THE MOMENT
"Very well...," the genie gritted his teeth. He nodded at Clark; but, his tone came with a low, annoyed growl. "...your wish is granted,"
"My FIRST wish!" Clark corrected the floating, purple-skinned man.
"Just hurry up....," the genie sighed.
"Don't worry, I've had all my wishes planned out for years. For my second wish, I wish-,"
"WAIT! Oh god, please wait!" The genie waved his hands frantically to get Clark's attention; then, he pointed at something. Clark turned around and scanned the park; a young, blonde woman in overalls was headed towards them.
"How'd you know I was gonna wish for a blonde??" Clark grinned; but, then he shook his head as she grew closer. "Not really my type though...., this wish doesn't count; I didn't wish for anything!" Clark said.
"Hang on a second...," the genie said. Clark decided to wait; it gave him a chance to make sure he had the exact wording he wanted for his wish. Seeing this young woman reminded him of a few things he wanted to specify.
"Mornin'," the woman smiled as soon as she was close enough. "My name's Barley, what's yours?" she asked.
"Clark...," he answered her with a nod; but, her friendliness made him suspicious. She obviously wanted his genie.
"Well, Clark, my friend here...," she gestured at the genie with her thumb. "...says he's having some trouble with you. So he asked me to come and try and talk you out of it."
"What?" Clark glanced at the genie, then back at Barley. He thought the genie's feelings might get hurt at being outsmarted; but, to call in a third party? He puffed his chest out with growing pride. He outwitted the genie so bad, that he needed to call in a friend for support.
"And, what trouble is that?" Clark asked.
"Your wish to rewind time is...Honey?" Barley looked past Clark.
"Huh?" Clark whirled around and saw a younger, teenage blonde girl walking towards them.
"Hang on a sec," Barley said. She walked past Clark to chat with her friend. But, Clark didn't want to wait.
"Genie, I'm ready for my second wish!" he said. He'd practiced the wording enough and he did not want to deal with whatever Barley was there for.
"Fine...," the genie begrudgingly nodded. But, Clark did not want to take any chances at being noticed. He leaned forward and whispered his next wish into the genie's ear; then, he vanished in a puff of purple smoke.
Then, he reappeared; this time, without smoke.
"...in case my wishes don't go as planned!" Clark finished outlining his first wish.
"Very well...," the genie sighed. "But, first, meet my friend, Barley," he gestured to a blonde woman sitting alone on the park bench nearby. She stood and approached Clark with a smile.
"Mornin', Clark; name's Barley," she said. Clark narrowed his eyes at her and took a step back. She could have the genie when he was done making his three wishes.
"Obviously, he told you my name," Clark said. "What can I do for you, Barley?"
"Your wish to rewind time ain't working the way you thought," she said.
"What do you mean it's not going to work the way I think?" Clark asked. He heard what she said; but, he assumed she was lacking in intelligence. Her southern accent helped that assumption along. But, she shook her head.
"I mean it AIN'T working the way you thought," she said. "You already rewound time a bunch of times," she said.
"26," the genie added.
"And after 26 times, you're still stuck making the same wishes."
"What?!" Clark spun around to face the genie. He had no real proof; but, it was the kind of twist that genies liked to use to torment unsuspecting innocents. "That's cheating!" The genie shrugged.
"I tried warning you...," he said.
"Warning me?? How about trying not to ruin me??" he whined. But, both the genie and Barley chuckled at that.
"He ain't trying t' ruin ya'," she said. "You did it to yourself."
"No way," Clark shook his head. "I was very clear; it's a simple wish. If things don't go as planned, I get to rewind time," he said. "He's the one that twisted it to make me forget!"
"That's just plain false," Barley shook her head. "You're going to keep making the same choices. You'll keep making the exact same wishes until you learn to make different ones. But, by going back in time you're unlearning what you learned."
"Huh?" Clark asked. He was only half paying attention while he worked out the specifics of his wish; he wanted to have the wording just right.
"I'll put it in simple terms for ya," Barley said. "You'll never do better if you never learn what doesn't make things better."