The Golden Lamp

I emerge from my golden lamp and saw an old man with a walking cane supporting himself. His blue eyes filled with curiosity as he gazed at me from my bottom to top.

"I a--" I said but he cut me off immediately.

"You're a leprechaun!" Exclaimed the old man.

"No, I ain't" I replied, "I'm a genie tha--"

"I wish for a healthier body!" The old man shouted.

"Eh, I'm not that kind of genie bu--"

"Then what's your purpose?"

"WOULD YOU JUST LET ME SPEAK?!" I screamed with a tone I never knew I had. He looked scared and saddened by what I said and I regretted it immediately. He replied no more.

"Look, I'm sorry." I said.

"It's okay. I know no one loves me." He replied and looked down. For a split second, I saw something sparkle in his eyes. Tears.

"No, that's not true." I went near him and patted his back. I then noticed that he is alone in a large living room filled with antique furnishings. "Are you alone?"

His tears were gone and looked at me with, yet again, curiosity. "You're a leprechaun!" He exclaimed.

"No!" I said as I went away from him and near my lamp. I then noticed that he has short-term memory loss. "Look, I'm a genie that can make you re-experience three events in your lifetime."

"Oh!" He said happily with a smile on his then shifted to a frown. "I don't remember anything."

I looked around the living room and saw pictures of people. "How about you look at those pictures, maybe you can remember some."

He smiled at me and went near a picture placed on top of an end table. It was a picture of his younger self with a woman, which I assume is his wife. "This!"

I snapped my fingers and the world shifted to a bar which looked like from the 40s. I saw him, same with the picture, with a woman. He was wearing somewhat like a uniform in the navy with a nameplate "Jon Smith" and the woman wore a black dress. They were taking a picture, with the same pose as in the photo. They then danced along with other people in the bar. He looked so genuinely happy then they kissed. The world then shifted back to the present.

"What happe--!" He shouted.

"My power is dependent on your desire. It seems that what you desired the most was the kiss," I replied.

He did not talk. Still looking at the picture.

"Let's proceed to the second experience then." I said.

He looked around his living room and saw the same picture. "I want this!"

"Bu--" I trailed off. "Okay then."

Same scenario. They took a picture then danced and kissed. Back to the present again.

"What happened?" He said.

"I told you, my power is dependent on what you desire most. In this case, the kiss," I replied. "What's the third then?"

He looked at his living room. He took the same picture but it fell, breaking the frame. He picked it up but saw another picture behind it. A photo of him with a casket. "This."

"Okay." I snapped my fingers and the world shifted to his younger self. He wore a uniform with the same nameplate. He was sitting on a chair and went near the casket. It was the girl from the bar. She looked the same so this means that this happened near the events of the bar.

Jon was sobbing at the casket. I have always seen people at their worst but this takes the bait. I saw his face turn podgy and his eyes were like a faucet.

Hours went by and we haven't returned to the present. This is bad, I thought. The people in the place were packing up but Jon was still near the casket, not crying anymore. I never forced an situation to end without the desired experience of the wisher, except this time.

We returned to the present. Jon, now an old man, wasn't crying but is reading a note behind the first picture.

"I love you and I will wait for you." He uttered the last sentence in the note. He looked up. I expected him to look sad but he was smiling.

I was supposed to go back to my lamp but I was curious at the situation. "You're happy?" I asked.

He nodded.

"At least I know someone loved me." He replied.

His eyes were then filled with curiosity. "You're a leprechaun!" He exclaimed as he pointed his finger at me.

I smiled at him and pointed the note on the picture. He read it and smiled. I then returned to my lamp. Satisfied that I helped him stop thinking that no one ever loved him because someone did.