You pick up the clapperless bell and "ring" it. There is an odd
silence that echoes through the world. The sound of birds chirping is
silenced. The drone of the bees in the garden is gone. The annoying
municipal aircraft constantly flying overhead on the way to the local
airport are quieted. An unnatural silence echoes in the world. You
stare at the bell. Could it really be the sound of silence?
You pause and wonder. There are dog whistles that you blow and only
dogs can hear. Could there be someone or something that can hear the
sound of silence rung forth by the bell? You heard or rather didn't
hear it. You put your hand on the still vibrating bell to stop the
vibration. Sound returns was a cacophonous riot echoes through the
air. Birds chirp, bees drone, planes hum, cars vroom, children shout
and laugh, even the low hum of the fluorescent lights in the kitchen
is now audible. You adjust to the sudden noise, and look down at the
bell wondering if you should ring it again.
"You rang?" asks a deep voice from behind you.
You turn and see a giant of a man dressed in old fashioned evening
clothes. He seems familiar in a dusty, Gothic, scary sort of way.
"Uh, I may have?" you answer uncertainly as you look him up and down.
"If you did, then you summoned me. If you summoned me, you must have a
task for me to do? If you have a task for me to do, tell me so I may
do it."
"Lerch! The Addam's family's butler!" you say making the connection.
He raises an eyebrow, and answers, "I was, but you have the bell that
commands me now."
"You mean whoever rings this bell is your master?"
"Yes, I must obey the bell ringer."
"But I thought they were a cartoon, fictional, not real? But you're
real aren't you?"
"Uhhhhh," he sighed, "Once they were real but they wished they were a
fiction, and now they are. I served them and granted their wish."
"Then you're not just a butler, Lerch, you are a genie?"
"Uhhhh, please don't call me Lerch. That's not my name, my name is the
sound the bell makes. The Addamses called me Lerch but it is not my
name."
"Oh, your name is the Sound of Silence?"
"If that's how you understand it, you make call me Silence."
"Okay, Sile," you say.
"Uhhh," sighs the giant.
"Are you a genie, Silence?"
"Djin, djinni, ogre and fairy have all been names used to describe me.
But I am ___________________________________________," he opens his
mouth and the world is unnaturally quiet. He continues, "Those names
are not what I am."
"Is there only one wish, three wishes or an infinite number? Are there
rules to wishing? Don't bring back the dead or make someone fall in
love with me or -"
"The number of requests is based on the number of times you ring the
bell. No, rules. But somethings take longer than others to fulfill,
and sometimes what you ask for isn't really what you mean. I don't
interpret meanings, I just serve." He sighs again, and his shoulders
slacken. He's not used to speaking this much, it takes a lot out of
him. He looks at you expectantly, and shrugs as if to ask, "So now
what?"
"Ler- uh, Silence, bring me a Philadelphia Cheese steak Sandwich."
The giant turns, his back shimmers for a moment, and he spins back to
face you. He's holding a silver platter with a silver cover on it. He
lifts the cover on the blue plate is a piping hot delicious
Philadelphia Cheese Steak.
"You did it!"
"Yes, of course, will there be anyhing else."
"Well,...