Chapter 3
Reflections and Promises

Stirring her coffee absently, Toni leaned back into the cushions of her couch thinking about her cousin. Glenda had a sort of innocent freedom in her nature that Toni sometimes envied. Growing up under the tutelage of their grandmother and the newly formed Academy, she had felt almost smothered by Glenda's exuberant expression. She had always been free about her powers. That was not to say that she was reckless. Quite the contrary, but when she felt at ease with a person…a trusted friend, she could express that part of herself.

It was almost as if her cousin were not afraid of anything. Toni had often wished that she could be that way, but instead she feared –and greatly – the discovery of her powers. She feared being locked in her bottle for thousands of years, cast away on a deserted island to be rescued by the first person who came along. She was afraid of becoming someone's genie and having to serve their every desire…even if their desire went against her own beliefs. She was afraid of displeasing her master. She did not think she could ever find a man as good as her grandfather had been.

Glenda did not worry about these things. She seemed to like the thought of becoming someone's genie. She did not deliberately go out in search of a master, but she did daydream about such things. Toni's daydreams were haunted with horrible thoughts of how genies could be treated.

Mostly her thoughts were plagued by the incident surrounding the estrangement of her parents. Neither her father, nor her aunt had shown any signs whatsoever of being genie but they had both produced children who were. While her father had known of the possibility, he had not told his affluent wife of this possibility. When Toni had started showing signs he had quickly squelched her use of the powers.

But it could be hidden only so long, and when Toni was seven years old her mother had left them because she could not deal with the abnormality of having a genie for a daughter. She had never seen her mother again. And the incident had left a scar on her heart. She could never allow someone – outside of her family – to become close to her. She had promised herself when she was old enough to truly understand, that she would never marry a mortal, she would never become "mastered."

At one point in time she had entertained the thought of becoming the wife of Hajji's son, Hirji, the next in line for ruler of the genies. But he had an old fashioned sense of what genies were for. They were to stuff back in their bottles when they were not of use to their masters…and that was the one thing Toni could not bare, being locked with in the confines of her bottle. Once she had been locked inside for several days. She had discovered that she suffered from claustrophobia and after the ordeal was over she had sworn she would never again be locked inside.

Toni shook her head to bring her mind back to the present. She blinked away her coffee and cups, directing them to the dishwasher. She scratched the back of her neck where the grey material of her jacket was rubbing against it. She looked down at the uncomfortable attire and blinked.

Now she was wearing a blue silk top, accented with a matching, little jacket of darker blue silk. Its edges were trimmed in a dark purple braid that glittered in the overhead lighting. Her pantaloons were of the same blue silk material as her top, but they puffed out and fell at her mid calf, like a Capri pant. The same rich purple braid trimmed the hem and little purple and blue glass gems dangled from them. The glass gems also fringed the bottom of her jacket. A pair of blue, silk slippers covered her feet.

Her hair too had changed. Before it was straightened and framed her face as it slightly curled under at the bottom. Now a thick braid was piled on the top of her head in a circular pattern. It was crowned with a blue silk hat that was accented with white embroider and the glass gems. A small pony tail of brown hair flowed from the middle of the hat and swung as she walked.

Sighing with comfort she stepped over to her bed. Since her apartment was a studio style she had fixed a sheer curtain to separate the bed from the rest of the room. That was her bed room.

The décor of her bedroom was different than the calm, plain creams, whites and beiges of the rest of her apartment. It stood out from the rest of the room by a satin comforter of blues, pinks, purples, with sheets of matching satin. Pillows of the same material accented it. The window was framed with curtains that matched. She had accepted the things at the insistence of her grandmother, but her personal taste would not have chosen something quite so bold.

The next morning, as was her habit, Toni rose early and was at work promptly at 8. On her way in she passed Leif's empty office. He was never at work this early unless he absolutely had to…which was never as far as she had seen. But as she passed she noticed his office strewn with papers, files, books. It was a cluttered mess from his frantic search for the Johnson file the day before. A sly, mischievous smile crossed her face as she folded her arms, glancing up and down the hall to make sure no one could see her, she blinked. She took one quick peek into the office. It was neater than the day Leif moved in.

An half an hour later, Leif walked into his office and stood statue still. He swallowed as he turned three hundred and sixty degrees. He blinked in surprise. Never had he seen his office look so neat…never. He popped into the main office where he saw Darlene lining up his daily work load. "Darlene, did you straighten up my office yesterday or this morning?"

"No," she pursed her lips together in confusion and shook her head. "Why? Were you looking for something?"

"Nooo," Leif folded his arms across his chest insecurely. He swallowed. "Did you see it yesterday before you left?

"Yes, I did," she nodded. "I had to go put a form on your desk."

"What did it look like?"

She looked at him for a moment. "Honestly," he responded.

"A disaster," she replied.

"Come with me," he motioned for her to follow him back into the room. She stopped at the door, a bushy eyebrow raised.

"You did a good job of cleaning, Mr. Yahn," she nodded her head approvingly.

"I didn't clean it," he responded, his arms still across his chest, but he raised a hand to rest his chin in his palm.

"What? So you have fairies jumping around in the a/c system, cleaning your office for you? Pfft," she chuckled to herself and turned to leave, giving the office one last quizzical glance before returning to her work.

"Something strange is going on around here," he muttered under his breath hand turned to close the door.

A little while later Toni popped her head in his office. "Yeah?" he demanded. She bothered him. Not in a pestering way, but…he couldn't put his finger on it, but something about her bothered him. She was as strange as his room being cleaned this morning. He didn't like having to work with her and while he could tell that she had a generous spirit and there was nothing he could describe about her that he didn't like, he still wanted to be as far away from her as possible.

That noon he met KD at a café down town. "I'm afraid you'll have to find someone else to double with you," Leif told him after they had ordered their meal. "Elaine told me off and all the other girls in my list are either busy, not home or won't answer," he shook his head as he removed his coat and gloves.

"What about that girl that works at your office?" KD flashed a lopsided grin.

"Toni?" Leif demanded with mock horror. "I'd have to be desperate."

KD stared at him. "Well aren't you?"

"Not that desperate."

"Well, I wouldn't give up too soon on going out with us," KD shrugged. "My girlfriend has a cousin that doesn't go out much except for work. She thought she might be able to convince her to come along, if you're still up for the concert."

"Of course," Leif paused to take a sip of his Dr. Pepper. "She doesn't go out much? What is she a psycho or something?"

"Nah," KD waved the thought away. "I think she's just…I don't know, likes to stay in I guess."

"Well, I guess it can't hurt," Leif shrugged. "Have you met her?"

"No," he shook his head. "But I guess she's a bit like Glen, you know, happy and cheerful?"

"And she stays in most of the time?" Leif was skeptic.

"Well, how'm I supposed to know? I told you I haven't met her." He shrugged and their waitress placed their meals in front of them. When they were finished with their lunch they headed back for their respective employments.

Glenda, like her grandmother, did have the slyness and cunning of any djinn. And she employed all of her devices to convince her cousin to go out…just this once. "Keith's friend has wanted to go to this concert for weeks. His other date canceled on him, so I promised I'd set you up."

"You did what?" Toni's head popped out from the bathroom and stared at Glenda, dressed in an outfit similar to her own, with the exception that it was yellow. "You know I don't go out!" she almost shouted, her voice deep with anger.

"I know, but just this once couldn't you do it? For me?" Glenda consciously peered up with puppy dog, blue eyes at her elder cousin.

"Absolutely not," Toni shook her head emphatically, the lock of brown hair at the top of her head swayed to emphasize her statement.

"If you don't agree to go of your own free will, then I'll have to blink you there," Glenda responded with a hint of mischief in those eyes.

"Not even you would do such a thing!" she demanded in horror. Honestly, Glenda thought to herself, she probably wouldn't. It would be a very cruel thing to do, but she was on a roll, and Toni thought that she would be capable of such a thing.

"Or I could just pop in on a board meeting of your superiors," she had blinked to lift herself suspended in the air, her legs folded in Indian fashion and her arms crossed against her chest.

"Glenda!" Toni's tone was desperate. "Do you realize what would happen to me if you did something like that?" she demanded, her cheeks coloring red with embarrassment and anger.

"Well," Glenda sighed. "If you'll go out just this once, I'll promise not to do anything like that or pester you about going out again."

Toni stared at her. "The promise of genies?"

Glenda cringed. "Yes," she nodded. It was a promise that, if broken, would turn a genie to dust. She held both her pointer fingers in the air and bobbed her head from side to side while chanting. "Bamp-alla-ema-alla." Then repeated the head bobbing. "There," she nodded. "Are you satisfied?"

"Yes," Toni nodded. She picked up her check book and statement to balance it.

"Why don't you just blink that thing correct?" Glenda asked, peering over her shoulder.

Toni sighed, dropping her hands to her side and she glared at her cousin. She loved her dearly, but sometime she could be a pain. "Because it would be suspicious," her tone was annoyed. Glenda took the warning and blinked out.

(To Be Continued…)