The Dreamcaster: Chapter 4
The golden lamp reflected off the overhead light of the nursery as Jane inspected it closely. Did Sarah plan some hot oil play for tonight or something? Holding her hand by the spout, she tilted the lamp, even more stumped when nothing came out. She s̴ḛt ̶͕͝t̶͍̅h̵̰͊e̸̬̐ ̸̤̿ĺ̴̺à̶̪m̴͕̀p̵̬͌ ̵̡̀d̵̫̓o̸̳͘w̶̟̓
Jane looked closely at the lamp in her hands, noticing a strange text engraved on its side. However, it was slightly too dusty to make out. She balled up the sleeve of her blouse and wiped away the grime. As she did, a strange purple smoke began to emanate from the lamp. It shook furiously and grew so hot that it singed her hands. She chucked it on the ground, relieved that she was finally able to drop the stupid thing.
The purple haze continued to flow out of the lamp, creating a cyclone with strong enough winds to blow Jane off of her feet, sending her flying towards the wall. Luckily, an oversized teddy bear was present to cushion the blow. From the purple fog came a very strong man, who was so tall that his head nearly touched the ceiling, “My powers have once again been called upon by the mortal realm!”
Struggling to catch her breath, Jane had yet to let the magical sight she was witnessing sink in. She tried to scramble to her feet, but her legs were not functioning at the moment. Gripped with fear, she latched onto the teddy bear, hugging it tightly. Her fresh diaper grew warm as she stuttered, “Y-you...y-your a ge...get...
The mystical man chuckled, “A genie? Yes, now can we skip the part where you’re all, like, what?! Genies are real?!” He continued laughing at his own mockery.
The reality of this fantastical situation was beginning to set in for Jane. She slapped herself across the face, just to make sure.
The genie snapped his fingers and a scroll appeared in his hand. He cleared his throat before starting in on his rehearsed speech, “Hello, mortal human. I am a genie, and because you have set me free by rubbing my lamp, I will grant you a magical item that matches your soul’s innermost desires.” A party horn suddenly appeared in his mouth. He gave it an unenthusiastic blow before it disappeared, allowing him to continue, “Having recently awoken from a few centuries of rest, I have been made aware that modern storytelling has led you to believe that I, a genie, have the ability to grant wishes. This is false so stop asking me! Got it! Good! Now let’s finish this off quickly. I’m not responsible for any damages to this timeline that may occur, magical items cannot be returned or exchanged, not valid in the state of Texas, yadda yadda yadda.” He snapped his fingers again and the scroll disappeared. “Look, the point is you’re getting a gift, so you can stop cowering behind the teddy bear and come over here.”
Jane got up on wobbly legs and gingerly moved towards the seemingly impatient genie. “H-how did you get in my room?” she asked, trying not to sound as nervous.
The genie rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger, “Listen, lady, I just gift the items, return to the lamp, and it teleports to a random spot in the world. I don’t get a say in where it ends up.” He looked around the room, raising his eyebrow, “Another nursery. Is this a common thing for adults to have in your timeline? I’ve been seeing more and more infantilized humans recently.”
Blushing, Jane responded, “It’s...kind of a...kink thing.”
“Ah, say no more. Humans have such carnal desires, but I am not one to judge,” He returned his attention to Jane, as he leaned in close to her face, staring her up and down, “Very interesting. It’s been a while since I’ve come across a fantast like you.”
“A fantast?” Asked Jane, who was beginning to feel a bit woozy. Her brain was taking in so much new stimuli. It was a bit too overwhelming. She planted a hand on the changing table to stabilize herself.
The genie gently patted her head, “Yes, a fantast. Someone who would rather imagine another life than be present in the one they inhabit. You spend your days and nights in fantasy, dreaming of realities that will never come to pass.”
Jane was not a fan of having her personality read like this. Sure, she was a bit of a daydreamer and could space off from time to time, but she loved her life and wouldn’t want it any other way. She metaphorically puffed up her chest and glared up at the genie, “For your information, I love my life and wouldn’t change anything if given the chance. So you can take your magical gif̷ţ a̵͓n̴̙d̵̼̓ s̵͈ḧ̸͉ő̵͇v̸̖̒e̴̺͝ ̶̛̫i̷͚͒t̷̠̀ ̴͖͆u̷͉͌p̸̡̋ ̴̣̓y̴̻͌o̸͒͜ú̴̝r̷̙
“I doubt you had a single thing in that bag of yours that would even tempt me!” She didn’t know where her sudden confidence came from, but it felt good to stand up for herself.
The genie let out a hardy laugh, “Is that so? Ha! I like your attitude, kid. I’m going to give you the most powerful item I possess. It matches your soul perfectly anyhow.” He reached into his satchel and pulled out a plain, silver ring. As he reached down to hand it to her, the overhead light hit the ring in such a way that a distinct, neon-purple color shined off its smooth surface.
Jane backed away from the genie as hḯs̷ ̵h̶͙͐a̷ṇ̴d̶̢̐ ̶̰ḑ̵͊r̷̳͆e̶̗͝w̸̜͛ ̸͉̈c̷͇͗l̵͈͗ȯ̴͓s̶̥͝e̸̙̿.̶̞̈
Jane stepped towards the genie and smugly held out her hand to accept the ring, “Pffff, it’s just a ring.” She didn’t want to admit it, but the ring in her hand was freaking her the fuck out. She definitely was picking up an eerie aura from it that gave her the heebie-jeebies. Part of her wanted to get rid of the thing already, but she held on to it, determined to undermine the genie.
Smoke once again surrounded the genie, whose tall stature started to shrink back into the lamp. He waved his hand goodbye, “This is farewell for now, Jane. I have a feeling we’ll meet again someday.”
Suddenly realizing that she never told the genie her name, she tried to get in one last word. However, the genie and his lamp vanished in mere seconds, leaving only the ring as proof that this wasn’t her stressed-out imagination running amuck.
A wave of relief hit Jane as she was once again alone in the nursery. She sank down to the floor, landing on her butt with a soggy crinkle. She’d yet to notice her diaper was damp before this moment. She flushed, wondering if the genie was aware of her accident.
“I don’t think Sarah’s gonna believe this one,” Jane muttered to herself, snickering slightly at her own joke. She held up the ring in her hand towards the light, attempting to recreate that neon-purple glimmer she’d seen when the genie held it only minutes ago. Instead, the ring was now behaving like any other metal ring. She pouted, feeling like by challenging the genie he gave her a dud of a gift.
Shrugging her shoulders, Jane placed the ring on her left middle finger. To her surprise, it fit perfectly, hugging her finger firmly, but not so tight that it was uncomfortable. She waited for something, anything to happen. She expected to feel some sort of surge of magic or witness a flash of light as the ring bonded to her soul, but nothing of that sort happened. It sat on her finger as any other ring would. She twisted the ring and slid it up and down her finger, proving that she had the complete ability to take it off at any time. “Some genie he was,” she said to herself as she stood up and made her way out of the nursery, keeping the ring on. At least it looked kind of stylish.
Walking down the hall, Jane paused as she walked past the bathroom again. The water had shut off, so Sarah must’ve been soaking her overworked back by this point. She had half a mind to go in and surprise her with some gentle loving but decided to give her some relaxation time instead. She placed a hand on the door and sighed, thinking about how much fun the two of them could’ve had this weekend if she wasn’t so busy or hurt. What she wouldn’t give to have Mommy rip open the door and give her the much-needed bubble bath she’d been anticipating all week. But alas, such fantasies were the stuff of pipes.
As Jane turned to make her way towards the kitchen, the bathroom door clicked open. She turned back to see her wife standing before, wearing nothing but a towel and a mischievous smile, “And where do you think you’re running off to, little one? It’s time for your bath.”
TO BE CONTINUED...