Ridge bounced up on his toes, sending a rippling wave through the sea of sandwiches. He seemed excited by the idea that we were going to try to save the world. I don’t know why his excitement struck me as odd. You would be excited about saving the world, too, right?
“There’s a very mean person out there,” Ridge said, “trying to find the Undiscovered Genie jar. Your quest is to stop him from opening that jar.”
I nodded. That seemed totally doable. “What’s this bad guy’s name?”
“Thackary Anderthon,” said Ridge.
“Zackary Anderson?” I clarified.
“No,” said Ridge. “His name is Thackary Anderthon.”
“Why are you saying it that way?” I asked.
“That’s his name. That’s how it’s pronounced,” he answered.
“Thackary Anderthon?” I repeated, giggling at the way I sounded. Go ahead, you try to say it out loud. It’s funny, right?
“Yep,” Ridge said. “With a T-H.”
“Where is he now?” It seemed like a perfectly good question. If I needed to stop someone, I’d have to find him first.
Ridge shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“Can you tell me anything about him?”
Again, Ridge shrugged cluelessly. “Not really.”
“For a genie,” I said, “you sure don’t know very much.”
“All I know is what the Universe tells me,” said Ridge. “I’m simply a middleman. You make a wish, the Universe grants it and gives you a consequence. I’m just here to explain things.”
“You’ve hardly explained anything,” I pointed out. “I thought genies were supposed to be all wise and powerful. But you look an awful lot like a regular kid.”
“All genies look like kids,” he answered. “At least, all the ones I know about. Sure, some genies have been around for a really long time, but that doesn’t mean we get older.”
“Two kids trying to save the world . . .” I muttered. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this.”
“I know it seems like a lot,” Ridge said, “but the Universe wouldn’t give you a genie if it didn’t believe in you. We’re only talking about the fate of the world here. You’ll probably do fine.”
“Right!” I took a deep breath and straightened up. “I can do it. I’ve got unlimited wishes. I’ve got a genie.” I turned to Ridge. “You’ve done this before. You’ve got experience.”
He began to nod slowly. “Ha! Absolutely . . . saving the world is kind of my thing.”
“Good,” I said. “Because I have no idea what I’m doing. I’ll be relying on you a lot. I mean, how am I supposed to stop this Thackary person if I don’t even know where to start looking?”
“Well, let’s start with what we do know,” Ridge said. “Thackary has to be a kid. I can tell you that.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Genie jars can only be opened by kids,” Ridge said. “That’s one thing I know. This Thackary character will probably be under thirteen years old.”
That was something to go on, at least.
“Is he in the city?” I asked. Lincoln, Nebraska, seemed like a pretty big place to me. In the three years I’d lived here, I certainly hadn’t met every resident.
“I’ve told you everything I know about him,” said Ridge.
“This is impossible,” I said. “Aren’t there, like, seven billion people in the world? He could be any one of them!”
Ridge leaned over and picked up the peanut butter jar from the pile of sandwiches. He held it out to me. “Maybe it’s time you start wishing for some answers.”
“Do I have to have the jar to make a wish?” I asked, taking it from his hand.
“Well, no,” he answered. “Technically, you don’t need the jar at all. Though it should come in handy from time to time, so I’d recommend keeping it close.”
“What can I do with it?” I asked.
Before he could answer me, the door that led from the kitchen to the garage flew open. I turned, watching bagged sandwiches flooding across the threshold like a dam had broken.
My foster parents were standing in the doorway. I had been so wrapped up in my conversation with Ridge that I hadn’t even heard the car pull in.
“Ace!” Mr. Lindon called, a broad smile breaking over his face. “You made lunch!” He waded into the kitchen, my foster mother right behind him.
I glanced at the enormous piles around me. The man arrived home to find his house full of peanut butter sandwiches, and all he could say was “You made lunch”?
“You must have been busy,” Mrs. Lindon said. “You made quite a few.”
“You think I made all these?” I finally stammered. “You guys have only been gone for thirty minutes!” I turned to Ridge, my face twisted in confusion.
“Ah,” Ridge said, “I should have mentioned that the Universe has a way of protecting Wishmakers from suspicion.”
“Who’s your friend?” Mrs. Lindon asked, lifting her arm through a mound of sandwiches to gesture at Ridge.
“Umm . . .” If the Universe was really going to protect me from suspicion, then it wouldn’t hurt to tell the truth, right? “His name is Ridge. He’s a magical genie, and he’s here to give me unlimited wishes.”
“Oh, you met at the park?” Mr. Lindon said. “How nice.”
“That’s not what I said,” I answered. What was going on?
“It doesn’t matter what you say,” explained Ridge. “People around us will only hear and see what makes sense to them.”
“We’ll be in the living room if you need us, Ace,” Mr. Lindon said, taking his wife’s hand and pressing through the sandwiches. I watched speechlessly until they were almost out of sight.
“I have to go!” I suddenly blurted, causing Mr. and Mrs. Lindon to halt and look back. “I’ve been given a quest to save the world,” I explained further, “so I’m going to be gone for a week or so.”
The Lindons smiled at me. “Summer camp! That sounds like a great opportunity,” Mr. Lindon said. “Have so much fun.”
“And be safe,” added Mrs. Lindon.
The Universe was clearly casting some pretty heavy magic over them.
“Okay,” I muttered, unsure how to respond as the two adults moved into the living room.
“You’ll be grateful for that,” said Ridge. “Wishing can get pretty magical. It’s a lot easier to have the Universe shielding us from unwanted attention. It’ll help us stop Thackary without interference.”
With the Lindons taken care of, I decided to turn my attention to my quest. I’d need to find Thackary if I wanted to stop him from getting that Undiscovered Genie Jar. And if I could wish for anything . . .
“I wish to teleport to wherever Thackary Anderthon is right now.”
I felt a click on my wrist and I looked down to see the hourglass pop up again.
“Okay,” Ridge said. “If you want to teleport to Thackary Anderthon, then you’ll have to accept the consequence that goes along with the wish.”
“Which is?” I prompted.
“Your legs will permanently be replaced with pogo sticks.”
“What?!” I shouted. I’d seen kids bouncing around on those spring-loaded pogo sticks. They looked like fun. But I didn’t want to have them in place of legs.
“The swap will be painless,” Ridge said, but he wasn’t helping the situation.
“No! I do not accept!” I cried. As soon as I turned the consequence down, my hourglass collapsed into a regular watch and Ridge shrugged.
“Permanent pogo stick legs?” I said. “You can tell the Universe that seems like a bit much just to teleport myself. I thought these consequences were supposed to be balanced.”
“Oh, I forgot to mention that,” Ridge said, holding up a finger. “Whenever you wish for something directly related to your quest, the Universe holds that at a higher value. The consequences can get pretty steep.”
I parted the sea of sandwiches and looked down at my legs, grateful that they were still legs. “Pogo sticks?” I muttered. “That’s so random. How does that balance against my wish to teleport, anyway?”
“The consequences don’t necessarily have anything to do with the wish,” Ridge answered. “Since making wishes gives you certain advantages, the consequences are meant to disadvantage. Wishes aren’t exactly natural, so the Universe’s consequences are kind of random.”
“And wishes that will help get me closer to stopping Thackary Anderthon are going to come with bigger disadvantages?” I asked.
“Exactly,” answered Ridge.
“So I have to wish to stop Thackary without ever wishing to stop Thackary?”
Ridge nodded, his face sincere. “That’s the best way to do it. Wishing is tricky. If you wish to teleport directly to Thackary Anderthon, then the wish did all the work for you.”
“Then what am I supposed to wish?” I asked.
“Don’t wish for things directly,” Ridge said. “If you make a wish that still requires some effort on your part, then the consequence might not be quite as big of a disadvantage.”
“What if I wish to know where Thackary Anderthon lives?”
Ridge shrugged. “That might be better, since getting to his house would still require effort from you. But I’m guessing that’ll still have a significant consequence since Thackary is the object of your quest.”
Well, I could always turn down the consequence if it was too much. “I wish to know where Thackary Anderthon lives.”
My hourglass watch popped open.
“If you want to know where Thackary lives,” said Ridge, “then you’ll never be able to find the Lindons’ house again.”
“This house?” I glanced toward the living room where my foster parents had gone. After two years, I was certainly calling this place home.
“This house or any house that your foster parents move to,” replied Ridge.
“So I’ll just wander around the neighborhood, looking for my way back?” I said. “What if someone else brings me here?”
Ridge nodded. “That would work, but you’ll never be able to find it on your own.”
Was it worth it? I liked this place. I was finally settling into my life here. The Lindons were good people. Maybe they’d even be willing to adopt me. If I accepted this consequence, I might never find them again.
Of course, if things worked out with this genie, I might not need to come back to the Lindons’ house at all. I might finally find my real family. My real home.
My hand crept into my pocket, feeling for the only object I ever kept with me. The only object that was truly mine. My fingers curled around the tattered, folded card. My gaze was trained on Ridge—a genie, capable of granting me any wish I desired. If I went with him, my greatest wish could come true. I might finally get the answers I’d been seeking for years.
“Bazang,” I said, officially accepting the wish. I suddenly knew exactly where Thackary Anderthon lived. “Let’s go save the world.”