Amina

You stare into the deep green eyes of the girl you only knew as a magical wish granter. This is the real her for the first time. You take a step forward.

“Amina…” you whisper.

The petite redhead approaches you. You raise your arms for an embrace. She back steps awkwardly. You lower your arms, embarrassed. Seeing your dejection, Amina raises her arms to comfort you, but you have already switched over to a handshake. She retracts her arms and looks away, embarrassed and you plant your hands on her shoulders to end the awkward dance.

“Good to see you, Amina,” you say, looking into her eyes.

Amina smiles, “Good to see you too, mas… Riley”

“What happened to your room?” you ask, looking at the door of her address.

“Oh… that… yeah, it was an old address,” Amina replies.

“So… you DID go to school here?”

“Yeah, before the.. Well, you know…” Amina slinks down.

“Let’s find a place to sit and you can tell me everything!” you suggest.

Amina guides you to the library, showing that she does know her way around the campus. You sit side by side at study desks and start talking.

“So? You went here?” you ask.

“Yeah, I was an archaeology student here,” Amina reveals. “... four years ago!”

“Four years ago?!” you blurt out in surprise.

“SHHH!” the librarian hushes you with a stern look.

The two of you lower your heads, adequately reprimanded.

“Is that how long you’ve been… granting wishes?” you whisper to Amina after a sufficient time of silence elapsed.

“Apparently…” Amina says, “It felt like eternity with all the magic that played with time and space… I’ve repeated days over and over again to manufacture the perfect day, watched generations of a family grow to decide what to wear my master to have for dessert, travelled to historical events to witness them first hand! It was really quite fascinating when…” As Amina recollects her past, her excitement increases, raising the speed and octaves of her speech. “...jungles of the Amazon!”

“SHHH!” the librarian interrupts, glaring down at the two of you with growing ire.

“Maybe we should find another place to chat,” you suggest.

You find a bench at the food court and are able to talk normally again.

“Alright, Amina, what is it you needed to talk to me about?” you ask, getting down to brass tacks.

“It’s the curse of the pendant. There always has to be a genie for it to work,” she explains.

“Which is why Lynn needed me to become the genie to replace you…” you surmise. Amina nods. “But… why did Lynn want me instead of you?”

Amina shrugs. “Maybe she felt sorry for me, wanted to free me?”

“But she was fine with me being chained to magical servitude,” you conclude.

“She did think about you a lot,” Amina notes.

“You know, I’d rather not think about her,” you say back. “She’s been a pain that I’d sooner rather forget.”

“I’m sorry,” Amina says with a tinge of regret. “I guess you’ll be seeing more than enough of her now that she’s your master.”

“Actually, no,” you reply smugly, “because I have this…” you hold up the pendant that has been hidden under your shirt this whole time. Amina’s eyes widen up and her jaw drops.

“She gave it back to you?!” Amina asks in wonderment.

“Not exactly, but I did get it back,” you say. “The only thing is, it doesn’t work.”

“Well of course it doesn’t work for you, dummy!” Amina says as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. “YOU’RE the genie!”

You feel a gut punch at the news. As long as you’re the one granting wishes, you won’t be able to make them.

“Then… how do I get back to making the wishes?” you ask the former genie.

Amina shrugs, “Have someone wish it.”

Great. Just great. So, all you have to do is find someone that will accept ultimate power temporarily only to willingly hand it over to you with a wish. Who would be trustworthy and willing enough to do this for you