He ducked down an alley, hoping they wouldn�t see him. He ran to the end of the alley, only to realize it was a dead end. If he left the way he�d came, they were sure to see him. They would have gotten close enough by then that he would probably not be able to get away. Hoping that they hadn�t seen where he went, he looked around for anything that could be used as a weapon, just in case they did find him. He saw a glass bottle lying on the ground, among assorted bits of trash. It was the most weapon-like thing he could find. He picked it up, hoping he would not have to use it.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled around, and saw a beautiful young lady standing where, only moments before, there had been no one. She smiled, and asked politely if she could have her bottle back. Al explained to her that a gang was chasing him, and this was the only weapon he could find. He�d love to give it back to her, but then he would be defenseless when they arrived.

Smiling again, the girl said, �Don�t worry about the gang. Leave them to me.�

Al was confused, but said, �Look, if you can get rid of them, I�d be glad to give it back. I�ll even buy you more of whatever these pills in it are, as long as they aren�t too expensive.�

�Somehow I doubt you could find any more of them to buy,� she said. �They are wishes. You cannot just buy wishes in a store.�

�Wishes?� said Al. �That�s one I haven�t heard of before. But I�m sure there must be a dealer around here who sells them.�

�They aren�t drugs.� She told him. �Like I said, they�re wishes. You can�t buy wishes from a drug dealer. Only genies have them.�

�Then how did you get them in the first place?� asked Al, with more than a bit of confusion in his voice. �Did you rub a lamp and wish for a bottle of wishes of your own?�

�Don�t be silly!� she said playfully. �You can�t wish for more wishes! Or else I could just refill my supply whenever I want to! And I didn�t get them from a genie. I am a genie!�

Before Al could respond, the gang entered the alley and started heading towards them. The girl grabbed the bottle out of Al�s hand, popped a pill from it into her mouth, handed the bottle back to Al, and calmly walked toward the gang members. When she reached the first one, she smiled at him, and punched him hard in the solar plexus. He dropped to the ground, gasping for breath. Soon, the rest of the gang was also lying breathless on the pavement. Triumphantly, she walked back to where Al was standing with an amazed look on his face.

He held out the bottle toward her, but she did not take it. �You have the bottle,� she told him. �That makes you my master. Like I said, I am a genie. I grant wishes. Your first wish was to get rid of the gang. I did. Now do you believe that I am a genie?�

�I believe that you�re on PCP,� said Al. �But if you want to follow me around granting me wishes, I think I could get used to that.�

�Great!� she said excitedly. �I�ve gotten quite sick of waiting in this alley for someone to find me! Besides, I�m running low on wishes. I was hoping someone like you would find me. I can tell your wishes will be fun. My name�s Jenny. What�s yours?�

�My name is Al,� said Al.

Stepping over the unconscious gang members, Al led Jenny out of the alley. As they were walking along, Jenny turned to Al and said, �So where do you live, anyway? Is that where we�re going? Is it a nice place?�

�Actually,� admitted Al, �I don�t really have a home. I live wherever I am at any given time, and I sleep wherever it is warm and sheltered enough.�

�I�m so sorry,� said Jenny. �I didn�t know.�

�Of course you didn�t know,� Al told her. �And don�t worry about it. I don�t mind. Being homeless is actually rather fun. But... I suppose it would be nice to have a real home.�

�Then why don�t you wish for one?� asked Jenny.

�Oh, fine,� Al agreed. �Umm... Ok then... Genie! I wish for a nice cozy home to live in!�

Jenny grinned. �That wasn�t so hard, was it!� She opened her bottle and popped a pill into her mouth.

As they continued down the street, nothing noticeable happened. Approaching the post office, Jenny suggested that Al go in. Having nothing better to do, Al obeyed.

�Hey Al!� the postmaster greeted him as he walked in. �I have a letter here for you.�

�That�s odd,� Al mused. �No one ever writes me letters.� He took the envelope and studied it carefully. �It�s for me alright. And the return address says it�s from some law firm.� Looking rather confused, Al opened the letter and began to read it. As he read, the look of confusion turned to one of amazement. �This letter says it�s from my Great Aunt Alice�s lawyer! It says that Alice just died, and has left me her estate!� Turning to the postmaster, he asked, �When did this letter get here?�

�Not long ago,� replied the postmaster. �Only a couple of days ago.�

�Now do you believe me?� asked Jenny with a smirk.

�Not yet,� Al told her. �You couldn�t possibly have had anything to do with that letter. It arrived before I even met you, let alone made the wish. And besides, my great aunt lived in Maine. How am I supposed to go out to Maine? I can�t afford a plane ticket.�

�Look in the envelope,� Said Jenny, popping another pill. She watched in amusement as he reached into the envelope and pulled out not one, but two first-class tickets for Maine, departing that very evening. �And don�t worry about getting to the airport on time,� she cut him off as he was about to speak. �I have enough spare change to catch us a bus.�

From the time they boarded the airplane to the time they touched down in Maine, Al got the best sleep he�d gotten in years. First-class seats were definitely more comfortable that any bridge he�d ever slept under. It felt like he�d been asleep for over a week when Jenny shook him awake. �Wake up, we�re here!� she exclaimed. Al rose to his feet, and the two of them got of the plane.

As they stepped out into the crisp morning air, Al realized just how much he didn�t like California. Or at least, he didn�t like the part he�d spent all his life so far in. His father and mother had eloped, leaving Maine in favor of Los Angeles. Al really couldn�t understand how anyone could prefer the smog and stink of LA to the calm, cool, clear air of Maine.

He didn�t have any idea why his father had left Maine, but he was certainly glad his great aunt had remembered him. Admittedly, he was her only remaining living relative, but it was still nice of her to put him in her will. Even more so, because the two had never met. Both of Al�s parents had died when he was very young, leaving him to fend for himself. He had been able to move in with a friend for a while, but now he was glad to be completely on his own (except for Jenny), with a house and an inheritance too!

They drove toward the house, following the map Al had bought at the airport. When they arrived there, Al�s breath caught in his throat. It was like nothing he had ever seen before. The place was huge, surrounded by a wrought-iron fence covered with thickly growing vines. The yard was in good condition, the grass looked like it had been mowed no more than a week ago. The house itself was a Victorian, probably at least 200 years old, painted a dark blue with pale blue trim. It appeared to be in good repair, the front porch did not sag, the shingles did not look to be loose, and the paint job looked to have been done within the last year or two. If Jenny hadn�t caught him, Al would have fallen over backwards from sheer amazement.

Al followed Jenny in through the front gate. He had expected it to be locked, but she had opened it without any problem. They entered the house and immediately began exploring. It seemed even bigger and grander inside than out. There were two stories, not including the basement and the large attic. And in the attic, Al found piles and piles of boxes. There was enough dust covering them to make Al jokingly wonder if they had been there since the dawn of time, and the house had been built under and around them later.

As Al returned to the first floor, he heard a knock on the door. �Now that is odd,� he mused. �Who would be coming here so soon after I got here? Who would even know I was here already?� He opened the door, and his surprise increased. Standing there on his front step was a police officer.

�Is Jenny here?� asked the policeman.

Before Al had a chance to reply, Jenny stepped out of the dining room and walked over to the door. �Yeah, I�m here.� She said.

�I am sorry,� the policeman informed her, �but I�m going to have to take you downtown.�

�Hey wait!� Al exclaimed. �You can�t just walk in and arrest her! Do you have a warrant? What�s this all about?�

�Don�t worry,� Jenny told him. �It�s alright. I was expecting this. Now don�t go worrying about me, I will be fine. You just wait right here and I will be back before you know it, maybe even today.�

�But�� Before Al could protest further, Jenny closed the door and the police car drove away.

Jenny was not back by evening, and Al did not sleep much that night. In the morning, first thing after waking, he searched the house for her. She was nowhere to be found. Al sat down and waited, hoping she would be all right. That evening, as the sun was setting, a police cruiser drove up and dropped Jenny off.

Al was already out the door to meet her before the cruiser had even left the driveway. �Are you ok? Do you have to go to court? Why were you arrested? �� As the string of questions trailed off, Jenny smiled.

�One thing at a time. Yes I was arrested. No I do not have to go to court. I already did. It was a short trial. I pleaded guilty right off.�

�Pleaded guilty?� demanded Al. �Are you crazy? Now you�ll have to go to jail, won�t you?�

�Nope.� Said Jenny with a smirk. �And I don�t have to pay a fine either. All they did was confiscate my remaining wishes.� Noting Al�s look of confusion, she added, �Wishes can only be legally confiscated when a genie becomes dependent on one master and could not serve any other. And there is only one way I know of to do that.�

�What is that?� asked Al.

�I would think it was obvious. Falling in love, of course!�