. Although it is called Nydrian. Not the Ministry of Magic.
What brings me to my post today though is my experience with a magical being. Not a witch, wizard or warlock, but an actual genie. They are exceedingly rare so rumours still fly around as to their existence. But yes, I met one. Here is my story.
What you need to know about genies is that yes, they do grant three wishes, of a kind. The difference however is that they choose for you. They are a pure spirit and can see what it is that you actually need. So what did the genie choose for me? Three opportunities to speak to my soul, the essence of my being, at times of my choosing.
At the time I was disappointed. Winning the lottery for example would have been nice. But after much thought on the matter, and indeed after having my three wishes, I discovered that what I had been given was actually priceless. I received inner peace.
Have you ever found actual true inner peace? I did not think it was possible to be honest, or even if I thought about it, it was never something that I believed that I could ever attain.
The first time I spoke to my soul I was wary. I was going to find out who I actually was. I had been through a lot in my life and wasn’t sure I would like what I found. So I started with “Hello. Who am I?”
My soul, unnamed and female, told me to close my eyes and she took me back to the absolute baseline of myself. The core of who I am. For that time period, every moment of pain, every sadness, every bad moment of my life was lifted off my shoulders and set aside. It was all still there. But temporarily moved to the side. So I could truly see, me, stripped bare. I felt lighter, so much lighter. And so young.
There is something wonderful, and quite relieving about realizing that you are the person that you thought you were. The feeling that had plagued my life of not being good enough was frankly ridiculous. It was such a pure feeling; and it has stayed with me since.
Even when it was over and all the pain that had been removed was put back, I knew, absolutely, that I was not only still a whole person, but that I was enough and that made so much difference. That is when I began to realise what I had been given.
I chose not to take my second opportunity to speak with my soul for about six months. I was settling into myself, the new feelings of confidence and I knew, somehow, that the actual work would begin with my second meeting.
I was right. The second time was hard. The hardest thing I have ever experienced. There was anger in my body. Rage. Indescribable fury. There was something in me that needed to come out. Immediately. I won’t tell you the details, some things do have to remain private, but the words that erupted from my mouth had festered in me for decades.
It was painful, but so very needed.
Anger isn't healthy. Pain isn't healthy. Burying them as deep as I had damages your soul.
The fall out from that took me some time to heal from. To accept. To understand what that meant and how my life would be different as a result. For a time the sadness that I have carried for so long was much worse, but I began to understand that the knowledge of it was no longer festering inside me. I was free of it.
I waited a year for my final encounter with my soul. I needed to heal.
I did not know what to expect. I was nervous. Scared. But what happened that day was the most beautiful, perfect time of my life. I found my inner peace.
This time, my soul said hello back and although there was no corporeal being for me to see, it felt that she was pleased to see me. She was welcoming me I realised. She told me that I was free. She invited me to step into what I guess you could describe as a mansion in my mind. Some people call them memory palaces.
I realized that there were no more skeletons hiding there. No locked boxes with chains wrapped round them, never to be touched. No dangerous paths that I did not dare traverse. I was finally free of all of it.
It is hard to describe, but I felt that I was finally moving into myself. There was so much of me to explore. No dark corners. I was there to be filled, to be explored. The more I moved around in this place, the more sunlight streamed in.
There was scar tissue there. Previous pain. But healed. It no longer needed attention or notice.
I knew at that point with absolutely certainty that the future was mine now. To do with what I wished. That nothing could hold me back. All those dark places inside me were now filled with light and were ready to be filled again with whatever I wanted. With happiness.
I can truly say that I had never felt as happy. Ever. I experienced real, beautiful joy.
Knowing that nothing can hold you back now is powerful. I can truly see now what I have in this world. So much to be grateful for. I can look back at my journey and feel proud that I made it out. In one piece. Whole.
The world is now is open to me. I can truly enjoy my life.
So if you happen to come across a genie, let them choose. They truly do know best.
I'm off now to chat with the fairies, who really do live at the bottom of your garden. Turns out, they can make a mean mojito.
