The mist swirled around her and finished by settling in front of her. The cloud grew until it was large enough to hide a man inside. Then the man stepped out. He was clearly a genie as there was a magic look about him. Lydia felt a dreadful sinking feeling. She wondered if this was what her boyfriend had felt the day before.
"I am the Transformation Genie. I grant wishes to those who rub my lamp. One wish per person, either permanent or temporary changes and only mythical creatures." His voice boomed about the room.
Lydia was frightened that his voice would wake her boyfriend. It was a moment before she wondered why she afraid of this. Maybe she really wanted to have a little fun, alone.
The genie took this moment to inspect the little girl before him. Seeing into the magical fields that filled his world something seemed out of place. "Pardon me, but have you already dealt with magic in your life?"
Lydia focused on the genie, it was a wonder that she could have become distracted when she was actually dealing with fantastic elements. "Actually, yes. My boyfriend changed me yesterday. You did it, actually. Do you not remember?"
"Little lady, I am a magical being that lives in another plane of reality. I am called through the lamp on occasion. I have little control over where it goes after that."
"Well, he turned me into a mermaid. Not a real one. One that has spandex skin made from my swimsuit. And I can't breath under water."
The genie once again scanned the girl. Aside from being topless there did not seem to be anything amiss about the girl. Except the lingering magical field. "You do not appear to be a mermaid at the moment. I have seen many mer-persons and they tend to have fewer legs. The change must have been temporary."
"It was," Lydia said.
"Quite within my power, but why is there still a magic about you?" the genie asked quite puzzled.
"I was wanting to ask you that. It seems that the changes were intended to be temporary but I have turned into a mermaid and back twice already. What is the deal?"
The genie thought for a moment. Lydia was convinced that this genie was truly perplexed and not pretending. She was not however going to be lulled into believing it fully. Genies could be tricky.
"Ahh, I think I know the answer," the genie said finally. "It would seem that your boyfriend has accidentally phrased his wish to be open ended. You are not stuck a mermaid but he has made it so that you never really loose the effect to become one."
"What? How?" Lydia asked loudly.
"It must have been a combination of language and desire as well as a complex mental image. Granting wishes, you see, is much more multi-level than just grammatical phrasing."
"You mean that he wanted me to be stuck constantly turning into a sexy, spandex, mermaid so that he could have sex with me like that?" Lydia was shocked.
The genie nodded. "It would appear that when he said temporary he intended it for the changes but his desire was for the change to be permanent. I am sorry, but I must do as the wisher wants not necessarily as they ask."
Lydia felt like she had just been slapped in the face. Her boyfriend had made her into some sort of sex toy. Her one real passion had been her swimming and now she could not do it without becoming a sexual fantasy for a naive, high-school boy. She loved the feeling of being completely turned to spandex and she loved the way her body shape worked out. The problem was that it was no better than if he demanded that she wear frilly underwear. Or that he pressured her into getting breast implants. The nerve.
"If it is any consolation," the genie said, "I do not think there was any cunning in his choice. He was just ruled by his passions."
"You mean he doesn't know what he did?" Lydia felt a pang of sympathy easing her anger.
"Not really. It is just that he has not admitted what he really wanted. In time, with much self-reflection, he might come to see it that way."
Lydia found herself feeling angry and hurt and wanting revenge. But it was like being angry at a little puppy that knocked over a house plant. Everything is a mess and it is really no one's fault.
"Is there any way I can undo what he did?" Lydia asked the genie.
"No. The changes are permanent, but also because you do not really want to turn back completely. Any wish you could make would have the same unconscious desire to remain the way you are." The genie spread his hands in helplessness.
Lydia thought a little more. "Can I make it so that I have the ability to control when I change?"
"No. My magic works only once. One wish per person. Both for giving out wishes and only once for taking them. You can not take a wish anymore than he can make another."
The wheels were spinning in Lydia's mind. There was a chance for petty revenge and fun after all. Did she dare? What would she pick? How would he feel about it?
"Genie," Lydia said finally, "I want to make a wish."
The genie smiled. This was the sort of thing he was made for.