Jungtina Jamir
Last week I broke my grandma’s precious antique lantern while trying to reach an old box in the corner of her huge cabinet. I was mortified! What would I tell her? My mind in turmoil as I opened the box! Inside the box I found a pretty bottle. When I took out the bottle I realized that a strange scrunched face was looking at me. Blankly, I dropped the bottle. It popped open, and a genie crawled out. He bounced over to me. I stepped back, to only trip over the lantern and fall on my back. The short and chubby genie boomed in an announcer-like voice, “Howdy do little girl! I’m Kumba the genie. Thanks for catching me. You get 3 wishes: one, in favor of the world, another for your family and the last for yourself. You have 10 minutes to ask me to grant your wish”
“10 minutes?” I said to myself. That’s just too short a time to make 3 wishes for a lifetime. It’s not everyday we stumble upon a genie. Kumba replied, “10 minutes not less not more”. Of course I was so excited that I had every possible ‘what-to-ask’ running in my mind like crazy. I had to think fast. What if the genie disappeared? I thought hard and I finally figured them out.
“My fist wish is for cell services in Nagaland to improve”. Genie was sad. “Why do you want cell services in Nagaland to get better? Are they not good enough? Wouldn’t that be a waste of a wish?” he asked.
“I need the service to get better because I am tired of reading Call failed on the mobile screen all the time. Besides, people always curse the network *&^%$#. , making them verbally sin! I also figure that if the service improves there will be less people walking on the road holding their phone up on the air hoping to catch a signal. This means less accident! I also think that people will shout less. I literally have to scream when I call up my mom to say ‘Hi’. And how can I forget the times she had heart-attacks because I am unreachable! A kidnap? An accident? Eloped? All sorts of questions running on her mind.
I held my dancing for excitement until Kumba finished making the wish come true. Two forgotten pictures of my great grandpa hanging on the wall shook powerfully. They shouted the genie’s magic words along with him: “Sprinkle service nice and perfect!” Suddenly, the V3i on my pocket spun. Then, it leapt of my pocket splendidly on the ground in front of Kumba.
“What’s your next wish?” the genie inquired.
“I want my family to have fair skin,” I pressed to Kumba.
“I don’t quite understand. Why do you want your family to be fair skinned?” he burped.
“Just! I think we should be all the same color”
In a few moments time, Kumba swished out a mirror.
“Take a look. Do you like what you see?” he interrogated.
I was completely fair! My arms, my nose, and even my feet were fair! I was angry.
“I don’t like this!” I roared.
“I’m sorry. I can’t change your wish.”
“WHAT?” I raged as I bounced and pounced on the ground.
“Do you still want your last wish? Kumba hashed.
I fished for an answer. “I want to have that lantern repaired” pointing to the broken piece on the floor.
“What?? Don’t you want something for yourself? A life time supply of free pizzas with extra cheese or maybe a trip to London to look at the Queen? Or how about a BMW or a Pearl Drum?” Kumba quivered.
“I want the lantern fixed because I broke it. Besides, what will I tell grandma”, I murmured.
“Oh well, I guess you’d need the lantern fixed more than anything else at the moment”. In a moment Kumba handed me the repaired lantern as he dwindled back into the bottle.
I played with the box flaps. It took me a while to close it up.
“I hope nobody opens this thing again,” I thought, and retreated to the top shelf and placed the box in the corner. Sure enough, my grandma stretched her way to the cabinet as I exited the room. I saw her eyeing the dirty box with the bottle and Kumba in it from the corner of my eye.
Not one saw him after that day again. I guess he wished himself off to Mt Japhu or some place like that. Too bad, he didn’t get to see my mobile phone ring and a voice telling me the connection will be disconnected unless I pay my bills.
“Stupid wishes…..” I grumbled, as I walked away from the room.
