Hi, this is my second IDOJ fanfiction. I have no idea when I will update this. I apologize to those waiting for an update on my Princess Diaries fanfiction "The Life of a Queen," but I am having a case of writer's block on it.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed my first IDOJ fanfiction "The First Christmas" and I hope you will enjoy this one. Please read and review.
This story takes place before episode #115 Djinn-Djinn, the Pied Piper.
It was a normal day in Cocoa Beach, Florida, except for one thing –
"Jeannie," called Major Anthony Nelson as he came in the front door of 1020 Palm Drive. As usual, he threw his hat on the stand behind the door and had put his briefcase down behind the blue chair.
"Yes, Master," said Jeannie as she walked up to greet her master with a kiss on the cheek.
"Jeannie, I want you to come with me to meet someone, tonight."
"You want me to meet one of your friends," asked Jeannie surprised.
"Well, not exactly. You see, I am supposed to meet with an expert on the Middle East. NASA wants to see if Kuwait would be a good location for a satellite tracking station. Since Dr. Bellows and no one else from NASA will be there, I thought you would find the conversation interesting."
"Oh, thank you, Master," exclaimed Jeannie. She was jumping up and down. "Where and when are we meeting him?"
"At the Surf in an hour."
- At the Surf –
Tony and Jeannie walked into the Surf. Tony talked to the host. "Hello, we are here to meet with a Mr. Wilson."
The host responded, "This way please."
At a table towards the back of the restaurant sat a small man in a navy blue suit with a balding head of hair, named Mr. Wilson. As soon as he caught sight of Major Nelson, he stood up. "Major Nelson, it's a great pleasure to meet one of our most prominent astronauts," he said as he held out his hand.
"Hello, Mr. Wilson," said Tony as he shook hands. "May I introduce you to Miss Jeannie?"
"Good evening, Miss Jeannie. It is a pleasure to meet you," sad Mr. Wilson as he shook Jeannie's hand.
"It is very nice to meet you, Mr. Wilson."
Anthony quickly explained her coming. "Jeannie is a very good friend of mine and I have known her for years. I brought her along because she is a historical buff on the Middle East. She certainly knows more about it than I do. I hope you don't mind, Mr. Wilson."
Mr. Wilson responded, "Not at all. Tell me, Miss Jeannie, which time period do you enjoy most?"
"Jeannie prefers the Roman Empire and Mesopotamia," stated Anthony before Jeannie could give the actual names of the time periods as she knew them.
Jeannie immediately realized what her master was trying to do and she did not want to embarrass him, especially while he was conducting NASA business. "Yes, those are the time periods I prefer."
"Those were very exciting times in more than one way. By any chance, do you know just the history of those time periods, or do you know some of the legends," asked Mr. Wilson.
"Oh, I do know some stories. Most of them come from Pompeii or Baghdad."
"Really? Do you know the story of the magician and the peasant girl, Karida, which supposedly took place in a village outside of Baghdad?"
Jeannie took in every word that Mr. Wilson said. "Karida? I am not sure because I do not remember a magician in the story."
"Well, the people in the village called him a djinn, but since djinns don't exist, he is thought to be a magician."
Jeannie looked puzzled. "Is?"
Anthony noticed that Jeannie did not try to argue that there were truly such things as djinns and genies, which was quite unlike her.
Mr. Wilson noticed Jeannie's puzzlement, but did not notice Major Nelson's expression. "Well, there is proof that part of the story is true."
Jeannie looked even more puzzled. "Proof?"
"Yes, Karida's body was found in a recent excavation in the supposed village. Her body was dipped in a very weak acid in an attempt to destroy it. In the grave, the body was labeled along with a stone tablet containing her true story. The artifacts surrounding her body were dated between 50B.C. and 40B.C. The poor girl's body could not have been older than seventeen years of age. Several tablets of the magician terrorizing the village people prove that he existed. The true story found with Karida was the most exciting find that proved he was only a magician."
"True story?" Anthony noticed Jeannie's repetition, which usually indicated that he was in trouble, but she did not have the usual expression that meant she was trying to hide something. She did look a little worried though.
Mr. Wilson explained the tablet. "Karida's disappearance was due to the magician murdering her as opposed to sending her away."
"Sent away?"
"Oh, I guess you heard the other version that states she was a genie herself and was bottled by him."
"Yes, I know that version," said Jeannie with a false smile that Anthony observed. Realizing Jeannie's discomfort, he decided to change the subject. "So Mr. Wilson, we better get down to business. What is your opinion on Kuwait and using its location for a satellite tracking station?"
For the rest of the evening, the conversation consisted of NASA and United States government business in the Middle East. Jeannie did contribute to the conversation a few times and she was very helpful, but Anthony noticed that she was not truly acting like herself. He wanted to ask her about her behavior, but decided to wait until they got home.
Jeannie was completely silent during the car ride home. This gave Anthony time to think. She started acting strangely when she heard the name "Karida." Perhaps she knew Karida when she lived back then. After all, he and Roger discovered that Jeannie was born in 64B.C. and Mr. Wilson said that the artifacts dated between 50B.C. and 40B.C. He wished that he knew the legend, but did not dare voice his wish out loud. He then thought of what Jeannie's feelings could be. To know that an old friend was murdered would certainly shake him up. He then thought that he should maybe wait until Jeannie was back to normal. He knew that his curiosity would not make his resolution easy.
