He padded into the ensuite, relieved himself and checked his nakedness in the mirror, noticing that he did not avert his eyes as he usually did. He didn’t look as portly as usual and he frowned at the visage before shrugging and turning on the shower. As he bathed he recalled Zoltan, then hurriedly shut off the shower as concern for his household took over. Zoltan must have found Melissa – he did strongly suggest that he wanted to repay me. But what if he’s also ripped me off while I was asleep? He dressed rapidly.

‘Dammit’ he muttered as he slammed open his bedroom door, the darkness surprising and initially disorientating even though he had lived here for over ten years. He flicked on the hallway light and stopped dead. From the hall he looked across his once sparse lounge room to the dining area where he and Zoltan had shared pizzas the night before. Where his comfy but tattered old settee had been was a deep red leather chesterfield and matching recliner, both facing a large screen plasma television mounted on the wall complete with a full sound system, VCR and DVD players mounted on beech coloured shelves beneath. The carpet had gone, his old but still serviceable carpet replaced by gleaming dark floorboards. A huge persian rug matching both the leather and the beech, framed a large glass top fossil stone coffee table. Luxurious drapes surrounded timber venetians on all windows and the dining room now had a dining setting that matched the coffee table. His china cabinet had also gone, replaced by a mahogany bar, a match of the floorboards. Overhead shelves and racks staggered with exquisite glassware and bottles of alcohol. Every surface in both rooms had been painted and the blank walls adorned with designer paintings and sculptures.

Evan realised he was standing with his mouth wide open and he closed it with a loud ‘plop’, briefly shut his eyes then shook his head as it dawned on him that he wasn’t dreaming. The door from the kitchen opened and Melissa appeared carrying two plates. She did not look at or acknowledge Evan, placing the two dishes onto the table, one at the head and the other beside. She walked back into the kitchen and returned almost immediately with a large covered stainless tray, setting it down between the two plates. Evan stood transfixed … she was still beautiful fully dressed. Melissa fished into the pocket of her dress and produced cutlery for both settings, then serving implements. She stood beside the head of the table and looked directly at Evan, no surprise at all evident on her face.

‘Dinner is served My Master’ she beamed.

‘Who, what … where, where is Zoltan?’

‘Master Zoltan is here My Master.’

‘Where, what, you?’ For a brief horrifying moment, Evan thought that Zoltan had somehow transformed himself into Melissa and that he had made love to her/him. Twice! Zoltan’s booming voice welcomed and relieved him from the kitchen doorway.

‘I am here Evan, My Master.’

Evan turned his head to where Zoltan stood framed, his face impassive as he stood slightly bowed to miss the architrave. As Evan watched, he stepped forward and straightened – gone were the cast offs, the humurous attire that had so tickled Evan’s fancy the previous evening, gone was the unkempt figure of the beggar and gone was the long faced look of resignation and sadness, replaced by one of smiling self-satisfaction. Rich robes hung from shoulders to ankles where the points of highly polished boots jutted from the hem and competed with the halation from the timber floor. Gaily coloured sashes rode across one shoulder and sparkling jewels bedecked his fingers and exposed wrists and Evan thought the ornate butt of some sort of weapon protruded from the lowest portion of the sash. Zoltan’s long hair was beaded back like Evan had seen was the fashion with young girls but it did not look silly or inappropriate, it appeared almost regal. Evan’s thoughts flashed again to the night before and his comment about the prince.

‘Who are you?’ Zoltan swept into the room and with a flourish of his robes assumed the chair held for him by Melissa. He looked at Evan as Melissa offered the chair at the head of the table. Evan walked slowly forward but stopped halfway. ‘I said who are you, and she, Melissa, and all this,’ he allowed his eyes to leave them and glance around the room.

‘Sit please, my friend. I told you that I always repay my debts. Sit down please and I shall explain. Melissa is quite the wonderful hostess so do not let her culinary skills be wasted,’ he said with a twinkle in his eye.

Evan walked slowly to the chair, Melissa squeezed his hand and kissed him on the cheek as he sat. He pulled away warily, surprised. She patted him on the shoulder for reassurance and didn’t look offended at his slight rejection, then he smiled as he recognised the irony that he, the overweight, middle aged and not too attractive Evan having rejected the young and beautiful Melissa. He relaxed, slightly, and looked back at Zoltan.

‘Alright. Tell me what’s going on? Is this some kind of joke, Changing Rooms, or Just Kidding or some other show …’

‘Easy my friend’ Zoltan interrupted, ‘no. It is no joke as you call it. Melissa?’

She uncovered the silver tray and the wafting aroma of roast lamb immediately assaulted Evan’s senses. His stomach rumbled loudly as the perfectly baked vegetables gleamed at him from the tray. Evan shrugged. ‘Why not? All this,’ he waved his arm around the room, ‘and a roast dinner for breakfast!’

‘But it is evening now my friend. You have slept all day’ and Zoltan’s smile was not a little mischievous as he snuck a peek at Melissa.

‘I … I didn’t think I’d drunk that much’ was all he could mutter.

‘Do you like it?’

‘I do, yes, I do, but you have to understand, it’s such a dramatic and surprising change that I wasn’t, I’m not prepared for it, I don’t know …’

‘It is alright my friend’ Zoltan interrupted again. ‘As long as it is to your approval? Is there anything you would like me to change, something else your heart desires?’

Evan shook his head, looking bewildered. ‘I don’t understand how I slept all day, um, I havn’t missed a day at work for three years, and how, how did you do this, all this without waking me?’

Melissa finished serving them and retired out of sight to the kitchen, nodding once to Zoltan and smiling at Evan. Zoltan returned Evan’s baleful glare with one of amusement. ‘You have heard of magicians, shamans, wizards, warlocks, sorcerers and the like? I have variously been described as one or all of those at one time or another, but in your vernacular you probably know me as a genie.’ He held up his hand as Evan prepared to interrupt and nodded to his plate. ‘Let me complete my explanation and that should satisfy most of your questions. Please, eat your dinner as I speak then it shall be your turn. I cannot solve the mystery of how I became a genie for you as it occurred too long ago for my recall. What I can tell you is that I am over two and a half thousand years old,’ his mischievous grin appeared again, ‘and yes, I lived through the time of your Jesus Christ, though I know of him only from your own history. You see, I am only conscious when I am serving a Master, the remainder of time does not exist for me. Each and every time I return to your world I see the amazing changes that have occurred, and on some occasions that has been as short as a year or two, up to hundreds of years. This time, I have returned for over a year to a Master who was a wealthy, wise and patient man. His first wish for me, yes, that part is true, three wishes for the finder of the genie – his first wish was that my next Master would be a worthy recipient of my powers as he believed that he already had everything in the world that he could ever want or need. We spent many, many nights conversing over his remaining two wishes until tragically, he was killed in an automobile accident. I had never enjoyed anybody’s company before, satisfied with both my position and my own solitary life, but my Master showed me something that nobody before him had done, and that was true companionship is indeed a worthy life. If this secret could be shared amongst the world’s many natives, then peace would be all encompassing.’

He paused as Melissa returned with two crystal glasses of red wine. ‘Will there be anything else my Master?’

Evan was surprised to see she was addressing himself and not Zoltan. He merely shook his head – even Melissa’s beauty could not take his mind from this incredible, this unbelievable, story.

‘Go on Zoltan, please.’

‘There is little more to tell, except the death of my Master occurred some forty years ago, but now I believe that in accordance with his one and only wish, I have found a worthy recipient – you.’

The silence between them lay for long seconds, Evan studying Zoltan’s face as if seeking further clarification and Zoltan staring back impassively, knowingly. Finally, Evan cleared his throat, his meal so mouth wateringly tempting yet so insignificant.

‘You expect me to believe something so unbelievable? Genie? Genies only exist in stories and fairy tales and you could have done all this while I slept, it’s possible.’ He concluded sounding as if he was talking to himself rather than addressing Zoltan.

‘You want some proof, of course. As I believed it would be. I am not a charlatan Evan, and I am most definitely not a liar. Behold!’

With a gesture of one hand, the entire room returned to it’s former antiquity, there was no noise or billowing of smoke or any other theatrics that Evan could see. It was like blinking and seeing two totally separate scenes after the blink. Even his dinner was now congealed eggs sitting with coldly rigid bacon on his own old plates. He peered again at Zoltan dressed once more in the clothes he’d supplied last night, hair disheveled, his face worn and long. Zoltan gestured again and the room, and himself, reclaimed their new appearance. Evan shook his head and uttered one word.

‘Melissa?’

‘She is very real my friend, one of many wards, and she agrees with my decision as well as telling me that you are a lovely man!’ He spoke the last with a broad smile.

‘And so, I get three wishes when?’

‘Just two my friend, the two remaining from my previous master.’

‘My God! Zoltan, I’m just having a little trouble digesting all this, if you understand what I mean. Um, does that include any spurious wishes I may make, you know, like in jest.’

‘It does, so you must be careful.’

‘What about you, what happens to you after I’ve made my two wishes.’

‘Not for you to concern yourself with. You could say I go back into hibernation, like a bear in winter, yet mine is normally a very long winter.’

‘And I can wish for anything?’

‘Yes, anything as long as it does not involve hurt to others but I warn you again my friend, be careful, as your wishes will literally come true. I cannot say more than that.’

‘I think I understand, thank you. Don’t wish for my long dead mother or something like that because I will get her back exactly as she is today, ashes to ashes if you get my drift.’

‘I do, and I see you also ‘get my drift’ as you put it. That is how it is my friend.’

‘Well then, I think I know what I want already, if I may?’

‘Anytime, but make sure …’

‘I am sure – my friend.’

Zoltan looked at Evan quizzically – it was the first time he had seen him so positive.

‘Then let it be – let us do it.’

Evan took a deep breath. ‘I’m likely to mistakenly send someone to hell or something if I wait and think about it too much, so I have to do it now.’ Another deep breath. ‘Zoltan, my first wish is nothing atypical, it is selfish but my intentions are good. I wish to be always financially wealthy so that I can assist the poor and underprivileged of the world.’

‘It is done,’ Zoltan nodded, smiling.

‘Secondly, I have only known you a short time but in you I see the same loneliness I feel, the need for a friend, a companion as you found with your previous master. I truly believe that, so,’ he paused and took a deep breath but failed to see the look of resignation on Zoltan’s face, ‘it is my wish that you be free and should you so choose, you can remain here for as long as you like. You will always be welcome.’

Zoltan stared at him, no surprise evident. Melissa came out from the kitchen and stood at the end of the table, looking expectantly at each of them. Evan continued to look at Zoltan and finally nodded at him in assurance.

‘That is my wish, those are my wishes. Now, genie, tell me they are done – both of them.’

‘I should have foreseen this, your charity, your philanthropy is unfathomable. But I warned you also of consequences and you have wished me to be something that I am not. If not a genie, then I am nothing, I do not exist. I cannot forestall any longer my friend, I see you did have all good intentions however … uumph.’

Melissa had token on a ghostly pallour as Evan glanced at her, the look of horror on his face surpassed only by her sadness. She became more transparent as he watched, until disappearing from his view within a few short seconds. He was sure her last act was to blow him a kiss. The horror did not leave him as he looked back to Zoltan, now also fading quickly.

‘Noooo … ' he yelled.

The voice came to him muffled, the booming qualities gone, the crystal rattling volume seemed to be lost somewhere in the short distance between them.

‘Goodbye my friend. Good luck. It is done.’

THE END