When I was 5 years old, I was playing in my grandmother’s room when I accidentally hit her wardrobe door and an old beautiful golden lamp fell out together with her clothes. There was a greenish glow that looked spooky, so I quickly run out with it to my grandmother to ask her what it was.
“Grandma, grandma what is this?
She immediately dropped the glass vase she was holding, run over to me, knocking down things looking mad as a bull in a china shop.
“Nana this lamp is very valuable. One day when you are older, I will tell you the story of the lamp.”
On my 18th birthday, my grandmother told me the story of the lamp. She told me that centuries ago in a land far across the sea, you had to jump over the moon to find there was a girl called Aisha. Aisha loved a man called Ahmed who was big and strong. He was 9 feet tall, and he had huge muscles, he could carry a cart by himself with the two oxen attached but that was only when he wanted to show off. He was also the most handsome man on the continent. He was a blacksmith, and all the women were madly in love with him.
Aisha decided to petition one of the gods to give her favour. She asked for Ahmed to be hers and hers alone.
Do you know that saying of I would sell a kidney to get this? Well, this is where it started when Aisha had to give the god one of her kidneys in exchange for a spell.
The god fashioned a lamp, summoned Ahmed’s spirit from his body and put it in the lamp. He told her “This lamp will grant you three grand wishes and after that, it will grant you no more Ahmed will live a full life but when he dies, his spirit will be forever trapped in the lamp. But be careful because whoever has the lamp will be granted 3 wishes.”
For her first wish, she said, “I want you to marry me” and Ahmed had to comply.
Ahmed still had to work, and the women still came to see him.
For her second wish, she asked Ahmed to make her the most beautiful woman in the world.
But even when you have a genie you still got problems. You know the saying, more genie, more problems.
Now also Aisha had men coming from continents away to try and woo her away from her husband.
Aisha asked to be a wealthy princess for her last wish so that they could get away from all the people pursuing them, so Ahmed granted her a castle and wealth. They lived happily for a time but …
One day Aisha had a party at her home. Her friend who was envious of her success made her drunk with wine and asked her what prayer she said to the gods to get everything she had dreamed about. Aisha who was too drunk and too trusting of her friend told her the secret.
Guess what, Aisha never saw the betrayal coming. That evening her best friend silently crept into her room and stole the lamp. She quickly used the lamp to make Ahmed hers and also took all Aisha’s wealth. This left Aisha as a sad, bitter and lonely woman who cried all the time until her tears formed a lake. This lake is the largest salt lake in the world.
The moral of this story is – don’t get drunk and tell your friends your deepest, darkest secrets.
But who cares that this stolen lamp is what my grandmother gave me as a gift on my 30th birthday?
I have 3 wishes? What should you think I should wish for?
I wrote this story as a speech for a Toastmasters humorous speech contest.
Check out
One Night Of Pleasure, Years Of Regret And Secrets Part 1
