Shadow of Death

II

The princess waved her servants good night and she went alone in her room. She put on her nightgown and combed her hair, all the while humming a beautiful melody. One by one, she blew the fire out of the lamps surrounding her room, but when she got to the little lamp sitting on a table beside her bed, the fire continued to burn. She tried again with no accomplishment, and again and again 'til she gave up. She took the lamp and sat on her bed, noticing how fancy-looking it was and that she hadn't seen it before. She studied the lamp's intricate design, tracing one finger in its golden handle. As her fingers neared the end, the lamp shook. The princess held it tightly so as not to drop it, and from the smoke of its fire suddenly came a being who looked rather human only its feet were curled up by the wind and formed a little tornado all the way to the lamp.

His hands were crossed as he bowed his head to the princess. "May I know the name of my new master?"

The princess, in return, gave him a smile. She was not afraid of him, not the slightest. In fact, she thought of him handsome and rather prince-like.

"Kasila is my name, and you?"

"Mine is not important. For I am only here to grant you three wishes. Wishes of any sort. I could give you your heart's deepest and greatest desires, fortune, and fame. I could give you the world, then I would vanish. Even from your memory."

"I'm already happy with what I have, no more and no less. But wait, why do you have to vanish?"

"It is what I am. I have to go after you've made your wishes." A sad smile crept upon his face.

The moonlight found its way to the princess' bedroom through the window, as she said "You don't seem like you want to go, and I'm not ready for any wish now."

And so, the night passed with no wishes to be granted.

The next morning, Kasila went into the garden with the magic lamp and asked the being if he could walk around like a human so they wouldn't sneak around anymore, and so he did.

Though the guards were wary of him, they did nothing to the new guest the princess took in.

The princess stopped to look at the flowers and heaved a deep sigh. "Your power to grant wishes will be wasted on me. I am already happy."

However, when they came near the gates, the princess took him by the hand and went down the streets of the kingdom as she remembered what saddened her. The guards followed them running, of course, and the citizens thought something was wrong.

The view down the village always saddened the princess. She often goes here every week to check on her people and did ways of helping them. "I'll do more when I am queen." Once, she promised a group of little kids.

She took him where those little kids were and said, "I wish my people never to be hungry again."

He only looked at her and said, "Your wish is my command."

Then trees sprouted from the earth. They were fast-growing, and a few of its fruits came tumbling and reached the little children, the oasis near the village got bigger, the ground got green with grass so the animals wouldn't starve anymore, and even the empty wells were now filled with drinking water.

The enchantment was so grand that the whole village celebrated that night. The princess sat on her balcony that evening and called upon him again. He stood facing the princess on another moonlit night.

"You have thought of something for your second wish?" he asked.

"No, I'm sorry. I just wanted to talk to someone and my father is occupied at the moment." She said, looking at how the king was delighted as he celebrated with his people, down the courtyard thinking he must've pleased their gods 'til miracles happen. "I'm just overwhelmed about these wishes. They're too powerful."

"Why do I feel like I am burdening you?"

"You're not. I like that you're here. It's just that wishes could be too powerful, they could change the world for the better, " she looked really sad. "or worse."

"Take your time, dear Kasila. I will just be here waiting."

"How about you? What would you wish for?"

The son of Death was taken aback by her question. "My freedom." he said.

"You must've lived a sad life."

"You could say that."

"My father always said that we are where we're meant to be. So, there must be a reason for your misery."

"He could be right."

"He would often say that to me whenever I would miss my mother. She passed away when I was nine. I would have wished for her to be here, but then, I would be defying fate and death."

"Yes, I could say, you don't want to mess up with Death." He laughed. For the first time in millenniums, the Shadow of Death laughed.

Her second wish came as a surprise even to her. It happened in a poor man's house in the village when she was just finding out how her people are doing now that food is abundant. She gravely said, "Oh! I wish this carpet could fly!" As frivolous as it sounds, we cannot condemn her for she said it out of worry, panic, and fear combined.

The little boy in that house was losing his life, and even if the Shadow of Death knows that the boy's time has not yet come, he cannot tell the princess that. The whole house was panicking because the Kingdom's medical house is a long way off. That's one problem. The other one is that the streets were narrow and crowded. It would take a lot of time to go through.

The Princess came in as the boy was laid on the carpet so his brothers could carry him better. Before thinking about wishing for the boy's health, she clumsily wished for a flying carpet. With all the reluctance in the world, The Son of Death obeyed.

"As you will." He said.

And so, not wanting to waste a wish, the princess herself rode on the carpet, carrying the sick child. Just imagine how the people reacted as they saw the oddest thing they could ever see.