I was walking along the dusty road until my foot kicked something in the gutter. It was a dented, scuffed lamp, which was missing a lid. Intrigued, I bent down and picked it up. It seemed shabby, but well-made. If it was polished up nicely, it might make a dollar or two at the flea market. I rubbed the lamp, intending to see through all the dust, and a genie appeared. Unlike how I'd always imagined genies, in wisps of blue and shimmery vapour, this one was green, and roiled out from the lamp as if it couldn't wait to escape. My mouth dropped open in shock as a well-toned man wearing nothing stepped out of the green mist, rolling his shoulders and cracking his knuckles.
"Don't talk", he spoke in a honeyed tone. Immediately, a needle and thread appeared out of nowhere, and sewed my mouth shut. My eyes watered in pain as my punctured, bloody lips struggled to open.
During this process, the man had been observing through heavy-lidded eyes, studying me intently. Finally, he clapped his hands, capturing my attention so much the only thing I could think of was what he would say next.
"I know what to take away from you. Everything."
Everything I knew disappeared.
"Don't talk", he spoke in a honeyed tone. Immediately, a needle and thread appeared out of nowhere, and sewed my mouth shut. My eyes watered in pain as my punctured, bloody lips struggled to open.
During this process, the man had been observing through heavy-lidded eyes, studying me intently. Finally, he clapped his hands, capturing my attention so much the only thing I could think of was what he would say next.
"I know what to take away from you. Everything."
Everything I knew disappeared.