It was a bright warm day on the beach. The waves were gentle. There was hardly any breeze. As the waves receded, they left behind a bottle covered with seaweed all over. Jamie rushed over. The six-year-old was so excited to visit the beach. He vaguely remembered the last Sunday beach trip. It had been too long ago.

He dropped the sea-shells he had been laboriously collecting the last half an hour and bent down to pick up his newest treasure. He stopped when he heard his father shout ‘Jamie, wait!’ He looked up to see his father come running towards him with his hand raised and palm facing him. He hung his head in resignation! He couldn’t wait to become a grown-up! They had all the power! He was sure his father would lay hands on the bottle first under the pretext of checking it for safety. He will have to change this story when he relayed his adventure to his friends. He only wished his father would not rub the bottle. Everyone knew that Genies granted wishes to the person who freed them by rubbing against the bottle they live in. Oh, how Jamie would love a good Genie!

Peter walked up and slowly picked up the bottle. He carefully removed the seaweed from the bottle. As he noticed the shape and colour, he couldn’t help but wonder…

Could it be?

No…

It wasn’t possible.