Warm sunlight filtered in through the window, falling onto Cole's face. He blinked his eyes, they felt heavy with the remnants of sleep. Sitting up on his bed, he yawned. When had he fallen asleep? He tried to remember what had happened before just now. He came home, went to his room, got out the book... the book! Cole looked towards his desk, except his desk was gone. His whole room had vanished! In its stead was a luxurious chamber, with tall, arched windows on five of the six rooms. Long, silk curtains of every color danced lazily in the breeze.
"What in the world?" Cole's voice rumbled.
He grabbed his throat and felt a prominent Adam's Apple. Something tickled his hand.
Cole grabbed at the irritant and tugged.
"Ow!" he called out in a stranger's voice.
A beard? He didn't have a beard, he couldn't even grow one!
Cole scrambled out of the large bed, trying to untangle himself from the layers of luxurious sheets and mountains of pillows.
He fell of the bed and onto a colorful, woven rug with a heavy thud.
He pushed himself up with a groan.
"Whose... those hands aren't mine!"
Beneath him were a pair of large, tanned hands, a pair of golden cuffs were clasped around his thick, sinewy forearms.
Cole stood up, rising to a much taller height than he was used to. He looked down at himself. Large pectorals blocked most of his view. Leaning forward he saw a flat stomach, and long legs clad in one of those puffy, drop-crotch pants. Past that, he could see another pair of matching cuffs around his ankles, and his now large feet.
"What the hell happened to me? Where am I?!" He cried out to the empty room.
Cole lumbered up to one of the windows and looked out.
Golden sand dunes stretched as far as he could see. The sky above him was a robin-egg's blue, and was adorned by hundreds of golden constellations and symbols. The Sun seemed to be mounted onto a gold beam. The whole thing reminded Cole of an observatory.
He turned back towards the room, looking for some sort of clue or explanation as to what was going on. There was nothing in here except for the large bed he'd woken up in, and a small fountain mounted on the wall next to a door.
A door!
Cole smiled and stumbled towards it, still unaccustomed to his new height and weight.
The door opened onto a spiral staircase, and Cole descended it. After a short while he came out onto a long hallway, its walls adorned in beautiful mosaic patterns. One side was lined by the same tall windows he'd seen in his room, opposite to them were tall, arched doorways. Past the first one he saw a thin waterfall that emptied onto a shallow pool, the walls of this room were lined with mirrors.
"This must be the bathroom," Cole muttered to himself.
He walked inside, the room was cool and refreshing. Cole walked up to one of the mirrors, mouth agape. Reflected back at him was tall, dark skinned man with broad shoulders and a tapered waist. His eyes were a sparkling golden color, framed by thick, dark lashes. His nose was long and arched. And a dark goatee, bound just below his chin by a jeweled bead, surrounded a pair of full lips. On top of his was a short mop of black curls, with a medium-length braid just behind his ear.
This man was a far cry from the pale, lanky teenager Cole was just moments ago.
Like Narcissus at the pond's edge, Cole found it impossible to tear himself from his reflection. He posed and flexed, pulled faces, and turned every which way. He probably would've stayed longer if not for the sudden feeling of loneliness that struck him.
He continued exploring the strange palace. He roamed down long hallways, his stride quickly becoming strong and secure as this body became more his own.
He found a room filled with all sorts of clothes, shoes, and jewelry. A banquet hall served with fresh fruits, steaming dishes, and plenty of drink. Various sitting rooms full of couches and pillows. Indoor gardens brimming with colorful flowers and songbirds. And all these places were luxuriously decorated, and all completely devoid of people.
At what felt like the very center of the palace, Cole found a library. Tall bookshelves that seemed to rise farther than he could see surrounded him. At the very center of that, there was a thick book sat upon a golden lectern, bathed in golden sunlight that poured in from above like a spotlight. Something inside Cole told him it was important. Cole walked up to it, reverence swelling up inside him. He opened the book, it was written a curling script that Cole had never seen before, but nonetheless understood completely.
The book was full of instructions, rules, and laws all detailing what his duties and responsibilities were. As soon as Cole read a sentence it became burned into his memory. He was quickly obtaining knowledge about impossible things. He closed the book after just a few passages, becoming overwhelmed by realization.
Cole was a genie. And this was his lamp.