2026-04-02 21:35:13Jason pushed himself up onto his knees, his palms sinking into the soaked grass as rain hammered down on his back. Mud clung to his clothes, and cold water ran down his face like endless tears. He slowly lifted his head and stared into the dark sky above the mansion.
Thunder rolled across the clouds like a distant roar.
“What did I do?” Jason screamed into the storm, his voice raw and shaking with pain. “What did I do to deserve this?” His fists clenched as rain poured over him. “I worked hard!” he shouted hoarsely, his voice cracking with desperation. “I was kind! I tried to be a good person!”
Lightning flashed across the sky.
“What did I do wrong?” he cried, his voice breaking as the words tore from his throat.
The storm answered with nothing but more rain.
Jason’s shoulders trembled as grief crushed down on him. “I hate you!” he sobbed suddenly, his voice breaking into pieces as rage mixed with heartbreak. “I hate all of you!”
He looked up at the sky again, his eyes wild and desperate. “If there’s a God up there,” he shouted bitterly, his voice trembling with fury, “then I hate you too!”
Another flash of lightning split the clouds.
Jason’s voice dropped into a broken whisper. “And if there’s a devil down below…” he muttered hoarsely, his breathing shaking as tears streamed down his face, “then I’ll make a deal.”
His hands pressed against the ground as his body trembled.
“I’ll do anything,” he pleaded weakly. “Anything at all.” His voice cracked completely. “Just please… please make this stop hurting.”
His strength finally gave out.
Jason collapsed forward onto the wet lawn, his forehead pressing against the cold grass as sobs ripped through his body.
He cried harder than he had ever cried in his life. Deep, wrenching sobs tore out of his chest, leaving him gasping for breath between each broken cry.
He cried for his mother.
He cried for the years she had sacrificed everything for him.
He cried for the foolish dreams he had once believed in.
All of it had been a lie.
The rain continued pouring over him as he cried until his throat burned and his body felt empty.
Eventually the tears stopped.
Not because the pain was gone.
But because there was nothing left inside him to cry with.
Jason lay there silently in the storm, barely aware of the world around him.
Then, he heard footsteps.
Jason frowned slightly and lifted his head. Through the curtain of rain, he saw a figure walking calmly across the lawn toward him.
A man, tall, lean and dressed in a perfectly tailored black suit. Strangely… the rain didn’t seem to touch him. Not even a single drop.
As the man came closer, the strange details became clearer. His face looked… ageless. Not young. Not old. His expression was calm and almost amused.
But his eyes... Jason felt a strange chill when he looked into them. Those eyes looked impossibly deep, as if entire galaxies were spinning inside them.
The man stopped a few steps away.
“Hello, Jason Luther,” the stranger said calmly, his voice clear and steady despite the roaring storm around them. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
Jason stared at him blankly, too exhausted to even feel fear. “Who are you?” he asked weakly, his voice rough from crying.
The man folded his hands behind his back and smiled slightly. “I am known by many names in many languages,” he replied calmly. “Some call me a Djinn. Some prefer Genie. While others call me Spirit of the Lamp.” His gaze settled calmly on Jason. “But titles are rarely important.”
The man’s smile turned faintly sad.
“I am simply the answer to your prayer,” he said quietly.
Jason blinked slowly.
“My prayer?” he repeated weakly.
The man nodded once. “The deal you offered a moment ago,” he said smoothly. “The one you were willing to make with heaven… or hell.” He gestured lightly toward the stormy sky. “I happened to be listening.”
Jason stared at him for several seconds.
Then a broken laugh escaped his throat.
“This is a hallucination,” Jason muttered bitterly, shaking his head as he wiped rain from his face. “I’ve finally lost my mind.”
The man considered that calmly. “Perhaps,” he replied with a small shrug, his voice thoughtful. “Grief has broken many minds before.”
He looked down at Jason with quiet curiosity.
“Or perhaps,” he added softly, “the universe has simply decided that you’ve suffered enough.”
Jason slowly pushed himself upright, though he still knelt in the mud.
“Right,” he said tiredly, rubbing his face with trembling hands. “So what now?”
The man’s smile returned. “Now?” he repeated calmly as he raised three fingers. “Now I grant you three wishes.”
The storm rumbled softly behind him.
“You may ask for anything you desire,” the man continued smoothly. “Wealth. Power. Revenge. Love. Time itself.”
Jason stared at him with hollow disbelief. “Three wishes,” he repeated slowly.
The man nodded. “Yes.”
Jason let out another quiet, bitter laugh. “Sure,” he muttered sarcastically, shaking his head. “Why not?”
He looked up at the stranger again.
“Let me guess,” Jason added tiredly, his voice dripping with disbelief. “There’s some catch.”
The man smiled slightly. “There are always rules,” he admitted calmly.
Jason exhaled slowly.
Then he looked down at his shaking hands.
His mother was dead.
His life was destroyed.
His heart was empty.
Finally, he looked back up at the mysterious man.
“Alright,” Jason said quietly, his voice still hoarse but steadier now. “Let’s say… just for a moment… that this isn’t a hallucination.”
He narrowed his eyes slightly.
“What happens if I refuse?” he asked cautiously.
The man tilted his head slightly, his strange eyes glimmering. “Then nothing changes,” he replied simply.
Jason stared at the stranger for several seconds. Part of him wanted to laugh and walk away. But another part of him wanted to believe.
Slowly, Jason closed his eyes. “I wish my mother didn’t die,” he whispered, his voice trembling with emotion as he kept his eyes closed. “I wish she was alive… healthy… free of cancer. I wish she never had to suffer another day from that disease.”
For a brief moment, the night fell strangely quiet.
The stranger watched him carefully.
Then he nodded once.
“As you wish,” the man said calmly, raising his hand before snapping his fingers with a soft, sharp sound.
The snap echoed across the silent driveway.
Jason suddenly felt something shift. It was impossible to explain, but he could feel it in his bones.
Then suddenly, his phone began ringing.
Jason’s eyes flew open.
He quickly pulled the cracked phone from his pocket, staring at the screen in confusion.
The caller ID read Dr. Patel.
Jason froze.
With trembling hands, he answered the call.
“H-Hello?” Jason said cautiously, his voice shaky with confusion.
“Mr. Luther!” Dr. Patel’s voice greeted him warmly, sounding unusually cheerful on the other end of the line. “I’m glad I reached you.”
Jason frowned slightly. “Dr. Patel?” he asked slowly, his heart beginning to beat faster. “Is… something wrong?”
“Wrong?” the doctor repeated with a small laugh. “No, quite the opposite. I was calling to tell you that your mother’s surgery was a complete success.”
Jason stopped breathing.
“…What?” he whispered in disbelief.
“To be honest, we’re still trying to understand how everything came together so quickly,” Dr. Patel continued, his voice filled with amazement. “About an hour ago, an anonymous donor paid the full eighty thousand dollars required for the operation.”
Jason’s hand began to tremble.
“We moved your mother into surgery immediately,” the doctor went on. “The tumor was removed perfectly. Clean margins. No complications at all. The cancer is completely gone.”
Jason felt the world spinning around him.
“It’s honestly miraculous,” Dr. Patel added, sounding genuinely impressed. “We rarely see such a clean recovery.”
Jason swallowed hard.
“She’s… alive?” he asked weakly, his voice breaking under the weight of the question.
“Very much alive,” Dr. Patel replied with a gentle chuckle. “In fact, she woke up a few minutes ago and is already asking for you.”
Jason wiped rain and tears from his face.
“Mr. Luther?” the doctor asked softly.
“Yes,” Jason said quickly, his voice shaking with relief. “Yes, I’m here.”
“Would you like to come see her?” Dr. Patel asked kindly.
“Yes,” Jason answered immediately, emotion flooding his voice. “I’ll be there right away.”
The call ended.
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