“Dust Motes and Desert Winds..” By The Authenticator

 “Dust Motes and Desert Winds..”

Middle Eastern Folklore, Myths & Legends 

By The Authenticator

Sometimes the only kind of luck one has is the bad kind, sometimes we find ourselves the recipient of a string of misfortunes be they minor, major or middling and in such times we find ourselves availed of  only thing we have, desperation and the flights of fancy fuelled thereby.from here begins the familiar imagery,  you're down on your luck trapsing down a back alley or in a desert for some reason and come upon an inexplicable street market that sells beat up brass Eastern-looking vessels and while you'd not usually so quick to romanticization, each is a pittance, your bad luck has you desperate and fanciful and you find yourself drawn to a simple looking one in the corner so you pay your few bucks and take it home. As you find a way to open the sealed brass bottle, you salivate a bit imagining a few minutes for now when you can exchange your squalor for  luxury as this could have a genie it it… But today we look at yet another spin on the Middle Eastern tales of the Djinn  that might discourage you from having this reaction to every Arabian artifact, not because of an evil jinni or an angry one, but because the jinn, like humans know time,and can you imagine what millennia  of solitary confinement would do to your sense of despair, not to mention your wits?

Today's Tale:” Be Careful What You Fish For” or “Sympathy for the Jinni”

     
   Once upon a Time, there was  a modest and shrewd Fisherman whose job it was to provide for his wife, son and two daughters, all of whom he loved dearly and was loved in return.Though life had blessed him with this and he wanted nothing more than to live well and happily with his family, he also found himself  amidst the aforementioned hard times.Each day he would depart his family early in the morning with a small boat ( really more of a raft honestly) and a large net into a bay, and four times a day he would cast his net out into the bay. While his net would always come in full( so much so in fact that he would regularly have to dive in after it) for months now it came loaded not with fish, but with rubbish of every which kind( some of which in fairness he was able to sell)

   On one day like this, he had already cast his net out three of his four allotted times to no avail, not even, sadly, with anything worth selling in the fishes’ place. So with a heavy heart and a silent prayer he cast his net once more into the watery fray and when, as usual when it became. too heavy to maneuver from the boat, he dove in after it, finding therein ( amid the usual rubbish)an ancient,regal-looking, sealed,  brass bottle.

   The bottle was almost as tall as he was, had he sold it, it would have kept his family fed for another week, but it's design and the intricate seal he did not recognize convinced him that he airtight bottle must hold something important. With any luck,  this was some lost heirloom of the sultan's and he would be richly rewarded for returning it, and if not he could still make a present of it to him; if all else failed he could still make a nice profit on the exotic spice or whatever it contained. In any event proceeded to open the bottle and quickly became enveloped in green smoke.

    Soon the smoke cleared, much to the relief of the startled fisherman. His relief was short lived however, as shortly thereafter he found himself staring up at the green navel and abdomen of a Jinni. ( incidentally probably an Ifrit)  the Jinni smiled down sympathetically, “Think you, you you have freed me and I am very grateful, how would you prefer to die?”

    This Jinni's story began a millennia before,( how he became bound is story for another day) after he was he waited for a century, vowing to himself in the solitude of his bottle that he would bestow kingship on whomever set him free. Two centuries past, and the Jinni became more desperate, nevermind kingship,he would offer the one that freed him all the unclaimed riches of the Earth, 500 years more past again he vowed, this time to grant ANY wish of the one who freed him. This time nearly a thousand years past and at this point by our Jinni was becoming embittered with despair until finally  he gave up and vowed one final time, with Nihilism in his heart,” Enough of this endless life, I  vow that if ever I am freed I will gift them with the only thing worth having, freedom from it, moreover I will let them choose how they die, as a final mercy.”

    The Fisherman upon realizing the seriousness of what was said, pleaded and begged to know what he had done to upset the Jinni,. The Jinni calmly and even pityingly explained the above and the Fisherman, himself moved to pity for the Jinni, still knew he needed to find a way to escape so he feigned incredulousness that such a large creature could fit in such a small bottle, and he would not answer unless he could be proven wrong and when the Jinni acquiesced to  this “ last request, he predictably resealed the bottle, and prepared to reinture it beneath the waves. At the last moment though he found he could not and instead he sat down next to the bottle, seal still binding bit as a precaution, and the two talked till dawn about everything the two could think of and the Fisherman making a point to care for the Jinni, making sure he found something to live for and therefore a reason to have faith in life again.

   Mourning sun soon shown on the Fisherman's face and after a night long conversation with the Jinni realized he could stand to trap him no longer, as a honest last request he asked the Jinni to make sure his family was safe, happy and cared for and he opened the bottle...
    The Jinni was moved by this gesture, in truth he no longer had any desire to kill him, the care shown him by this lowly soul had convinced him otherwise many hours before,  but moreover the fact that this fisherman  still cared enough to put not only his life but also that of his wife and family, touched the Jinni even further.

So instead, the Jinni led him to a magickal pond, where fish that fried would speak the future before dying dwelt. He bade the Fisherman show  a few these to his sultan. The Fisherman did so and so impressed was he that when time came for his sons to marry, it was arranged that it would be to the Fisherman's own daughters a state that left all parties involved positively elated.as for the Fisherman and the Jinni, the remained the closest of friends well into the Fisherman's old age, and after his death, the Jinni took it upon himself to always keep a watchful eye on the fates and fortunes of his line as a last favor to his old friend.

…

    Let this be a lesson to everyone, these spirits ( in so far as they exist) have lives and wills of their own and should NEVER be treated as wish granting machines and if you're gonna try to cokes a miracle out of an ancient ring bottle or oil lamp, think first of the risks and hazards before you let the Jinni out of the bottle if all you can see is dollar signs and servants, you may not like the results
   So that about does it for today folks, as always if you like this mix of Myth and Magick consider subscribing to my YouTube channel

The Authenticator: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA1Fkgi1ebZiO_0b-hNun7Q
And til next time…
Cheers Everyone!! :)