The Genie and the Girl Part 5

The genie peered through the window from his cold spot outside. He felt like Scrooge looking in on Cratchit’s household. Only he was far from grouchy about Christmas. The only thing making him grouchy was the cold. Though he’d been freed from his lamp, he still had his powers. He could’ve warmed himself on the spot. But he was too absorbed by what he saw inside.
He’d followed the girl to this place on foot, completely ignoring that he could still fly. He wanted to get used to these new legs. If someone had asked, it would’ve been hard to explain what having legs was like. He could’ve transformed and given himself legs even before being freed. But these felt permanently attached to him. Like they were really his instead of turning his lower half into legs. These legs were real. It was as if he no longer needed his powers. And he didn’t, for he had no master to make him use them. But looking at this girl converse with who he presumed was her grandmother, he couldn’t help but wonder if having her as a master would be any worse than the others. He’d indeed had her as a master. But only for a mere five minutes. Thinking about it, the genie knew she didn’t want to be a master. If she did, she wouldn’t have freed him. He knew she wanted something else. Something she could no longer have. He could see it on her face. Something was taken away from her. Now, she would never have it back. Otherwise, he would see hope in her eyes.
The best way he could repay her was to return to her what she wanted so much. He was moved by her selflessness. Whatever this was, she could’ve just wished for it. But she’d chosen to free him instead. His eyes watered from the very thought of it. How he yearned to repay her. He knew the task was truly hopeless when her grandmother uttered these words: “Strong child. No one responds so well to a brother’s passing.” Warm tears streamed down his face. She lost her brother. No wonder she didn’t smile. Then it hit him: the locket. He thought the man in that picture looked like her. Now he knew why. It was all the more heartbreaking since even if she had wished to bring him back he wouldn’t have been able to, as he is not allowed to resurrect the dead. If anything in this world was final, it was death. He couldn’t bring back the person more important to her. But he would repay her. The girl had freed him from his million-year-old prison. Now, she herself was trapped in a prison of her own, one of hopelessness and despair. What could he do for her?
The genie, racked his brain trying to think of something. Ignoring the cold didn’t seem so hard anymore. The girl and her grandmother were no longer present. The room was still lit until an arm he recognized as the grandmother’s reached back in, flicking the light switch down so as to drench it in darkness. It was then that he knew that the two had gone to bed for the night. Not that they had, but now they were sure not to see him as he paced right outside their window. No one could be replaced. But he could still do something. There were plenty of things he could do really. The challenge was choosing the right one. The thing he could resurrect was her joy. He paced even faster now. For all of his magic, all of his powers, his years of service and his ability to blow the minds of those who rubbed his lamp, thinking of a way to make a girl smile did naught but make his mind go blank.
The genie snapped his fingers, producing a smile as bright and shiny as his old lamp. He dashed away, heading for the spot he’d met the girl.