The sky is a dazzling shade of amber this unusually warm February morning. The sun has not yet fully risen as I make my way into the concrete industrial structure which dwarfs my physical form – reminding me of the insignificance of my own existence amidst the hustle and bustle of the urban jungle. Negotiating the familiar cobwebs of twisting hallways, half-hearted greetings, plastic smiles, and rows of faceless individuals clad in annoyingly pure-white uniforms, I board my elevator, press the appropriate buttons and secure an isolated corner in anticipation of the routinely long and crowded ascent. DING! DING! Getting off, I let out a weak sigh as if protesting the monotony of my daily schedule. In truth, I am not really that dissatisfied with my current situation… (Sign on wall reads “Drug Rehabilitation Section”) Only a few more steps now and the day can begin in earnest. Certainly, the repetitiveness of my daily activities has begun to wear me down over the years. Sometimes I wish something spectacular like an alien invasion or a terrorist attack of the same magnitude as the infamous 9/11 incident would befall this city if only to alleviate my boredom just a little. “Sigh…” However, absurd thoughts aside, I notice that I am already standing in front of my designated area for the day. I grip the lifeless metallic doorknob and turn it slowly while lazily allowing my weight to bear down upon the recently installed wooden door. I sigh again. Sometimes… I wonder if things would have been different had I chosen a different path. Back then, life could have been different. (Flashback start) It all started on that day not too many years ago. When I found this “magic lamp,” so to speak. (Image of a seductive woman offering marijuana or some other mild addictive drug.) Curiosity killed the cat after all, so I did have some doubts in the back of my mind. But… in the end, I was but a naïve child and temptation got the better of me. With shallow childish thoughts of self-gain in mind, I took hold of the lamp. (Image of protagonist smoking marijuana with an innocent expression) And boy, did I use it! They say that the genie that dwells inside a magic lamp grants the lamp’s owner three wishes. I can assure you that this much is true. Reluctantly, I made my first wish. (Protagonist smoking more marijuana with a glazed look in his eyes) “I wish for freedom!” (Protagonist striking a teacher in school) “The freedom to do as I wish; not bound by the constraints of society and its shallow pretentious concepts of morality and camaraderie.” (Protagonist drops out of school) And then… Poof! Just like that, my wish was granted. I instantly gained the freedom that I sought. There were, of course, a few setbacks that came with it, but I found them to be quite negligible at that time. It was an enlightening experience for someone as young as I was. There were so many things you could do when you felt completely free. Of course, as time wore on, I realized just how imperfect my chosen definition of freedom had been. Though I was not anymore overtly bound to society, I realized that there were still a few unseen chains that shackled me. Emotions and feeling, for example; when I stumbled and hit my kneecaps, I could still feel the pain – and interwoven with this, the dawning realization that I was not yet truly free. (Protagonist is abandoned by friends and family) And so, with this new awareness, I once again turned to the genie of the lamp to ask for my second wish. (Protagonist now turns to more dangerous drugs falling deeper into addiction) “I wish for total and absolute freedom.” “Not bound to these mortal feelings.” “Not bound to petty thoughts of self-gain.” “Not bound by the cravings of the flesh.” “A type of freedom, where even my own consciousness, lies on the precarious balance between life and death.” (The protagonist resorts to illegal activities to finance his addiction) Of course, the genie delivered instantaneously. I reveled in my newfound freedom. I was totally free – so free that even thoughts of shallow pleasure could not bind me. Total and unconditional freedom; this is what I had achieved. (Protagonist walks through the city with a blank stare) Or so I thought… Within my enlightened form of consciousness, many thoughts… memories from a time when I was not so free, came flooding back to me. Happiness (Protagonist playing with friends) Failure (Protagonist losing in a competitive event) Dreams (Protagonist doing well in class) Comfort (Protagonist with family) and perhaps… even love. (Protagonist confessing to a girl he likes) But… I threw all these things away. (protagonist covering his tear-stricken face) I wanted to achieve total and absolute freedom and with the help of the magic lamp, I had achieved it. What right did I have to shed tears now? (Protagonist with a deranged smile with tears all over his face) Only then did the consequences of my decision hit me square in the face. I was so obsessed with the idea of obtaining “perfect freedom,” that I never realized all the loved ones, friends, family, blissful memories and wonderful encounters that I took for granted and had irreversibly shut out of my life. My so-called “freedom” came at a high price. And yet… I wanted them all back. It was selfish of me when I had done nothing but rely on the powers of the magic lamp to get where I was, but I now wanted to undo everything. I wanted to take back everything that I had thrown away in exchange for my “freedom.” I never knew… How much I would miss all the things that I used to believe were mere annoyances… until I lost them all. At that time, I had nothing left. Except for my third wish on that magic lamp. I had to make it count. It was my last chance after all. Summoning the genie, I asked. “Tell me. Is it possible to undo both of my previous wishes?” “No, I cannot take back what I have already granted.” “Then… all hope is lost.” “Not necessarily. There is one other option for you.” “And that would be?’ “I never told you this, but your current state of freedom is still imperfect. You are still bound by time, space and your foolish persistence in mortal thoughts. Allow me to grant you truly perfect freedom according to my own definition. You will be totally freed from the chains of your existence… that is to say… you will cease to exist.” “… I see…” (Protagonist contemplates suicide but doesn’t really attempt it.) This was a very hard decision for me to make – I can imagine it would have been just as hard for any other person who had been asked to literally wish for the end of his own life. And so, it seemed as if I had come to the end of my journey… after all, what other choice did I have? What indeed…? ……………. ………. …… … (protagonist enters a rehab center of his own volition) Or so it seems… But in the end, there was one other choice open for me. I knew it from the very beginning, but it was a choice I had been avoiding for eternity. It’s simple really. I just threw that stupid magic lamp away. And I never made my third wish… not to the genie, anyway. Slowly, but surely, I took back the life that I had thrown away; this time, with my own two hands and not with the help of some silly magic lamp. Of course, there were many struggles that still awaited me… but that’s a story for another day. (end flashback) Entering the familiar room, I am greeted with a piercing glare coming from a pair of dark-brown eyes belonging to an obviously disturbed young man. “Good morning, Sam. Shall we begin?” Sam looks me over suspiciously before managing a lackluster reply. “Yeah… anytime you’re ready, Dr. Leighton.” “Good… but before we begin…” I pause in mid-sentence and gauge Sam’s reaction. A curious boyish expression has replaced the formerly stern look on his face. “Let me tell you a story about a boy, a magic lamp, and the three important wishes that he had to make…” The End