Having not gotten an answer from the unusually silent djinn, she prodded further. "May I?"
"I am in no position to deny your request," his voice replied levelly.
"Yes, you are," she defended, now feeling guilty she even brought this up. "You don’t have to answer me if you don’t want to," she explained. "I mean…" Nadira shifted uncomfortably in her seat as she tried to repeat the exact words, she rehearsed to herself earlier. "I guess what I was trying to say is that in some books it says djinn are spirits of fire that possess great magic that can grant any wish. Then there are others that say djinn are demons of mischief and lies who will trick you and steal your soul. Another book says djinn live in caves deep in the mountains of the Arabian desert surrounded by their stolen treasures while others say your kind travels the night sky and is lured into villages and camps by the smoke of the fires. There is a lot of contradictory information, but there are a few consistencies: One, is that every text and legend passed down always state that a djinn has something to do with smoke and fire, and two, that you are something of great power."
Waiting, Nadira stared out at the sky's fading yellow being overtaken by the darkness of night until there was only a horizontal strip of ochre colored light left. After a few seconds of listening to the birds settle into the trees for the night with a chorus of chirps, she continued carefully.
"It just seems that everything I find that there are seemingly a hundred different stories and interpretations, what am I supposed to believe?"
"What do you want to believe?" he countered too gently.
"I want to believe you are not some evil wishmaster that tangles people within their own words ultimately leading to their demise," she said, not bothering to hide the agitation in her voice at his continued avoidance to answer her with a straight answer. "I want to know you were not put in this stone for a good reason and that I am not talking to something akin to Pandora's box."
"Ah, but the dangers of that only came when released; I am trapped so that point is irrelevant," he pointed out laconically.
Agitated, she began to tap her foot on the empty space next to the brake pedal.
"But I still want to know who or what I am speaking to beyond the vague explanation you have given me," she urged. "How do I even know you are a djinn as you say, you could be anything?"
"Then make a wish, my darling Nadira, and let me show you exactly who and what I am," amusement tainted his words as they wrapped around her like silk.
Nadira shook her head and grabbed at her bag in the next seat. She was fully prepared to just abandon the whole conversation. "No, I do not trust you."
"You have already tasted but a whisper of my power once, have you not?" he reminded her. "The time I allowed you to eat without payment, or the morning you experienced peace when your parents left for a meeting, they each coincidently remembered, the lights that govern your traffic changing in your favor…should I go on?"
She sighed in irritation. "I didn't ask for any of that. I didn't even know it was you. I just thought…"
"Your luck had turned around?" he offered with a laugh in his voice.
"Fine," she yelled, throwing up her hands. She was done trying to understand him. Hoisting her bag onto her shoulder, she grabbed the car door handle. "Don't tell me anything, it doesn't matter to me. Be stuck in there forever for all I care."
"Why do you not ask anything from me?" he questioned suddenly, making her hand pause on the handle.
Tapping her foot against the floorboard with a scowl, she considered his question for a few moments before answering. "Because life is already complicated enough."
"It doesn't have to be, I can make it easier for you." he purred dangerously. "I can make your fantasy into a reality, why not let me?"
"I do not need you to, I am working on it myself," she said with a resoluteness that surprised even her.
"Mmm, and how is that working out so far?" he drawled cruelly. "Your parents resent you and your entitled sister is foolish enough to believe she is better than you."
"They do not resent me," she rebuked, self-doubt ringing loud and clear in her words.
"Yes, they do," he assured her, delivering another blow to her heart. "The sooner you understand that my darling Nadira, the better off you will be in the long term. Your parents do not simply want you out of their daily lives, they want you to fulfill the goals they have set for you, goals you and I both know are nothing like what you have in mind for your future. Even if you plan and scheme and somehow find a way out of their house, they will still be unhappy," there was an unwavering certainty in his voice as he easily tore apart her life and dreams with mere words. "They want to see you married off to a man that will give them bragging rights, they want to know their future will be filled with grandchildren and hopefully a prosperous son-in-law that will not mind sharing his wealth with them. I have seen people like your parents countless times in my life. They are people whose lives didn't come out the way they envisioned it and are now bitter and resentful of the potential in front of you, don’t let them drag you down Nadira, let me help you."
Blinking, she tried to will the sting of the forming tears from her eyes. It felt as if someone had their boot on her chest, the unbearable weight of hearing such a candid portrayal of her life was excruciating. Taking a moment to pull in enough oxygen, she answered weakly. "Why are you telling me all of this?"
"Because I pity you," his voice was emotionless and flat as he delivered what felt like a final blow. Nadira felt as if her self-esteem was going to crumple to the floorboard and never get up again.
"Well, I don't need your pity or your help," she breathed, wiping away a stray tear. "And I don't need any wish granted by you."
"Yes, I am starting to realize that," he growled in irritation. "I cannot determine if this is just my fury, or is this feeling I am suddenly inundated with just a rare sense of admiration."
"What, why?" she sniffed, confused by his sudden change in opinion. "You never met anyone that didn't make a wish before."
"No," he said plainly. "Because everyone wants something."
"Well, you know what I want," she said pointedly.
"You want to know if you should fear me?" his tone was impatient, as if she had been the one raking him over the coals and not the other way around. "Then, the answer is yes. I am a djinn, by my will alone I can topple kingdoms."
"But that is what I don’t understand," she pressed. "If you are so powerful, then how are you trapped inside of a rock?"