Ali, the Lamp & the Djinn (Prompt 14)

Ali sat tired and irritated staring at the shining, golden lamp. It was not a huge lamp, accommodating easily in one hand. There was no other decoration on the lamp. It was plain gold. Ali had wanted an oil lamp for a long time. He was studious and was usually immersed in his studies. When night came, he had to reluctantly close his books, since there was only one lantern at home and it was usually used in the kitchen for preparing food and then once the cooking was done, was kept in the sitting area where his parents along with his eight siblings had dinner, chatted and played games before retiring to bed. 

But this lamp was useless. It had no wick at its nozzle and the lid didn’t come off. How was one supposed to pu the oil? Ali had tried his level best to pull the lid off, but in vain. In anger, he had thrown the lamp a few feet away. It hit the wall and extraordinarily, landed on its base. A small effervescence began to spread outwards from the nozzle. Ali ignored it.

Ali had bought the lamp off a tinker he had chanced upon his way home from the mosque. He preferred to say his prayers at home, where he could immediately go back to his studies once the prayers were done. But once a week, his father had mandated, he had to go to the mosque. He hated it, but not wishing to go against his father’s command, Ali obliged. That particular day, he was rushing back alone, wanting to continue reading his history book. The tinker called onto him, pleading him to buy something. The tinker told him that he hadn’t eaten in a while and Ali got swayed by compassion. 

‘What will you sell me for two pennies?’ Ali asked, fishing out the small metal coins from his torn, ragged pocket.

‘I will sell you this rare book about the lands of the world for ten pennies.’ The old, grey haired tinker replied.

Ali thought about it for a moment. He loved books. And he didn’t have any that spoke of the world. 

‘I don’t have ten pennies. I have only two.’ Ali replied ‘But I do want that book.’

‘You seem like a nice kid. I will sell you this book for two pennies.’ Ali was ecstatic. ‘But,’ the tinker continued, ‘I want another book in its place. A book of history, which talks about the rise and fall of kingdoms. Do you have such a book, child?’

Ali had one exactly as the tinker had described. How did he know? The excitement on Ali’s face soured. Something’s fishy. Ali began to move away from the tinker without saying anything else. He was being scammed.

‘Wait boy!’ the tinker replied, realising that the deal was off. ‘It’s bad luck to not buy anything from a tinker.’

Ali stopped in his tracks. Educated, he might have been, but Ali was not going to betray the long held superstition.

‘I have two pennies.’ Ali pointed out again.

‘Here, take this.’ The tinker pulled out a small oil lamp from his sack. ‘This will help you study at night.’

This was definitely getting weird. Ali was a little terrified of what might happen next. This was no ordinary tinker. He knew things, he shouldn’t.

Not wanting to discuss it any further and unwilling to stay a second longer than required, Ali handed over the pennies to the tinker, snatched away the lamp and with a rapid goodbye, rushed homewards.

Ali called himself a fool for wasting his two precious pennies on an inefficacious lamp. How easily the tinker had beguiled him.

Suddenly, there was a sound of a cough. A woman’s cough. Ali sat there stupified. No one was supposed be home till late evening. Today was a holy day. The family was to be at prayers till twilight and then they had planned to attend the feast, in celebration of their God. Ali stood up and made his way to check around the house. After making satisfactory rounds and checking the corners four times, he came back to his room. He had checked outside the windows as well, but he could see no one. He was quite sure, though, the sound had come from indoors. 

Considering it as a play of his mind, he discarded the event. Then, there was another cough. This time it was louder. Then, once again and again. Ali looked around. His heart knew where the sound was coming from but his mind refused the possibility. Not sure whether to run away or hide, Ali stood frozen in his place.

When the coughing didn’t stop, Ali braved himself to approach closer to the lamp. After battling with his logical self, he picked up the lamp and turned it over. The effervescence coming out of the lamp now smelt as smoke. There was a fire inside the lamp. Ali tried banging the lamp from the side of its base, trying to spill the oil out of the nozzle, but nothing came out apart from the smoke. Ali rushed into the kitchen and brought over some water in a tin cup. He poured the water inside the lamp through the nozzle. The smoke stopped. He turned over the lamp again and drained it off the water. When the final drop was out, he placed the lamp back again.

‘Are you done?’ a voice came out from the lamp. A women’s dreamy voice. She was angry but was keeping a tight leash. Yet her voice betrayed her. 

Ali was shocked. But atleast now he knew that he hadn’t imagined the coughs. He inhaled deeply before replying. ‘Who are you?’

‘I am the authorised and sole owner and resident of this lamp. And you, kind sir, not only spoilt my dinner and burnt my house to ashes, but also went on to flood it. In a matter of seconds, you have destroyed all that I ever loved.’ This time her annoyance was prominent.

‘I do apologise, lady. I had thought of it as an ordinary lamp.’ Ali replied in his defence. ‘If I knew, there was a person staying inside, I wouldn’t have bought it off that scheming, rotten tinker.’

‘You say you bought me? Has Dilawar given me up?’ The voice sounded surprised.

‘I don’t know who that is.’

‘Never mind. How much did I cost you? I am sure you would have had to shell out bundles and sacks of emeralds, rubies and sapphires and diamonds to buy me off that greedy, no-gooder scum.’

‘Actually, I paid him two pennies.’ Ali whispered softly into the nozzle of the lamp. He was feeling bizarre talking to the air. This way, atleast he could convince his probably drugged mind that he was conversing with someone inside the lamp.

‘For me it was.’ Ali said rather dejectedly.

‘Good. You paid a fair price then sir.’ The voice congratulated Ali. ‘Now, what are you waiting for. Release me from that tyrant's prison, so that I can fulfill your most deepest desires.’

This time Ali didn’t revert immediately. Was this all a dream? He had heard the legend of his namesake and his innumerous adventures, but wasn’t that just a kid’s tale? And wasn’t the djinn, a man?

‘I don’t understand.’ Ali replied finally, sounding confused.

‘Are you an illiterate?’ The woman was getting agitated.

‘How dare you, lady? I am the most literate person in my family.’ Ali thundered.

‘Don’t you realise, then, who I am?’

Ali was shaking his head. Suddenly, realising that the woman in the lamp couldn’t see her, he muttered a soft, ‘No’.

‘I wonder what age this is. The man have forgotten about us. Are the others alive?’ She was talking more to herself. Ali didn’t interrupt.

‘I assume you have no idea that your life is about to change.’ Thai time the woman was speaking to Ali. ‘Rub the lamp, once on the right side of the nozzle and thrice on the left. And then see the magic.’

Ali waited. Didn’t she say, she would grant me wishes. Was it worth the risk. Stories about the djinn were popular. They were evil creatures who would enjoy twisting their master’s wishes and watching them deal with the consequences. But, Ali knew he was smart. He was educated. No djinn would be able to fool him. Come to think of it, even the tinker hadn’t fooled him. Two pennies for a wish granting djinn was a steal. 

Not wanting to test his luck further, Ali rubbed the lamp as the woman had told him. The lamp shook in his hand. It vibrated forcefully. It fell out of Ali’s hand and this time too, landed perfectly on its base. Another form of effervescence started to emit out of the nozzle. This one smelt like roses and orchids. The fragrance was intoxicating. Next came the woman that Ali had been talking to all this while. She had tied her jet black hair in a single ponytail and wore a green coloured shirt and jacket, over dark green trousers. Ali’s eyes sparkled. The woman stood in mid-air and spread her arms wide. ‘Hukum, mere aakka.’ Ali smiled widely. His life was definitely about to change, drastically.