The Devil's Wish
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“Call me what you will - demon or genie - the fact remains. I can grant you three wishes. But, I warn you, there will be a price.”
“And what that price be?” the traveller asked. He had spent years looking for this creature. Most thought the stories were no more than legends or the ramblings of madmen. But he knew the tales were true, and he was right. He had found the cave in the desert after years of searching. He had earned this moment.
“It is very simple,” the robed man with a slight reddish glow said. “You will make four wishes. Three are for you. One is the Devil’s wish. Your three wishes will come to pass. The Devil’s wish will as well, but it will be the opposite of what you request.”
“That seems simple enough,” the traveller said. “But what is the catch?”
“The trick is also simple. Not even a trick, as I will tell it to you plain. The Devil will choose his wish at random from the four you make,” the robed man said, playing four cards face-down on the table before the traveller.
“That makes it difficult,” the traveller said.
“Magic is never free, my friend. You may back out now with no price and no shame, but once we flip the cards, you are bound.”
“I see,” said the traveller. He stared silently at the simple green pattern on the back of the cards..
“Shall I flip them, or put them away?”
“Flip them,” the traveller said, licking his dry lips.
The robed man nodded, and flipped the first card, which featured a golden circle on its face. “You are bound. Make your first wish. And do not worry about wordplay. The cards understand your wish. They do not wish to play games with you.”
“Immense wealth,” the traveller said without hesitation.
The robed man nodded and one by one flipped the cards and gathered the travelers wishes. For the square, the wish was for long life. For the triangle, the wish was good health. Finally for the figure eight, there was fame.
the robed man gathered back the cards and shuffled them. He allowed the traveller to cut them.
“The first two wishes are for you. The third is the Devil’s, and then yours is the final wish. Are you ready?”
The traveller nodded.
The robed man dealt the figure eight. “Fame,” he sad. “When you walk out of her, you will soon learn that you are known wherever you go. And, not just known, admired and beloved. An excellent start.”
The traveller smiled. He had no way of knowing if this was true, but believed it was so.
“The second wish,” the strange man said as he flipped the card, “ah- the second wish for you is immense wealth. Your riches will be beyond your wildest imagining when you leave here. You will never want for any material good. You will have enough to help as many people as you choose, with more than enough left over to live like a king for the rest of your days. And your family will have enough wealth to likewise live for the duration of time.”
The man smiled.
“And now, the Devil’s wish,” the man said.
The traveller drew in a breath.
The robed man slowly flipped the card, revealing the triangle. “You requested good health. The Devil imposes on you the opposite.”
The man started to cough. The small, slow cough quickly developed into wracking spasms. He could barely catch his breath. He looked helplessly at the robed man.
“You still get your final wish,” the man said, flipping over the final card. The golden square. “Your life, no matter what may befall you, nor what you do, shall be a long one. Very long, indeed. And with that, we are done.”
The robed man, the table and the cave faded away, and the traveller found himself in the desert sand. The coughing was violent and painful. He could not bring himself to his feet and lay in the sand overwhelmed by the pain as he struggled for air. He was in the middle of nowhere, and was unlikely to be found for a very long time, indeed.