No Magic Fixes

I frown at the sink full of dishes. If only there were more hours in a day, I wish for the hundredth time with a sigh as I pick up a cup.

“Well that wish won’t do,” a voice calls out from behind me.

I spin, nearly dropping the glass.

Before me hovers a wisp of a man clothed in gold. The air shimmers around him. He smiles, and there is a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

I grasp for a knife from the sink and hold it out towards him. “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

“That won’t work on me,” he says with a smirk. “But I’ll answer your question anyway. I’m a Djinni, and I’ve come to grant your wish.”

I’m not sure how to respond to that statement. I remember what he said before I turned. “What do you mean my wish will not do?”

“I cannot add more hours in a day, as that would affect everyone, change the world as we know it. Your wish must have a direct effect on you alone.” He taps his chin. “It seems your true wish is to be able to do more with the time you have, so why not make yourself able to do more?”

“You mean…fit a greater amount of actions within the day?” I ask. “To do that I would need to accomplish my tasks faster.”

“Precisely!” he exclaims. “Now you get it.” 

“I wish …” I pause to be certain of my wording. “I wish to be able to do everything I desire faster than normal, so that I may fit more actions into each day.”

A shimmer fills the air between us and rains softly upon my skin; it is warm like a shaft of sunlight. I hold out my arm and examine the faint glow there, flexing my hand. Besides the warmth I feel no different. 

“Test it out,” the Djinni tells me. 

I look at the clock. 9:17am. I turn to the sink full of dishes. I begin to scrub them, but jolt to a stop. My arm was momentarily a blur. I huff a laugh. Start again. I giggle as the dishes are cleaned in a flash. 

I check the clock again. 9:21. I grin at the now empty sink. I glance to the Djinni. He simply nods his head and disappears in a flash.

I’m so overcome by my new abilities that I don’t stop to ponder where he went or why he came in the first place. I simply spin as I look around to decide what task to tackle next.

I scrub the counters, vacuum the floors, clean the bathroom, all within an hour. I decide to do laundry, however that still takes the same amount of time to wash and dry. I can only load and fold the clothes faster. 

Still, while the laundry runs through its cycle, I sit down to read a book I’ve been meaning to make time for. I’m delighted to find I can read at a much higher speed, but soon frown down at the pages. My mind can’t quite follow at the pace I’m reading the words. 

That’s ok, I decide. I’ll still have plenty of time to enjoy my book with all the added free time. I slow the scanning of the pages to a rate where I can comprehend the story. I spend the rest of my morning reading peacefully while I sip a cup of warm tea.

…

What do you think of the story so far? Do you think the wish will work out? Would you make the same wish? Let us know in the comments, and check back next week for the conclusion to the story!

Thanks so much for reading!

-Clever & WTF