3. Boshun

Istomped around inside my plush, though cramped, genie quarters. When I was first trapped here long ago by an evil witch, I resigned myself to my fate. It beat what she offered as an alternative.

It was attractive enough inside the lamp. Except for my freedom, I could magic whatever I needed.

Silk bedding. A soft mattress. An enormous tub that stayed full and at the right temperature. All the food I could imagine eating. I even had a small room where I could work out—something I found myself doing a lot to alleviate my boredom.

But one year turned into another, and I lost count of how many passed while I waited to be summoned to grant wishes. I read everything in the magical library, the only reason I could keep up with the world flowing outside my lamp, and I continued to hope I'd find a way to break this curse.

In the Guide to Becoming: A Genie's Handbook, a small pamphlet I found stuffed behind a bunch of boring treatises on the bookshelf, it said a genie's curse could be broken, though it didn't say how.

The odds of me finding a way free were practically nil. I was summoned regularly, but each time I left the lamp and tried to research how I could escape, I found nothing worth trying.

At this rate, I'd remain here for eternity. A genie was granted endless life.

Rising from my plush bed, I started pacing. The blankets and sheets magically cleaned themselves, and by the time I'd walked back and forth twice, it looked like a housekeeper had visited and set the place right.

I sighed and went to the gym to lift weights. One. Two. Three reps, followed by others. A fine sweat broke out on my brow, and when I paused, that also magically disappeared, as if the interior of the lamp had a cleaning fetish.

"I'm a genie in a bottle," I sang in a robust voice. "A lovely woman can come to me. Come for me." Ha. Ha.

Sadly, there wasn't anyone here to laugh at my joke, let alone drag off to my bed.

Just when I was about to order sushi, the world started shaking. I dropped the barbell with a bang and straightened, bracing my palm on the wall to maintain my balance.

Was it an earthquake or . . .?

Mist swirled around me.

Someone had summoned me. Would I finally find a way out of this golden cage?