TOO SMART BY HALF

Only a few can see us, the curious ones with that bit of sparkle in their eyes, and so society keeps us hidden as ‘false rumours’. It is not as if we are unhappy with this, quite pleased in fact. We like to be hidden from the foolish humans and their irritable curiosity, to live peacefully in our own little world. Well, this is a story about how a little boy with a bit of sparkle in his eyes, who chose to meddle with this world; the world of netherlings - djinnis, swampers, minotaurs and whatnot.

Our story begins one calm morning on the normally busy streets of London as I, a djinni, was going to get my morning bagel. And yes, before you ask, we do eat human food. It is quite hard though since it is not designed for our long-serrated claws. I was going to my favourite café in the city centre but I had to remember to be careful. The errand boy had begun to notice the disappearance of the bread and an occasional cupcake floating away. As I looked around, one customer piqued my curiosity. A little boy, no more than 13 years old in tattered clothes, a red cap and black sneakers. He was leaning across the counter, asking if they sold sesame seeds. The barista was quite confused and did not know what to say, but my curiosity was aroused. You see, sesame seeds are a djinni’s favourite food.

The boy soon left with a makeshift sack of tissue papers containing sesame seeds provided by a hesitant barista. I followed him down the street, drawn by the greed for sesame seeds. He kept turning and twisting down ever narrower roads and lanes till we came to a bleak little apartment building with broken windows and a rusted fire escape. The stench of rotting meat filled the air and moss and fungi covered most parts. It was sad to think that someone lived here. Unperturbed, the little boy walked straight into the building, quickly climbing two flights of stairs and entering an open flat. I followed, getting more and more curious. It was then that I smelt it - the lavender incense known in my world as an infamous irritant which sent us into a daze and weakened us. I put up my guard and walked into the room; this seemed fishy. My vision was slightly blurred now, and my head was beginning to hurt. Suddenly, I heard a giggle, not the innocent one of babies, but a sly cackle of someone who knows he has outsmarted you. There was a loud swish and I looked around to see a cloth covering the floor being swiftly pulled out. This was enough now! I was beginning to panic in confusion at what was happening and turned to fly out but found myself bolted in one place.

“No, it can’t be”, I whispered as I looked down to see myself bound in a dreaded pentacle which was scrawled on the floor. Who exactly was this boy and how did he gain access to such forbidden knowledge?! For, you see, there was a time before the peace between humans and the netherlings. It was a dark time for us, where the humans bound us in their pentacles and commanded us, supressing our magic with enchanted script. They used us as labourers to do their dirty work. But now it is different, the new humans; these weak minded and scrawny creatures have long forgotten about us, our secrets hidden in time. I could not believe that someone - a small boy - had uncovered this knowledge!

“Well, well, well, my original plan was to set the sesame seeds as a trap on the floor, but it seems to me that a foolish djinni has wandered into my trap anyway”, he cackled. “State your name boy, and how did you learn how to make a pentacle,” I boomed in my loudest voice. “I’ll be the one commanding, thank you”, he said, “and as for how I got this knowledge, let’s just say I like reading and I have a specific library.” This boy was beginning to get on my nerves, but I knew better than to show anger, because, when in a pentacle, the djinni can be tortured and commanded till he completes one task chosen by his captor.

“Well then, what do you wish for boy?” I said sourly. “Your life!” he burst out. At first I thought I had misheard him – how could he have my life? “You look perplexed, let me explain”, he said. “I’m guessing you know about the ritual of Axayacatl.” I flinched - this knowledge had been buried so deep that even some netherlings didn’t know about it. Axayacatl, a great Aztec ruler, was the brutish man who developed an ancient ritual by which the soul of a djinni could be switched with a human’s, effectively putting the human in the djinni’s body. Your history books may tell you that the might of the Aztec empire was through their savagery and skill; in reality it was through the powers of the djinni.

This boy wanted to switch lives with me! I feigned fear and acted hesitant to begin the ritual, which quickly resulted in jabs of pain from the boy. “Hurry up”, he screeched. Slowly I began the ritual, uttering words in ancient scripts, slowly releasing my magical energy. The entire room began to fill up with smoke from the heat I was releasing, and I completely lost my vision. When the mist cleared, I looked down to see myself in tattered clothes and black Velcro shoes. My own body floating ahead of me in a pentacle with a perplexed look on its face. Once the boy realised he was successful, he tried to dash out but found himself bolted down in the pentacle. I simply grinned and said, “You didn’t think this through, did you?”