[ WP ] A genie grants you one wish , so you wish to meet the girl of your dreams . There 's a flash and in a moment standing in front of you is ... your girlfriend of two weeks from 8th grade .

I found the strange lamp in the dusty corner bookshelf of the antique store at the corner of Lexington and Concord. I had never been inside that shop before, but I needed some fresh air and decided to take a walk on my lunch break. As I passed the store front that read `` Al's Antiques'' across the tattered green awning, I decided to go inside for a look around. I am an amateur furniture restorer in my spare time - a hobby that I picked up from my dad - and love to find strange and unique antiques to refurbish and sell on eBay, so it seemed like a good place to find a piece for my next project. At least its a hobby that pays for itself, my dad would always say. He had been gone about ten years now, and my mom died from cancer a couple of years before that. Has it been that long? The bell chimed when I entered the store, and dust motes fluttered in the sunlight that streamed through the blinds, but otherwise the store was dark, lit only by old-fashioned lamps in numerous fashions and from various time periods, strewn around the store in no particular order. 
 
 Despite the dim light and the dust, the place was comforting; it had the smell of old leather and old books that I have found comforting since my childhood. The store owner, an older woman, was sweeping near the counter and looked up at the chime to greet me with a warm smile, `` Good afternoon! Have a look around, and let me know if I can help you with anything.'' I returned her smile and replied, `` Thanks, I will.'' There was an old, fluffy cat sitting on the counter near the register; its tail flicked curiously and its large, feline eyes followed me around the store. I could n't tell you what exactly drew me to the lamp, but it was as if it had chosen me, and had known that I would be there to find it. It had ancient markings on it that looked like Arabic, but I could n't say so with any certainty. The phrase `` mas tequila, por favor'' is the unfortunate extent of my foreign language experience from high school and college. I would not have guessed, at the time, that it was even a lamp; it looked something like a brass teapot with a long, upturned spout. I had no clue what it was, or what use I could possibly put it to, but for some reason I felt an intense urge that I was meant, somehow, to find it, and to purchase it. So I did. 
 
 I took the lamp home with me after work and got out my brass polishing supplies; it was n't the first time I had dealt with a tarnished, old piece of finery. When I rubbed the lamp with the old, stained rag, a blue smoke emerged from the spout and quickly filled the room before I had time to react. I pushed back from the table, but the back legs of the chair caught on the rug and I was sent sprawling on the floor, striking my head on the corner table. Son of a bitch, that is going to leave a mark. 
 
 The smoke cleared and there was a man standing in the middle of my kitchen offering me a hand. 
 
 `` Who the hell are you, and why are you in my house?'' I blurted, rubbing the fresh bruise on my head absentmindedly. 
 
 `` I am the genie of the lamp, and you have summoned me, of course,'' he smiled, still extending his hand to me. 
 
 Confused, I accept his help and he pulls me to my feet with strength that I would n't have guessed from his slight frame and short stature. 
 
 `` What do you mean? That's impossible,'' I manage, noticing his expensive three-piece suit, pin stripes on charcoal, and his dark hair and short-trimmed bear, dark but streaked with gray. 
 
 `` But I am here nonetheless, and you have three wishes. Use them wisely. Of course, I am obligated to inform you that I can not kill anyone, or make anyone fall in love with you, or the like. And, please, for the love of all things good in this world, please, do not wish for more wishes. It wo n't work, and you will just feel silly.'' I nod my assent, and wonder whether this is really happening or I hit my head a lot harder than I thought. `` Now, without further ado, wish number one. Go,'' he says with a pleasant smile, pulling out a chair and taking a seat next to me. 
 
 

