
On the beach, tangled in seaweed, I found an ancient lamp. With avarice aforethought, I started rubbing.
From within the lamp, “not so hard you’ll ruin the finish!”
I eased up a bit, and smoke billowed from the spout; a genie appeared.
“What wish may I fulfill?”
“Oh Genie of the lamp, I ask a boon…”
A sonic boom rattled my teeth.
“There’s your boom.”
“NO! Boon, B-O-O-N!”
“Sorry pal, you’re done, no backsies.”
“Wait, I get three wishes…!”
“Nah, the new contract stipulates one.
Just my luck, a union genie.
Art is a retired computer programmer. After forty years of writing in COBOL and Assembler, he decided to try writing in English; it’s much harder than it looks. He lives in New York City with his wife/muse and regularly visiting grandkids. Art’s had stories published in The Arcanist, Third Flat Iron Anthologies, The Rabbit Hole: Weird Stories, and Fall Into Fantasy. He can be contacted at ALASKY9679@YAHOO.COM.