James pounds on Hunter’s door. It only took Hunter’s short plump figure a couple seconds to answer the door, but James was not going to wait. It was going to be dark soon and they had not even left their house. They could not be stuck in the haunted forest in the dark.
They had made it about 10 minutes into the forest, but not without James having to persuade Hunter to keep going. Hunter was on guard for any little movement that could set off a trap or summon demons or anything like that. After ten more minutes of wandering further into the forest, they saw objects about 20 yards in front of them. James’s heart skipped a beat. They were chairs. But there was nobody in them.
“This is going to end up the same as the last time I trusted you!” Said Hunter’s horrified voice as soon as he realized what they were.
“No it won’t, trust me on this one.” Snap! There went the sound of a big stick breaking under Hunter’s foot. He was gone. Running as fast as James had ever seen him move in his life. His short figure out of sight and into the fog in no more than 20 seconds.
Although terrified, James slowly approached the chairs. Nothing seemed different in the atmosphere. The smell of fresh trees and the sound of snapping twigs under his feet had not changed the entire journey. James was now within ten feet of the chairs. Three of them, lined up as if they were having a meeting. With nobody in the meeting.
James took a big turn around them, not getting too close. Now shaking, James had to take a seat. He sat on a stump ten feet from the chairs, facing them directly. Right as his butt hit the stump, a huge silhouette came out of the middle chair. It made James jump from his seat but he was not the type of person to run away. He backed up slowly tripping on the tree stump where he was previously sitting. The silhouette did not seem to be moving much. It hovered a couple feet over the middle chair. It hovered about six feet tall and had a white glow to it. James’s first thought was a ghost but he was smarter than to believe in ghosts. Out of nowhere the ghost looking figure began to speak. It spooked James a little bit as he backed up square into a tree. James was too petrified to worry about the pain at this point in time. The silhouette had a surprisingly high pleasant sounding voice. It spoke, “ I am a genie, what is today’s wish Sir James?”
“How do u know my name?” Jame asked.
“I know everybody's name!” Said the high voice of the genie.
“What will your wish be today Mr. James?”
“You can’t actually grant wishes”, said James.
“Sure I can” Said the genie
“Then give me a donut!” Said James
“What kind?” Said the genie’s shrill voice
“Chocolate!” Immediately after James finished his wish a chocolate donut appeared in his hand.
“Oh my god!” James tossed the donut aside. “My next wish is a new pair of shoes”
“Ah ah ah do not be greedy Mr. James. Only one wish per day. Come back tomorrow for your next wish.”
“Fine!” Said James, a little bit ticked off. It was dark now, James needed to head home before his parents began to worry. He decided he was not going to tell his parents about his genie. They would just think he is crazy.
After getting no sleep on a Summer’s Saturday night, early next morning James was pounding on Hunter’s door. When Hunter answered he immediately said, “James, I am not going back out there with you.”
“Hunter, please come. I found something you have to see.” But mid sentence the door was slammed in James’s face. “Oh well, I guess I am going alone.” James said to himself. This time James was more excited and less fearful taking his first steps into the forest. James’s built five foot eight figure brushed through the overhanging tree limbs. Tripping over his own feet as he trudged along. After twenty minutes James found the chairs again. Sitting exactly how he had remembered them. James took a wide swing around the chairs, as he still believed he should not touch them. He stood in front of them as he had yesterday. But no genie came out. James thought to himself, “What did I do yesterday?” “Of course!” James said out loud. The tree stump. Immediately after he touched the stump yesterday the genie appeared. James put his hand on the stump. But still no genie. James took a seat on the stump to think. He was not going to let this opportunity get away from him. But as he sat down on the stump, the genie appeared once more. “Thats right! I sat down when you appeared yesterday.” James said.
“That is correct.” Said the genie. “What will your wish be today Mr. James?”
“I want a new hockey stick. Hockey season is starting up again..” Said James with confidence.
“ I am sorry Mr. James I cannot grant you that wish.”
“Why not!?” Exclaimed James.
“Mr. James, I can only grant wishes with a worth of under five american dollars.”
“What!?” James screamed. Now inching closer to the genie. He still stood at least 6 inches shorter than the genie. The genie states in his calm voice,
“I do not think it would be a great idea to touch me.”
“I will” Said James.
“Go ahead, it’s your loss” James backed away slowly. His mouth dry and his lungs burning from yelling in the thin cold air. He didn’t know what to do. He stood there for a solid ten seconds. Just making eye contact with the misty figure of the now useless genie.
“Would you like a different wi---” James cut off the genie with a loud unpleasant, “Shut up!”
“Ok” replied the genie in the same calm voice
This pushed James a little too far. The genie’s irritatingly calm self got to James. He thought it would be best to leave so that he would not do anything hasty that he would later regret.
When he got home this time he decided he needed to tell somebody. Since Hunter would no longer listen to him, his parents were the next best people to tell.
It was a long conversation, his parents wore a concerned look the whole time.
“Are you sure honey?” James’s mom asked
“Yes! I saw it with my own eyes!” James said
“Are you sure it wasn’t just dark? You should take a nap James.” His dad said.
“Ughh!” James exclaimed in disgust. “Come I will show you!”
James lead his parents through the forest more quickly so that they would not lose interest in the twenty minute journey to the chairs
“Buddy, it's almost five, we should head back for supper” Said James’s dad.
“No we are so close. Another two minutes” Said James.
At long last James had the chairs in sight.
“See! They are right there!” Screamed James. “Now be careful do not get too close to them or touch them. They all took a wide turn around the three chairs to face them up front. They stood a solid ten feet apart. “Now watch. When u touch this tree stump, the genie appears from the middle chair.”
“Son, are you sure about this. We should leave.”
“No, we are not leaving. Now watch”
James slowly placed his sweaty hand on the stump. He could feel the sandpapered feel of the unusually smooth stump brush along his finger tips. No genie appeared. His dad peered over at him.
“Have you touched it James?”
“No I am about to” Still no genie. “I guess he just will not come out because he only comes out once per day. I am not lying!”
“No we believe you sweety.” Said his mom.
“Let's head back for supper.” Said his dad.
The walk back seemed to take longer. Not a word about the chairs.
The next day James went out into the forest again. After twenty five minutes, James had not seen the chairs. He decided that he was just walking slower and kept on going. Until he tripped on something. He looked down to find the unusually smooth stump. But he looked around to find no chairs.