Sleep was a joke.
Rey had been staring at the ceiling for hours, his heart drumming like he'd just run a marathon. The teapot, that stupid teapot, felt like it was watching him from the kitchen shelf.
Beans had left the room. Traitor.
At some point, Rey gave up trying. He threw the blanket off and marched to the kitchen like he was going to war.
He didn't know why he turned on the stove. Or why he filled the teapot with water. Maybe he was testing it. Maybe he was daring it.Do something, then. I'm right here.
The burner flicked on. The water started to heat.
The house held its breath.
Then it began — not a whistle, but a slow, cool blue smoke curling from the spout.
Rey blinked. Took a step back.
The smoke didn't rise. It swirled. Moved like it knew exactly what it was doing. And then:
"Okay, so... you wanna wish or nah?"
Rey jumped like the counter had shocked him.
The voice was young. Dry. Slightly sarcastic. Too casual.
"What—" Rey stammered. "Who said that?"
The smoke thickened, gathering above the stove like a lazy cloud. Then it started to shimmer. Two glowing eyes blinked open in the middle of it.
"Uh, me? Hello? Giant floating smoke mass? Very mysterious? Kinda iconic?"
Rey took a step back.
The face was forming now — rough sketch of a jawline, raised eyebrows made of mist. Like someone had tried to draw a Snapchat filter on a ghost.
"This isn't real," Rey muttered.
"Mm, yeah, classic reaction," the genie replied. "Denial's a crowd favorite. But hey — congrats on boiling the teapot, unlocking the bond, and all that. You've officially summoned me. That's not nothing."
Rey stared at it. His mouth opened. Closed.
Beans appeared in the doorway, tail puffed like a bottle brush.
The genie noticed. "Yo, is that a cat? Sick. Love cats. They always know. Look at his face — totally onto me."
"What are you?" Rey asked, his voice cracking.
"What am I? Bro, I'm the wish guy. Ancient spirit, cosmic entity, former flame of a minor goddess, whatever. I'm stuck to the pot, and now I'm stuck with you. So congrats. It's us now."
"I didn't ask for this."
The genie tilted his head. The smoke shifted with him.
"No, but you boiled the water. So... spiritually, emotionally, thermodynamically — you kinda did."
Rey rubbed his face like he could wake himself up with pressure.
The genie drifted closer, hovering just inches from him now.
"Let's make it easy. One wish. Just one. Not three. Budget cuts."
"I don't even know what I want."
The genie blinked. "Dude, you summoned a cosmic being and didn't even make a Pinterest board of potential outcomes?"He spun once in the air. "Alright, fine. No rush. I'll chill. But I'm here now. So when you're ready to wreck your life in a whole new way... say the word."
And with a wink made entirely of light and fog, he vanished — back into the teapot.
Rey stood in the silence, surrounded by broken porcelain, spilled water, and the electric hum of something ancient that had just changed his life.
Beans meowed like he'd told him this would happen.