"Are you sure you want your hair that color Zack?" Zack's mom asked smiling at him.
"Oh um... yeah," Zack said caught off guard a bit.
"And all you want for breakfast is pancakes?" Zack's mom asked still smiling. "Maybe you should wish for some bacon and eggs."
Zack had just taken a bite of his pancakes and he started to choke. After clearing his windpipe he asked, "You know?"
"Of course," his mom said still smiling. "I'll tell you about it once your sister comes down."
"I'm an only child though," Zack said shaking his head.
"Not anymore," his mom said giggling.
Just then a teen girl wearing a green spaghetti strap dress with a ruffled bust came into the kitchen and said, "Morning Mom, morning Zack."
"Morning Zelda," Zack's mom said hugging Zelda. Once she and Zelda were seated she said, "I suppose I should tell you about your power. The power you two now possess has run through our family for generations. A very long time ago an ancestor of mine found a Djinn and wished to become pregnant with his child. Well she did but when her daughter turned sixteen she discovered that whatever she wished came true within certain limitations. Ever since each child gained the power of the Djinn when they turned sixteen."
"She's not family though," Zack said pointing at Zelda. "How can she have the power of the Djinn?"
"I made her family last night," Zack's mom said. "Zelda is your twin sister Zack. Now on to the limits of your power. One," she held up a finger, "you can't kill someone. Two, you can't bring anyone back from the dead. Three, you can't control anyone's emotions which means you can't make anyone your girlfriend Zack."
"Why are you picking on me?" Zack asked shocked then pointed at Zelda and asked, "What about her?"
"Ok I'll modify my last statement," Zack's mom said. "You can't make someone your girlfriend or boyfriend you two. Four, you can't create a living creature from an inanimate object but you can give it a semblance of life. Five, you can't give anyone else this power even if you make them a part of the family. Other than that there's no limit to your power. Now I have a present for each of you." She handed both of them a package, Zack's wrapped in blue paper and Zelda's wrapped in pink paper.
Zelda opened her's and drew out a delicate looking necklace with a genie's lamp with a pink stone set into it on the end. "Thanks Mom," she said with a smile and put the necklace on.
Zack opened his wondering what his mom had given him since both boxes were the same size. He saw that his mom had also given him a necklace though it wasn't as delicate looking as Zelda's was looking more like a rope. On the end was a genie's lamp with a blue stone set into it. He looked up and asked, "Why did you give me a necklace?"
"Those necklaces protect you from being changed by someone else," Zack's mom said. "If you don't wear it then either your sister can change you or someone who has found a Djinn and made a wish to change you. While Djinn can't change each other that doesn't apply to you so it would be best if you wore the necklace as often as possible. The good thing is that you can disguise it so no one will notice it."
Zack looked over at Zelda and saw a smile on her face so he quickly put his necklace on fearing that she had something planned for him. Once he had it on he thought of something and asked his mom, "Who was Zelda? You said we couldn't create life so Zelda had to have been someone else before."
Zack's mom smiled and said, "I was wondering if you were going to notice that. Go ahead and tell him Zelda."
Zelda smiled and said, "Before Mom made me her daughter and your twin sister I was her friend Rick."
"No way," Zack blurted out shocked that Zelda might have been a guy at some point. A guy that did stuff with him since his dad had died ten years ago. "Why did you become a girl? I could understand wanting to be young again but a girl?"
"Did you never wonder why I didn't date or marry Mom?" Zelda asked back.
"Well I just thought that you had a girlfriend," Zack said.
Zelda giggled and said, "I haven't had a girlfriend in sixteen years. The reason I didn't date or marry Mom because sixteen years ago I realized I was in the wrong body and I lost interest in dating. I had told Mom about it because she had hinted at possibly dating and I turned her down. She understood and respected my belief and didn't try to change me."
"Why didn't she change you into a woman if she knew?" Zack asked.
"I wanted to but you needed a male figure in your life," Zack's mom said. "Besides Rick was such a good friend that I wanted to give him a great gift. So I waited until last night to change him into Zelda so he could gain the power of the Djinn."
"Do you like your new body?" Zack asked looking at Zelda.
"I'm much more comfortable in it," Zelda said with a smile. "I'm looking forward to experiencing all I can in this body."
Zack suddenly realized that they had been talking for sometime and said, "I'm going to be late for school."
Zack's mom and Zelda giggled and Zelda said, "We're not going to be late for school. Check your watch."
Zack looked down at his watch and saw that the second hand wasn't moving. "I need to replace the battery but I don't see how this means I'm, I mean we're, not going to be late."
Zack's mom and Zelda continued to giggle and Zelda said, "Mom stopped time."
"How do you know?" Zack asked.
"Because I was in the shower when she did," Zelda said.
"Sorry about that," Zack's mom said looking a little embarrassed.
"I was nearly finished anyway and I was able to start the water again to finish," Zelda said shrugging.
"So we're not going to be late for school?" Zack asked.
"Take a look outside," Zelda said.
Zack got up and opened the front door. His eyes widened as he saw a bird frozen in midair above the lawn. He went over to it and reached out to tap it but his mom said, "Don't do that."
Zack spun around and asked, "Why not? The bird's frozen in time so I won't hurt it."
"You will hurt it," Zack's mom said. "Even though the bird won't feel it now once time restarts the kinetic energy you used will transfer to it. I'm sure you've seen people suddenly have pain like someone punched them or something hit them but nobody and nothing hit them. Well that's because someone who was still moving while time was stopped did something to them."
"Oh," Zack said understanding what his mom said. He turned around and went back inside saying, "Well we could wait until first bell, stop time, and walk to school without being late."
"You could but you run the risk of someone else restarting time," Zack's mom said. "Speaking of restarting time I should so the bus can pick you two up." After a moment she said, "Time has been restarted so you two can go out and wait for the bus. Before you go though I need to tell you something else about your power. Make sure you word your wish carefully as a poorly worded wish can become twisted from what you originally wanted. Also people will notice the changes unless you word your wish so they don't. Zack, how did you word your wish for your hair?"
"Well I just wished that it was naturally this color," Zack said.
"Well it may be natural but that doesn't mean you've always had it," Zack's mom said. "It might be that no one will comment on it finding it normal or people may ask what happened to it. You can wait and see or you can make another wish to have it be normal."
Zack thought it over a bit and decided to wait and see what people's reactions to his hair color would be. He smiled thinking about how much fun he could have with this power. He was interrupted by Zelda saying, "Come on Zack we need to get to the bus stop."
As they left their mom said, "I want to tell you two one more thing. With great power comes great responsibility."
"You stole that from Spiderman," Zack shot over his shoulder at his mom.
"Guilty as charged but that doesn't mean it's any less true," Zack's mom said. "Have fun with your power but use it wisely."