We all start off as one thing but end up as something else. Take humans for instance – they start off as single cells, evolve into people and eventually turn to dust. Throughout their lives they try to find ways to fit in. Social circles, jobs, marriages… the world. But sometimes the things we’re trying so desperately to fit into, just aren’t a good fit.
I was once worshipped as a god. I’ve spent a lifetime in the same place waiting to become something else, something more. And I will be. I always am.
No one, god or man, ever discussed the consequences of greed when it comes to the sensitive situations of life or the things you should avoid. After all, you wouldn’t dare tell a king he has too much power, let alone, a god. And they wouldn’t listen anyway. Why? Because there is always a belief that the more power you wield, the more you are exempt from fault or blame. I can assure you, it does not. The humans coined a phrased ‘pride cometh before the fall’ – they spoke a truth that even I have wrestled with.
People. People are puppets – slaves to their own desires and lusts for the trappings of life they believe will provide them comfort, status…perhaps even reward or love. Such things are fleeting and like all things, they have an end. Naturally or otherwise. They are tied to their egos and it weighs their souls down. Things like their social media, intended for them to connect, just divides them even more. They share their victories, inner most personal feelings about current affairs, and stir the pot of discord for amusement. Humans today have things like Twitter but before that, they had a colosseum with which to display their strengths and air their grievances. Then before that it was blood sport of the purest form. The spectators, those engaged in battle, and enraged instigators waged on the sidelines. And like your Twitter they came for each other’s necks. The winner would be victorious and have the added pleasure of their name on the lips of everyone in attendance.
What is rarely spoken of are their hard earned failures and their personal struggles. The ends you go to conceal such – but not I. I will tell you how I came to this end.
Many, many millennia ago… I was once a powerful god, generous in life but treacherous in nature. My treachery knew no bounds and my generosity was with limitations. I used what I could give for my own personal sport, granting those who sought me out the opportunities to fulfill their desires. And I did…. Provided they accept my consequences. Those who desired love, got it…but their love was only for a short time while the one they longed for – continued with their affections which caused conflict amongst them. Those that desired for wealth, received it in an abundance, but for every dollar they spent, a year was taken from their lives. And those who desired happiness, would become so – but their happiness would depend on seeking out the one who would provide them with such. They always found them, but most times, it wasn’t until they were near death. And for those who desired fame, they would become world renowned but wouldn’t famous for good deeds. Their dirty laundry, their lies, their murderous intentions, and their deception is what made them famous. But these were hearts that were soiled and blemished and I only helped them to see this.
In my unlimited power and finite wisdom, I made one believe that he could have it all. And sought to give it to him, but he was more cunning than even I could have seen. All powerful doesn’t necessarily mean all knowing. There were a few times humans fooled me, but he was the last. This young man sought me out. He came to me a poor broken soul who had been used and abused by his master and when the evil man perished… he fled so that no other would own him again. And none ever did. He wanted to know all about me and I found it odd but refreshing that he hadn’t come out with his requests right away. He stayed with me for several weeks and in that amount of time, he learned much about me. He inquired of every known thing in the stars and had a thirst to learn more. Then he asked of me and my kind while we imbibed the best wine ever made by human hands. I hadn’t seen or felt his trickery as he stroked my ego and fawned over my power. Oh, how I wish my eyes were truly opened. It seems I opened his instead.
He told me much about his master and when I heard all that he had to say I thought, he sounds like me. And to my astonishment, I found that his master was one I instructed long ago. His master asked for eternal life, and when I told him that no human’s life is eternal… he then modified his desire to longevity. He lived for eighty years beyond his 35th birthday and was a cruel man to the very end. The young man, Elias, who sought me out told me that he was born in the man’s care. He had taken his mother as a concubine and when she died in child birth, the man who raised himself up as a king, made the child a slave. He had never known freedom until then. He was born in servitude and it was his master’s will that he die in servitude.
When his questions were sated and he learned all that he could of me, I granted him three desires. The first and last time I would ever do such a thing for anyone.
His first desire was that he have unlimited access to my gifts. It was the first I had ever had anyone ask such a thing… and because the gods determined it be so, it was granted. His second desire, was that I know the pain and anguish of servitude to him and only him, because I was the one that created the monster that his master had become. And because the gods determined it be so, it was granted. And his third desire, was that I be kept in the vessel that he had bought with him, an ornate oil lamp he molded himself… and because this pleased the gods, it was granted.
I had been a servant to my master since the gods allowed it and stripped me of godhood. I am djinn, the first of my kind. There are others like me and it seems the gods are not without humor… for they too have been kept in oil lamps for their crimes against humanity, at their urging. Though he had not grown hard hearted or evil as his own master was, he kept me on a short leash and quite busy. He lived modestly and out of the way of many and did his best to take care of those in need and freed many an enslaved man and woman.
I had never known such love and hate for one as I did with him. I loved his kind nature, his generous heart, and his quickness to help those in need. Those should have been my ways when I had the opportunity to do such. And my hate is born of jealousy and my being trapped in this oil lamp. I hate him because he tricked me. He learned what he called weaknesses and flaws in my character and used them against me. He used my very nature to entrap me. “Pride cometh before the fall”. He has since perished after living just as long as his master and I wept. He was truly a great man of his time and ahead of everyone else and it was his final wish…that I be kept away from human hands, where I could do no harm. So, I sit amongst the items in the Cave of Wonders, where the gods have desired me to be. They say when one with a pure heart comes and seeks me out, I may be theirs – until then I must wait here amongst the things that tarnish and those that do not.
It’s only a matter of time now. I know of the outside world. I know it is not as it used to be and very much still the same. The gods have been generous enough to show me what awaits me should I be found. My mind wonders over these things. What use could a djinn be to people who have everything at their fingertips, the technological age seems so alluring to me. I may ask for a different vessel, to be placed in one of your phones or computers that you love to handle so much. Yes, Elias is gone and with him the goodness of the world, for I see everything that I was known for in yours. Yes, we all start off as one thing but end up as something else. And I may very well be everything you desire.
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