It was a dark Saturday night. I sat at the bar in Lewey’s nursing my pint as the thunderstorm raged on outside with no sign of letting up. Digby the accountant sat in the corner complaining to his companion about the latest football scores. Toby the pub dog seemed to listen with interest from hi snuggled position underneath their table. I sat there for a good ten minutes enjoying the warmth and atmosphere of the place. Every time I came to Lewey’s I never failed to find comfort in the warmth of the open coal fire and the friendly chatter of the pub regulars. A good number of my work colleagues did not share my opinions, believing this enchanting little public house to be nothing more than a ‘spit-and-sawdust joint’. I disagreed – it was so tranquil, so relaxing…

…I was jolted from my peaceful reverie by a sudden commotion from the far side of the room. A customer I’d never seen before fell to her knees making strangulated choking noises. As Karen the Barmaid rushed to the telephone in a panic, I made my way over to where Den the manager was trying to calm the stricken lady.

“What’s the matter, Den?”

“She ate the special and something’s got stuck in her throat! Karen’s gone to ‘phone for help as it won’t come out”

“Hang on, Den – maybe I can help?”

Den nodded dumbly and moved aside. I tried everything in my repertoire of medical knowledge to remove the offending blockage. Eventually, it became apparent that I had no option but to use the Heimlich manoeuvre – and that seemed to do the trick. A small piece of bone propelled itself at great speed from the depths of her throat – but not in time, it would seem. The lady was not breathing and her heart had stopped. I quickly went into the next part of my medical routine, mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and chest compressions. It took one long minute but finally I got a heartbeat, the lady gave a loud gasp and she began to breath unaided once more. The ambulance crew had by this time arrived and they took over from me. I returned to the bar and Den gave me a pint on the house in appreciation.

As I eventually left the pub to walk home despite the heavy rain and thunder, I heard the sound of high heels tripping lightly from behind and a sweet, tinkling female voice hailed me.

“Yes?” I replied. Turning in the direction of the sound I suddenly recognised who had called me. For some unknown reason the surrounding air seemed slightly chillier.

“Mr Gaskill, isn’t it? I just wanted to thank you for saving my life back there”

“That’s all right” I answered. Smiling inwardly, I cast my eyes appreciatively over the woman’s voluptuous form. In the heat of the emergency I hadn’t realised just how beautiful – no – just how sexy this enigmatic female figure who stood before me actually was. The woman sidled up beside me and suggestively brushed her hand in a lingering fashion against my cheek. Was she flirting with me? I seriously hoped not as I only had room for one woman in my life…and that was Mandy – my one true love, my soul mate and beloved wife these past nine years.

“If there’s anything I can do for you…” Her lips seemed to quiver as she drew her face closer to mine. Her hand had left my cheek and snaked around the back of my neck. Subtly she tried pulling me towards her. I resisted, countering her actions and trying to remove her forcefully from my person.

“Uh…it was nothing, honestly…please don’t…” I gasped through a mixture of shock and guilt, as I found her touch sensuous and arousing, “…I really don’t think my wife would approve…”

“Your wife isn’t here” she purred, suggestively.

“Okay then – I don’t approve! Let go of me, damn it! What do you want of me?”

The woman hissed angrily through bared teeth that momentarily seemed unnaturally longer than they should! She quickly recomposed herself with a flick of her long, auburn hair and stated that she had a ‘proposition’ for me.

“I don’t think there’s anything you can give me that I want, Miss – uh -”

“Seriously, I’m a Djinn, Mr Gaskill – and I can grant you three wishes!”

At this point I was thinking to myself that she was quite possibly a few sandwiches short of a picnic, so I decided I’d better humour her…

“Well” I joked, “I suppose I could do with a little extra cash…say about ten thousand pounds?”

“Granted!” she smiled in an unnerving manner. An extra loud crash of thunder seemed to emphasise the point. “When you want your second wish – just call me…”

The lady then dematerialised before my eyes!

I wondered if I had hallucinated the whole thing. It had been a very long trip back from my conference in Australia; I’d only nipped into Lewey’s for a quick pint on my way home from the airport. I was looking forward to seeing my family after being away for nearly a whole week. Eventually, I arrived back home and rang the doorbell. The door was answered by my eighteen year old daughter Janice, who flung her arms around me sobbing, “Oh Dad! Dad!” Something felt horribly wrong!

“Jan? What’s the matter, love?”

“You’d better come in and sit down, Dad – there’s a man here to see you…oh, Dad! I’m so sorry…” she sniffled.

As I walked into the front room I realised with horror who the ‘man’ was. It was Mr Dibley from the Insurance Agents. He informed me that during my absence my beloved wife had fallen downstairs, banging her head severely. She was currently in a coma at the local hospital. I was dumb struck – yet strangely unsurprised – when he gave me the accidental insurance cheque for ten thousand pounds.

“Djinn!” I thought. For one horrible second in the dark recesses of my subconscious mind I heard the sly tinkle of feminine laughter…

As I lay in the darkness of my bedroom that night, I tried to come to terms with it all. It seemed so nightmarishly unreal. Mandy, my poor wife…if only I could do something? Not knowing what else to do, I whispered softly, “Djinn? Are you there?”

“I am” replied the figure materialising before me. “You want your second wish – yes?”

“I want my wife back – alive and out of her coma. Have you got that?”

“Granted!” sniggered the Djinn as she disappeared.

The wish had been granted, I wouldn’t deny that. Within the week my beloved Mandy had been returned to us, alive and out of her coma. She was however, wheelchair-bound with the mental capabilities of an eight-year-old. The doctors held no hope of her mentality progressing any further with the years to come…

…Damn that wretched Djinn!

For the next few days I wondered how I could remedy the situation. It was during the early hours of the morning as I was fitfully tossing and turning that the answer came to me. Well, it was worth a try…

“Djinn?” I called, “I want my third wish!”

The evilly grinning effigy materialised in a triumphant manner. “Do you now?” she smirked smugly, “Then be warned that I shall turn it against you as I did with your other two wishes before…”

“I don’t think so Djinn, you see – I wish I had never met you!”

The Djinn paled and screamed…

It was a dark Saturday night. I sat at the bar in Lewey’s and finished my pint as the thunderstorm raged outside with no sign of letting up. I decided to stand outside in the doorway for about ten or fifteen minutes, hoping that the rain would ease up. It didn’t. Den the manager came outside and looked up and down the street as if searching for someone. Seconds later, an ambulance pulled up. Two paramedics got out of the vehicle and approached the manager. Sadly, Den told them, “I’m sorry lads, you’re too late – the woman is dead!”

For reasons I’m not entirely sure why, I gave a wry grin…then I braved the storm and walked home.