Second Place...

And here is the other Three Minute Fiction piece that didn't make the cut.

Now this one I was pretty happy with and would have been just fine submitting it as my entry this time around. It was the one that C actually preferred (after helping me change the ending to a more subtle one instead of a club to the head). And I was leaning towards it as well. Partly because even though it was the third idea I came up with when I heard the prompt it was the first one that actually made it to words on the screen. And partly because I just liked the story. But that's why I had three people read them all to decide before I submitted. It's hard to be unbiased about your own work. You can fall in love with an idea or concept and not ever really realize it's not your best stuff. Though I'm not saying this isn't my best stuff. I'm still very fond of it.

It also started out fairly long and had to be edited down to fit the requirements and I think that some day I might stretch it back out to a longer piece. Maybe. Maybe not.

But for now here is the second place finisher in the contest to see what piece enters the contest:

I Wish

“Tell me the rules again, DJ.”

“James, we've been over them at least 100 times. Why do you want to hear them again?”

“I want to make sure I have them right in my head. I would hate to make a mistake. An opportunity like this only comes around once, right?”

“Fine. As finder of the genie’s lamp you are entitled to one wish. You may not wish for more wishes. You may not wish for something that would take away the free will of another, as in you may not wish for love or friendship that would not be freely given. You must use the formal request language to make your wish so there is no misunderstanding. I, James Peterson, wish for, insert wish here, understanding that this is my one and only wish and I will abide by all repercussion of such wish. With the conclusion of this wish I, James Peterson, do release the Djinn from his obligation to me, the finder of the lamp, and he may now return to where I found him.

Are you ready to make your wish now?“

“No, not just yet, I’m still thinking. There’s no time limit right? I mean, it’s not like if I don’t make my wish within 6 months it expires?”

“No, James, no time limit. A wish doesn't have a shelf life. I’m not sure it’s ever even been an issue before; most people make their wish in a day, two at most. You've been thinking for months now.”

“It’s just important to me to get this right.”

“Then is that all for now? Should I go back in the lamp?”

“Well, I was thinking, did you want to go see a movie and maybe grab some dinner? Remember the action flick we saw the preview for a few months ago? It’s opening this weekend.”

“Okay, yeah, sure. But no Indian food this time, if I want good Indian food I’ll go home and grab some between wishing gigs.“

“Oh, right, that makes sense. Also, I picked you up some clothes. That way you can wear something different than the ‘formal genie’ look you normally rock. Not that there is anything wrong with it, I just thought this might be more comfortable.

And umm, I was thinking, while I’m deciding on my wish you could just hang out, you know, outside of the lamp. Since my roommate moved out there is a spare room you could have. You know, if you want to.”

“Live outside the lamp? I've never really thought about not living in the lamp. It’s small but it’s home, you know?“

“Sure, sure, I just thought it might be a nice change of pace for you. That way you wouldn't have to wait for me to release you from the lamp all the time. You could just hang out whenever you wanted to. But, you know, no worries. I mean who knows I could make my wish soon and you would be gone anyway.

Okay, well, if we are going to make the 7:00 show we should head out soon. Did you want to go get ready?”

As DJ went to change James placed the lamp back on the shelf in the living room. He had been thinking he should really find a more secure place to store it. If DJ decided to go ahead and start living in the spare room maybe he would get a safe deposit box at the bank.

 “Okay, I’m ready. How about we go for pizza after the movie?”

“Sounds great to me.”