A centuries old tale of a woman who grants wishes to lonely souls haunts the mind of the new generation. Charlie Peddington is a broke, aspiring writer who wishes to write and publish her very first novel that would blow the minds of every reader she could imagine. She spends her time struggling in between master classes and in being a ghost writer to any student needing her service. As part of her final project, she's tasked to write the most out of this world story she could ever come up, with the possibility of being introduced to a well-known publisher courtesy of her mentor. But how does she make her story excel amongst the new generation of creators? Until an unfortunate event brought her to the life of a mysterious woman who rescued her one night. Her curiosity got the best of her, that when she learned of her identity, she realizes she could no longer turn her back against the things that she is about to discover. How will she fare against a half jinni, half witch who has lived for hundreds of centuries filled with the most out of this world stories she can ever imagine?
View MoreShe sucked in deep breaths as she faced her professor slash mentor. In his face is the look of failure—her failure to be exact.
She has nothing to present this morning, no draft, no blurb, not even a concept of what story will she write for her final project.
But it’s all because of a really good reason.
“I got mugged?” she could sense the discontent coming from his face.
She gulped in heavy saliva, preparing herself for a lie she doesn’t even want to tell.
“Yes.”
“What time exactly did you get mugged?”
“Around midnight.” Did she just sound unsure?
“Are you trying to trick me?”
“No, I’m not. I’m telling the truth.”
Well, not really. She wasn’t exactly mugged.
She was chased.
“Your deadline was two weeks ago. I’m wondering if you are seeing the worth of what this school is paying for your scholarship. You seem uninterested to graduate from my class Miss Peddington. And here I am, thinking that you really want to become a writer. “
“Of course, I do!”
Her professor stated to grab his books and got out of the room. She shuffled against scattered students in the hallway, ready to go home, as she tries to catch up with her professor. Honestly, she never wanted to seem like a disappointment.
She ended getting into his office as she continues to plead for his consideration.
“Please, give me another chance.”
“Well, I didn’t really say anything. I guess you just assumed I won’t wait for your draft. But know that you may be at a disadvantage if you choose to delay drafting your work. That would reflect badly on your work ethics. So, submit it when you can. The sooner the better.” He turned to his desk only to turn back towards her, “But if by any chance you think that I’d just let you be, I will still fail you until you’d get your act together and submit your draft. Do you understand?”
“Yes sir.”
“And please, just be honest. You don’t look like someone who was mugged. Go now.” He says dismissing her.
She scratched a part of her head and fixed her hair after as she exited her professor’s office.
She strode along with all the students busily minding their own business.
Well, she wasn’t mugged but it what happened wasn’t entirely different from being mugged.
She opened her locker and grabbed her tote bag, ready to report to her part time job.
As she shuffled through some books, she needed to take home, she noticed the piece of red cloth that fell from top of a book she had piled up inside her locker.
She grabbed the torn cloth, feeling it’s texture. Her mind traveled to what happened the previous night as she ran away from a man sent by the loan shark she’s indebted to.
She’s been running for as long as she can remember, the man is relentless. Well, who wouldn’t be, she’s been MIA with her payments for the past six months now?
Unfortunately, the money she owed was swindled from her by the man she thought she could trust.
She gasps as she hid against the dark alley. She needs to catch her breath or else, she will collapse. Leaning on the wet wall she mindlessly relied for strength, she peaked at the road where she came from, trying to look out for her perpetrator.
She could hear herself breath harshly after running such a long mile.
She didn’t see anyone and found herself calm down as she closed her eyes and say a quick prayer. But then just when she was about to assume that she’s safe, she found herself having difficulty breathing. Strong set of hands now clasped against her neck, pushing her against the wall was what came across the moment she opened her eyes.
In a steadfast moment, she could see herself losing her life in the hands of the man she’s been running away from. Her life now hangs in a thread, and there’s no one within the area who could help her. She can’t shout, she can’t run and clearly, this is the end of her.
“Yakhtafi!”
Those words filled the silence of the night. Suddenly, the man who was tilting her neck just this moment, disappeared into thin air.
She slowly slumped into the ground, heaving deep breaths, involuntarily laying her body into the ground in an attempt to recover from the sudden distress she’s had.
Behind the blurry sight, she looked at the shadow that started to tower over her weak body.
“Calm down now little one, you are safe.”
All she sees is a woman standing statuesquely against the only lamp post that’s lit on that side of the road. That and an endless terrain of a red dress.
She could feel her body getting weaker and weaker. But just before she’d submit into a deep slumber, she managed to get a hold of red cloth that kissed the ground. She held tight of it that she could still hear the tearing sound of the cloth before her eyes fully submitted to darkness.
She woke up that morning in a hospital ward trying to recall what happened the previous night. She found out that the bills were already paid for, including some of the medicines that she needed to take home.
A strange feeling started to arouse within her as closed her locker door once again and started treading the hallway.
Who was she?
Well, she’d like to think she’s a woman. Her voice was ethereal and it’s highly unlikely that she’s a cross dresser who just happened to pass by the road that night. She gets that nothing is impossible. But she’s completely sure what she heard and what she saw with the minimal consciousness she had that night.
“What language was she using last night? I don’t think I’ve heard that language ever since.” she talked to herself as she started walking the roadside towards her apartment.
Her grandmother’s apartment at least. The only one she has left that was written under name before she passed.
At the age of 27, she’s struggling on a day to day with all the trouble she has after her swindler of a boyfriend sucked everything she had, including her savings.
She never really thought he’d lie to her and scam his way out of her life. Now, she’s paying for the debts she didn’t really intend to have. As a way to recover, she offers services as a ghost writer to students to needs help with their term paper, dissertations and any request to create literary works they need for school.
She gets paid enough for her to pay for her miscellaneous fees, given that she’s a scholar, she does everything she can to budget the low income she has for her daily needs.
She took a stop at the usual ice cream truck not too far from the university and ordered her favorite. She sat in silence on one of the picnic seats set up for the truck’s customers.
Her mind kept going back to everything that happened last night.
She didn’t even get the chance to thank her for the save.
She sighed as she continued to lick on her ice cream.
The sight of children playing on the nearby park sooths her senses. It’s a good distraction on top of all the worries she has. As soon as she was through, she stood up and started treading the roadside once again on her way to the pizza shop where she’s working part-time.
Not even her wage from the shop was enough to cover for the debts she has. She lives her daily meaningless lie as though she has nothing else to fight for but the chance to become great someday.
She’s caught on those deep thoughts when a black van stopped just a few distance away from her. Its door swung open and out came two men wearing black masks.
She felt her heart skip a beat as she started taking a step back, recognizing that dangerous feeling that’s about to take over.
The two men started to advance towards her, that she was forced to run.
But she hasn’t even reached a good distance when one of them managed to grab her hair and pinned her against his hard chest, covering her mouth.
She revolted with all she can, stomping her feet endlessly while her arms are fighting to get out of the man’s strong grip. Please, she can’t be in this same dangerous situation again. She kicked her legs the hardest that she can, but it was all useless as the other man who got out of the van, faced her and before she even knew it, he threw a punch right into her face, making her lose her consciousness. Before her subconscious mind would fully lose against the frightening experience, she wished for someone to rescue her. That somehow, someone is looking at her right at that moment, willing to save her.
Charlie stood still, facing a noodle house where Spencer was happily talking with one of the servers. She seemed entranced by him, as anyone would be. But as she saw them having so much fun talking to each other, she felt a sudden feeling of pain inside her.Is this the reality that Alvah wanted her to see? That he belongs to someone else.She closed her eyes, wanting not to feel this sudden pain that’s attacking her. She took a step back, gave a very good thought of what’s happening and snapped her finger once.As soon as she did, she was transported to another year. A year in her mind where she thinks she’d be. It was twenty years after the year she was in with Spencer. And about five years from her actual present year.She’s led to a huge house the looked to be situated in a suburban area.The corners are filled with flowers and some plants, the windows looked colorful with curtains adorning each one. In a few minutes, the crisp crying sound of a baby filled the entire house.She sm
She realized that they had overstayed now, Alvah was sitting inside a coffee shop when Spencer and some of his friends passed by. She wanted to call him but just a few steps from where they were was a group of guys who seemed to be waiting for Spencer’s group to come pass by them. Spencer was with two of his friends while the group of men was about five or six people. They look like they play football too, only from a different team. As they were nearing, the group of white men started blocking their way. Alvah stood up and left some cash for her bill and a tip. Once outside, she came closer to where the two groups were and decided to eavesdrop for a bit. "Hey, how did those bruises feel? Still not doing anything about what I told you?""Spencer, do you know them?" one of Spencer's friend, huge guy with a really good built spoke out. "They're no one. Come on, let's keep going.""We're not done." The guy turned aggressive as he pulled Spencer away from his group and pushed him ri
Her days were filled with joy as she kept living in that year. She didn’t want to admit it, and yet she knew she was starting to fall in love with him. She goes to every game he has, cheers for him, enjoys the people cheering and constantly gives him a kiss with every win. The only thing she didn’t like about all of it was the fact that they would have to hide. That generation was not a huge fan of interracial relationships. And she would never do anything that could possibly hurt or compromise him. So, no matter how challenging it was, she needed to keep hiding, for him. “Well, that was a great game, wasn’t it?” she beamed against him as they sat still in the open field. He was staring at the moon, getting nostalgic of the win that they just had. She looked at him with adoring eyes, his skin looking good against the light of the moon in the sky. The feelings he brought her were one of a kind. One’s that she’d never wish of having. “It was… It just felt good.” He turned to her
She was fidgeting as she sat in one corner of the bleachers. Alvah was seated beside her and she couldn’t stop but admire her fashion. She has always worn the most fascinating outfits ever, no matter the generation.Charlie was feeling nervous. Her heart was beating twice its normal beat and she didn’t even know how that was possible. Or even how it’s possible that she could define that it was already beating twice the normal rate. In a few minutes, the football players entered the field, each team introduced their players and people inside the arena started going wild.In a moment, Charlie felt her heart leap at the sight of the man she just met that morning.For some odd reason, she could not fathom the kind of beating he brought to her.It was an ecstatically strange feeling she isn’t willing to welcome.He was included in the first line up and she noticed how most of the people within the bleachers seem to have high regards for him.Spencer. That was what’s written on the boards
She stood in the bleachers of a huge football ground. This is her 8th wish. Soon enough, she will complete her 10th and will know what it truly means to be a full pledged Jinni.“Why are we here?” she asks shaking her head. She’s never been a fan of football. She thinks it’s gruesome and dangerous. But people seem to have an enormous fondness for the game. Some would even go to the extent of fighting against friends just to prove how supportive they are with their friends.Perhaps it happens in every kind of sports.Alvah opens her red umbrella and sat right into an empty section of the bleachers.Below them is a group of uniformed players looking a lot like soldiers, readying themselves for the next battle.They were in the year 1977. One of the most memorable years of the football history.“Is this where I’ll find my next wish?”“Possibly.”“Love the color of that umbrella. You seem to really like red, don’t you? It seems to fill most of your wardrobe.”“I love it. It’s the color of
“Lancelot!”He turns to the voice that’s calling his name.“Headmaster. What can I do for you today?”Lance is clad in his usual Jinni look with a satin pants and red sash tied in his waist. In the new generation, Jinni’s have become more and more fashionable. The unique ones have mostly made an impact on the style of clothing that everyone is wearing.“I wanted to know how your mission is going. Do you think we’ll make it?” The headmaster is Charlie’s appointed leader for the school of Jinni’s. In the future, Jinni’s has evolved far more from what humans have known. They have become and entirely different entity.Their role has expanded and have maintained the balance of the universe. Each Jinni’s are taught how to carry on wishes of not just the lost souls but even the innocent children. Everyone is given tasks that fits them.“I am getting agitated. But Rory seems to have things under control.”Rory is his father, Charlie’s husband in this future. But Charlie doesn’t know it. She d
“It’s impossible. No one has ever done that before.” Alvah kept pacing back and forth. Mr. Bailey was sitting beside Charlie as she laid on the couch unconscious.“Perhaps he’s one of the unique ones.” Mr. Bailey was staring at her, looking like he’s too afraid for her to get away from his sight.“I know. But no one has ever stopped time. It’s unheard of. This is something else. She is more than just the unique ones.”Mr. Bailey recalled how the future has identified the unique ones. The ones whose powers as Jinni’s are unheard of. The ones who qualified to become the guardians of all the Jinni’s. As time grew, Jinni’s in the future has become more and more diverse. And it was what Charlie preserved in the future.But he can’t tell Alvah about it. As far as he knows, she no longer exists in the future that Charlie created.Her knowing now will not be a good thing.But he recalled how Charlie has sent him out to this part of the past.She said he had to go back.Could it be that Alvah
“Charlie! Wake up! Wake up!” she could hear the muffled voice calling her, tugging her that forced her to open her eyes slowly.What welcomed her was a huge array of fire. She tried looking for the voice, but no one was there. The place looked unfamiliar and all she could do was stare out at the entire space. The fire is slowly eating up the place.“Help! Alvah!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. The fire was too big that visibility is impossible. She tried to take a step but her fear took a toll and all she could do was breath heavily. “Help! Please! Help me! Alvah! Alvah!”Some debris started to fall off the floor and one of them was about to fall right through her. She pulled her arms over her head, thinking she could cover herself from the harm that’s about to come.And then, she opened her eyes again.The room has now changed. She’s back in Alvah’s library. She took deep heavy breaths and looked around.There was no fire. Nothing. The whole place looked as serene as it has al
“Days here feels like years, doesn’t it?” she turns to Alvah as they sat in front of the huge yard looking out at Leo and his two assistants painting out the garden’s view. Each had different styles but are required to create the same piece. And each of them took interesting strokes to a different level. “Look at them, creating perfection. While we,” she looks at Alvah, “are frying up ourselves under this heat. When we get back to our generation, we’d already be like sunny side up eggs.” “You worry too much. Just enjoy the sun. We don’t always get this kind of heat. Plus, its healthy to the skin.” “Right.” In a bit, a sudden sound of crashing things was heard. Salai’s entire canvass was no on the ground while Leo was facing him fuming with anger. They could barely hear what they were talking about but she and Alvah began standing up, curious to know what is going on. But just as they were on their feet, Salai hurriedly walked away from where they were just painting. Charlie fol
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