Neither Brendan nor Eddie remembered who saw the gem first. They had been exploring the woods near Eddie’s house. But as soon as they caught sight of the gem on the forest floor, they were both struggling to grab the beautiful purple stone. “I saw it first!” they yelled. Finally, being physically stronger, Eddie managed to wrench it from Brendan.

But Brendan was clever at striking deals and negotiating. “Please, Eddie,” he said longingly. “Let me have it. Since we saw it at the same time, I think it’s only fair we should both have a turn with it. I’ll give you my week’s allowance to be able to switch off with you. Besides, you know how much I love that color.”

Eddie paused and sighed. “Fine. But only because I can tell that you want it more than I do, and I trust that you will return it to me at the end of the week, right?”

Brendan nodded and stared at the stone as Eddie placed it in his hands. It was even more majestic up close, a deep regal purple gem about the size of his fist. He wanted to run home immediately to admire it, but he composed himself. “I’m sorry, I just remembered I’m awfully tired, and I have a lot of homework to do. I should probably go,” Brendan lied, trying to hide the gleam in his eyes.

Eddie frowned and said, “Yeah, sure.”

They said good-bye, and Brendan hurried home with the stone.

Later, Brendan wondered what he had done to cause the creature to emerge from the stone. It could have been the way he was rubbing it, or the lighting in his room. All Brendan knew was that one minute, he was admiring his find and applauding himself for having won yet another battle with Eddie, the next, a beast exploded out of the stone in a haze of purple smoke. Brendan gripped the stone tightly, cowering in fear, as the creature began to claw at his body. It was trying to kill him.

Then suddenly it stopped, and Brendan lifted his eyes to look at the strangest beast he had ever seen. For one thing, it was entirely purple, like the gem, and humanoid. On top of its broad shoulders sat a very large head, with an expression that was filled with pure hatred. It stood at least seven feet tall, scowling down at the stone in Brendan’s hand. The creature seemed unable to harm him.

“The gem,” Brendan stammered. “You can’t hurt me if I have it, right?”

The creature nodded stiffly, and spoke in a voice that reminded Brendan of acid eating through metal. “I am here to obey your orders. Anything you desire, I can get. Say the words, and it will be done,” it said. “I can do everything under the sun except break or change a bargain, alter the past, or stop the inevitability of death.”

Brendan stared open-mouthed at the genie. “You can really do anything except those few things?”

“Yes,” answered the genie.

Now Brendan was a clever boy, and he had heard enough stories about genies and mystical beings to understand that they could either help or harm, but they always had an ulterior motive. So, be careful what you wish for. Before he made an important request, he would have to be sure of what he was getting himself into. He paused for a few minutes, mind racing, then began to speak.

“First things first,” he said, choosing his words carefully. “I wish for this gem to never be separated from my body, that it will always be bound to me by a chain that cannot be unfastened, which will cause no pain to me.”

Sure enough, as soon as the last word was uttered, a thick silver chain made of hundreds of strong links appeared around Brendan’s neck, with the gem dangling over his heart. Just as he had stipulated, he felt no pain or harm from it. He tried pulling the chain as hard as he could, and sure enough, he was unable to break it.

The genie looked furious that he had been outwitted. Now that the gem was attached securely to his body, Brendan felt safe from the genie. Still, he wanted to find out more about their bargain.

“What do I have to give in return?” Brendan asked.

The creature considered this. It then pointed to Brendan’s gold watch on the bedside table and said, “I will require one ounce of pure gold each day for my services.”

“Make it silver,” Brendan said, toying with him. He knew that the genie had no power over him, not as long as he had the gem.

The genie was forced to comply. “Fine,” it said, with hate etched in the one syllable. “One ounce of silver will be taken each day in payment.”

Brendan laughed in gleeful disbelief. This was wonderful! The creature was completely at his mercy, and now he could have whatever he wanted. He needn’t worry about the payment; after all, he could just wish for more silver. How stupid was this genie?

But he had to be smart with his wishes. He knew that rushing into anything could be devastating. One slip-up, and he could ruin his life. He had to keep in mind that this genie wanted to kill him and that it would do everything in its power to do so. With that thought, he realized how tired he was. It was nearly midnight.

“I’m going to sleep, Genie,” Brendan said. “We’ll continue this when I wake up.”

And with one last look at the gem hanging around his neck, Brendan collapsed on his bed and slept, dreaming about his plans to conquer the world.

When he awoke, the creature was glaring at the gem, its eyes burning with hate. Brendan yawned, stretched and started getting ready for school. All of a sudden he froze with an idea.

“Genie,” he said. “I wish that my name would be erased from the school system and that I would never be required to go again.”

The genie scowled and granted his wish. No more boring school for Brendan.

“Also,” he continued, “I wish to live in a five-star hotel in the Bahamas. I want you to take me and all my possessions there now.”

Immediately he was transported to a luxurious hotel room filled with the smells of the ocean, exotic fruits, and clean sheets.

Brendan was absolutely thrilled by his new life. Day after day he basked in paradise with the genie catering to his every whim. Every now and then he thought about his family and friends but immediately shook them out of his mind. He was the most powerful man on Earth; he didn’t need them. Why should they benefit from his cleverness and superiority? He alone had outwitted the genie. It wasn’t as though he owed his family anything. And Eddie? When it came to intellect, Brendan was much more advanced. He had won every conflict he could remember. Eddie was too trusting and weak-willed. There was no room for a person like that in Brendan’s soon-to-be perfect world.

“Genie,” he said suddenly, “I want you to erase Eddie Allen, my former neighbor and friend, from existence. May he disappear without a trace and his absence be ignored by the world.”

“As you wish, master.”

Brendan felt a rush of power and little remorse for what he had done. He knew it was for the greater good. He had promised to give the gem back to Eddie at the end of the week, and there was no way he was going to do that. No, no, it was best this way. Besides, the world that Brendan would soon create would not function with people like Eddie in it. Eddie was the first of many who would be erased. Only those with sharp minds like his should be allowed to prosper in his new world. Finally, his conscience at ease, Brendan stretched out on his bed and rested, listening to the rolling waves and feeling the smooth gem resting on his heart.

When Brendan awoke, he could tell something was wrong, but he wasn’t sure what. He tried to eat breakfast, but it didn’t feel right. He didn’t feel pain exactly, but there was a change. The tropical fruits were just as delicious, but something wasn’t right. Was he ill?

“Genie,” he said in a raspy voice. “Make me well if I am sick.”

“Of course,” replied the genie. “But you are not sick, master.”

Brendan felt his throat for soreness and touched the silver chain around his neck.

“Bring me a mirror!” he demanded. The genie complied.

At first glance, Brendan thought everything was normal, but then he noticed something: the gem was resting on his chest slightly higher than before. He could tell because his tan line was below the gem now. But how could that be?

“Tell me what’s wrong with me, Genie,” Brandon said. But the genie needn’t have answered. In that moment, Brandon realized exactly what was wrong. The creature just stared at him with a malicious glint in its eye.

Brendan’s blood turned to ice as he remembered: One ounce of silver will be taken each day in payment. It had happened so gradually that he hadn’t noticed that one silver link was disappearing each day, slowly tightening the chain around his neck. He had wished when the chain was created that he would feel no pain from it, so he had not noticed it closing in on his neck.

Suddenly, he felt nauseous. He tore and clawed at the chain with all his might, but it wouldn’t budge. Panic filled his mind, and his thoughts were racing. There had to be a way out.

“I command you, creature,” said Brendan in a voice that was barely a whisper, “take the silver from elsewhere!”

“I’m sorry, master, but I cannot break or change a bargain.”

“I command you to see that I had never made that agreement.”

“I’m sorry, master, but I cannot alter past experiences.”

“I command this chain to be unable to kill me!” Brendan choked.

“I’m sorry, master, but I cannot change the inevitability of death.”

Brendan cursed. His time was running out. How could he not have seen this coming? He couldn’t think of a solution, and no amount of negotiating or compromising was going to deny the genie its revenge.

By the next day, the chain was so tight that Brendan couldn’t talk and had trouble breathing. Still, he felt no pain, but he knew that death was near. The only thing Brendan could do with his last days was reflect on his prideful arrogance when he had demanded that the genie take silver as payment instead of gold.

The genie just smirked at him, having outwitted Brendan in the end, and waited patiently to return to the gem, and for the demise of yet another foolish human.