Robert’s Mirror, Chapter 30, by J.M. Stevenson, www.jeannesbottle.com

In a sense I felt human once again. This feeling was not due to rebirth, but was the end result of a human perspective. The port for which I landed enabled me to view my surroundings through the eye of a person, gaze from the point of the left lens of mirrored sunglasses.

The day was magical, the sky crisp and nearly cloudless. The human and I rolled along in a Jeep that was lacking any overhead roof, a convertible. Although the ride was bumpy, there was a certain amount of thrill in the way the wind screamed havoc throughout.

We cruised into a parking lot swinging right to a narrow path behind a warehouse sized building. A sign came into view from above, the lettering faded after many years of facing the southern direction.

Plain Air Taxi, a fast, reliable service to O'Hare Field, Plain and Simple... Jeb Plain, pilot & owner.

The hangers were painted in an industrial gray with patches of exposed metal where the harsh winter conditions of the Midwest had eaten into the material. Rust had taken its toll and the row of buildings although structurally sound, appeared to be in dire need of a good sandblasting and paint job.

The driver of the Jeep parked the vehicle within an open hanger next to an airplane. The wings extended, nearly touching the fender at the front of the Jeep. Black stripes contrasted the bright yellow exterior of the Piper Cub.

The single engine, two seated aircraft stood in wait with its doors flapped open on the side of the body, reminding me of a kangaroo's pouch ready to carry a joey.

We swung from the Jeep and the pilot began a check of various fluids, dials and mechanics of the Piper Cub. As the pilot leaned forward, I flipped from his face and bounced several times stopping near a grease patch on the concrete floor. "Darn it!" The man said retrieving the glasses and brushing grit from the surface. His finger trailed over the lens where I was positioned as his mouth formed a contemplative pucker.

As he tilted the lenses to check for scratches, a full view of the man became apparent. My guess was that his age was somewhere in the mid thirties. He had the squint of a mischief and a mouth that seemed set in a permanent grin. Some humans were lucky that if life was stress free, their face reflected as such and I assumed that was the case for this man.

The man folded the arms of the sunglasses and placed them in his front pocket. No longer able to see, I listened intently as the pilot finished his preparations for flight.

Footsteps approached as another voice became audible. What I noticed, although the voices were from two different people, the tone and accent was similar.

"Ya need help gettin' her out of here?" The other man asked.

"Yeah, that'd be great. I'm almost through doing the flight check."

"Where 'r ya off to today?"

"I'm gonna cruise the sky! It's such a great afternoon; I thought I'd fly over the lake."

"Be careful!" The other man warned. "You know how upset dad was the last time... when the police came around looking for ya."

"The cops don't have a sense of humor, or a sense of adventure!"

"The nerve of you for landing in that farmer's field and then asking him if you could park there, you chopped down some of his corn, and toppled an immature spruce, ya can't blame him for calling the authorities to complain."

"I suppose not! What was I to do though? I was miles away from any airport and I needed a bathroom. I'll never make the mistake of too much coffee at breakfast again."

"You're a nervy son-of-a-gun, bro! When ya get back, I'll need some help going over the engine on that taxi plane over there."

"Still having problems with the fuel line?"

"Yep."

"Well I'm ready." The pilot announced.

"Okay Jack, let's tow her out." Pilot's brother responded.

I noticed the sound of the rocks crunching beneath the tires as the plane was dragged out the hanger door. I then distinguished the thuds, grunts and movement as the pilot climbed into the belly of the plane. A moment later, he yelled "Clear!"

With a jolting click, the engine sparked alive and the noise was ear-piercing.

The plane began to vibrate as I was lifted forward and positioned onto the pilots face. The earth shook with speed and fine strands of the pilot's hair pelted the sunglasses as we rolled down the runway.

The side door remained open and the pilot tilted his gaze towards the ground as the landscape zoomed past in a single elongated blur.

The plane began to lift and the feeling within the manmade flying machine was incredible! Although I was privy to the experience of flight without the use of a machine, I could sense the thrill of this pilot's experiences.

We circled the airport from above as the pilot waved down to his brother who stood at the hanger, wringing his greasy hands in a towel.

A moment later, the nose of the plane was pointed in the direction of the massive lake. I recognized the miniature skyscrapers in the distance as Chicago and I realized immediately that it was Lake Michigan we were destined to soar over.

The day was magnificent, just enough wind to make the plane shift with a slight turbulence, but not enough to cause concern. The pilot handled the plane with precision. The control panel before us did not appear too complex with only a minimal amount of dials and such. There was no steering wheel, but a stick for which Jack used to work the flaps.

After we were over the lake, the plane was guided downwards and we flew so low that I could nearly feel a fine kiss of moisture from the water. I had the sudden urge to extend my arm and touch the soothing current surrounding my fingertips as if I were riding on a boat. Ah to be human once again!

"Hello!" I screamed from the sun-glass lens. I was uncertain whether not being recognized was due to the fact that Jack couldn't hear me over the engine...or was it not the proper moment for the delivery of his wish?

In a swift movement the plane approached the dunes. There were sunbathers below, visible as miniature people. The rectangular blankets and towels lined the beach reminding me of an abstract checker board table cloth and the people, a cluster of pesky ants.

We flew very low overhead, then circled and repeated the process.

I felt a sense that the pilot was sporting a sly grin.

To my shock, upon the third pass, Jack landed the plane on the wet surface between the water line and the sand. With quick reflexes, the people who cluttered the path of the wings dove so that they would not be plowed over.

The pilot laughed as the plane thudded to a clumsy stop.

Unfastening his seat belt, Jack swung himself through the door and landed on the beach. A crowd formed gazing at the man with awe and fascination.

"Hi." He said with a chuckle. "It's a nice day for the beach."

Most people laughed in return, their disbelief of the daring pilot obvious.

I gazed throughout the crowd. Swimsuits seemed to cover less of the human body throughout the years. I thought back, recalling the fashionable swim outfit that Lizzy sported right along with matching stockings. I began to feel a sense of warmth when something familiar struck my attention. The three sand mountains on the opposite side of the aircraft...no, it wasn't possible, was it? Indeed it was!

The pilot had landed us along the shore of Three Corners. I nearly toppled once again, sliding down the slope of Jack's nose as he hunkered to unlace his shoes. Not going too far from his plane, he strolled along the sun baked sand, wriggling his toes as if the heat were as soothing as the currents of water just a few steps away. Our back was now to the dunes and I wanted nothing more than to steal a better look at the place where my human heart discovered it was alive. It had been too long since I was allowed a vacation and I missed my favorite hideaway.

Sirens began to echo in the distance. The pilot swung around with concern and I could sense our time on the waterfront was limited. The spectators followed Jack's gaze and in that instant, I caught a glimpse of a figure, though she seemed a bit translucent in the mid day sun. Was it a ghost?

I scanned the crowd at a feverish pace trying to home in on the unimaginable. Certainly my eyes were playing tricks on me. The possibility of a spirit being trapped out in the open was unheard of. Ghosts preferred the structure of a house, the familiarity of rooms to inhabit. On second thought, I did know of two cases where ghosts haunted the expanse of outdoors, but it was very rare and there seemed to be extenuating circumstances. When I was a boy my father spoke of a battle field near Tupelo Mississippi where it was known that soldiers were still fighting the civil war in the form of specters.

The other case I experienced first hand, during my trial period as a genie. I arrived in a mirrored scout button that had been stomped into the soil at a campground. From a perspective no larger than a dime, I took notice of a family who were gathered to share a holiday, taking the trip specifically to appreciate nature. There was a young boy with them, a child who seemed to be frightened by the dancing flames at night and moaned constantly about the shadows to which it cast. His name was Joshua and I assumed him to be the youngest family member. Although no one paid him the slightest bit of attention, he complained on various occasions of a horrible shadow surrounding him. Imagine my surprise to learn that the boy did not belong with the family after all, but was a sort of tag along.

Late one night, the father told of a child who had come up missing from that particular camp ground twenty five years previous. Everyone took the story as the traditional ghost story that most fathers share while roasting marsh mallows. Everyone that is, with the exception of Joshua, who released a terrifying scream then disappeared by sinking downwards into the layer of sand below. His lips contorted and a painful shriek echoed through the night as he sunk away from view. It wasn't until that moment that I realized he was not human after all, he was just an unfortunate soul forever trapped in the bizarre event that had claimed his life.

I wanted to study each and every face on the beach, each and every detail of the surrounding dunes. I was suddenly overcome with an overwhelming sense, it was as if, after traveling for thousands of miles I had reached home...and yet it wasn't being at that location that caused such a stir within. Somehow I sensed her presence sight unseen, somehow I believed...there was no way I could be wrong about something so important, about someone so incredible.

Where was she?

The pilot entered the plane as the police sirens intensified in sound, they were approaching. The pilot shouted, "CLEAR," as the engine sputtered and refused to turn over. "CLEAR!" He yelled again and on this attempt, the airplane jolted alive.

The crowd swung back as the aircraft began a slow roll. It was in that instant I saw not only with my eyes, but felt her presence with my heart as well. An unnatural beam of sunlight illuminated her with radiance.

"LIZZY!" I screamed, not believing my incredible luck to have finally located her.

I tried with every morsel of energy to dislodge myself from the lens of the aviator sun glasses. Oh the frustration to be cemented to an object at that particular moment.

No matter how I contorted, no matter how I wriggled, none of my known tricks worked... I was trapped in the assignment, trapped within the fate of wish giving. The only thing I could do was watch as the plane distanced itself from the love of my life.

Lizzy was not alone. The young man that she was with in the dark realm was posed next to her. Both figures watched with curiosity as the plane lifted from the beach. Lizzy cupped her delicate hand over her brow and her eyes seemed to focus on the sunglasses. Could she see me? Could she sense that I was there?

The young man placed his arm upon her shoulder and she averted her gaze towards him. I realize it shouldn't have been possible, but I resented his hand anywhere near her.

I’ll be back. I thought, as the beach disappeared from view. We were over the large body of water heading towards the steel mills. There was something sinister about the way the large chimneys hacked thick pollution into the air.

I no longer wanted anything to do with this assignment, I wanted release, and I needed to speak with Lizzy!

Think surf, sand and beach. Being demoted from team leader was the same as being ignored. Surf, sand and beach! Nothing happened in reply to my asking...there was no response, no teleport away from the lens. No possible way to alert anyone to the whereabouts of Elizabeth Fenmore.

"This really stinks!" I said with frustration.

Jack Plain gazed about with confusion. "I've heard of pilot's hallucinating after hours of staring at the horizon but I've never...."

"You're not hallucinating!" I managed full of hope.

"Okay." Jack said in a slow way. "This is some sort of a practical joke, right? Otis is finally getting even with me for not helping him with the maintenance check of the taxi planes on the weekends. Where's the hidden walkie talkie?" The pilot whined.

"It's nothing like that I assure you."

"Okay, I promise...no more stopping off at the saloon on Friday nights."

"I'm Robert, the wish-man Robert. I've leaped into your glasses here. I need you to do something totally unselfish for me. I'm supposed to offer you a wish, but this time I need your help instead."
"A wish?"

"The problem is...if I grant you a wish I'll be thrown back into another assignment and I'll lose track of Elizabeth Fenmore completely."

"Who's Elizabeth Fenmore?" Jack questioned.

I released a gasp. "Who is Lizzy? She has a reputation for trouble, and yet, I'd do anything just to return to her now, just to hold her forever."

"Anything?" The pilot asked.

"Sure."

Jack removed his glasses and in an instant his face contorted and shifted. His eyes were not blue after all; his eyes became the darkest shade of brown. In a moment he went from average good looks to a stunning model of a man. The figure was masked as Jack Plain, a clever costume concealing the being all genies feared, the one, the only, Lucas.

If I were human, I would have tossed my breakfast...panic.

Realizing my fear, Lucas began to chuckle.

"Enjoying the ride on this fine day?" Lucas' voice was deep, projecting through the noise of the engine.

"I've been watching you Mr. Wright....watching and waiting. I'll take you to see Elizabeth Fenmore. I'll take you because since she escaped, I can't seem to track her. You saw her back there didn't you? You saw her among the living on that Michigan beach at Three Corners?"

"No. She wasn't there!" I said, not doing a convincing job at concealing the truth.

"Oh...she was! I know Jeanne Wishgiven and that goody-goody Dwane-the-pain were there. I've got to have them back you see... I have a reputation, a reputation I must protect at all cost."

Lucas swung the aircraft into a sharp turn and the seemingly cloudless sky transformed into an immediate overcast.

He had positioned me on the rim above the control panel, placed me there so that I could view him eye to eye, male demon to male genie.

"I realize you have a thing for Jeanne Wishgiven, its sweet really. She's rather a good kisser if you know what I mean." Lucas said winking managing to plunge into my heart and take advantage of the resentment festering within.

"Lizzy would never kiss you! She's everything a genie strives to be and that is not a demon lover."

"Oh, ho, ho... Do I sense a tinge of jealousy from you wish-man?"

I nearly burst with frustration.

"This is simply delicious!" Lucas said with amusement. There was a pause as Lucas studied the gages before him.

"Every genie has a weakness, a material that they cannot transport from. You know what yours is Mr. Wish-man? The new mirrored glasses have polycarbonate plastic lenses. You sir, need to stick to another material as a base for your mirror. You are trapped, snared like a rabbit ready for slaughter."

"Well, here we are!" Lucas spat.

Through the side window I recognized Three Corners. My heart was breaking; I could not allow Lucas to force me into revealing Jeanne's whereabouts. I had to act, and to act without regard to my own safety.

Realizing I could not escape from the water below. (Each genie had one debilitating allergy and mine happened to be water.) Realizing my only chance to ever see Elizabeth Fenmore again would mean the end of her, I knew I had to do what needed to be done, regardless of the peril I would face.

With seventy yards until landing, I concentrated...I tapped into everything that I could possibly imagine. Just as soon as a cross-wind hit the plane, I mustered a surge of power. My heart was burning; my mind was imagining...green eyes, a coy smile, the essence of refinement...Elizabeth Fenmore strolling along Main Street with her mother. I relished the image, I pretended the wind from that day many years ago, was one and the same with the gusts circling me in present day.

In an instant I flipped from my position and hurled through the open door. "I'm Free!" I shouted, not caring that my reality was that of certain doom. Lucas realizing my plan, extended his arm, but he was a second too late. Missing his fingertips, I dove managing a final glimpse of the beaten expression clouding Lucas' face. The powerful demon was wearing the expression of failure. I reveled in the victory during the whirling plunge to my demise.

"NO!" I heard him scream, his deep voice mixing into thunder from the storm clouds above.

I never learned how to swim as a boy and it was certainly regrettable in this moment. Perhaps this human fact was the reason why water was known to zap all of my power.

I entered Lake Michigan with a quick splash.

Gazing upwards, I noticed the bright yellow aircraft circling above distorted through the layer of choppy water. The way the plane soared reminded me of seagulls searching for fish. Inch by inch I sunk further into the massive pit of water eventually landing on the bottom. The temperature was freezing cold at the extreme depth even though the season was in the prime of summer.

There was tranquility on the floor of Lake Michigan. With bubbles, fish, and the absence of light I suddenly felt a pang of solitude. It wasn't such a bad way to end up was it? If this was my world for eternity, I would surrender to it and accept my fate.

The only thing that made the entire experience worthwhile was realizing the fact that Elizabeth Fenmore had escaped! With every ounce of instinct I knew she'd be a power to reckon with. Just grasping hope that she would go on to fight the good fight and she above all genies stood the chance of victory against Lucas, made my sacrifice a small price to pay in the end. I released a burst of nervous laughter feeling the short lived pride of victory. Eventually I succumbed to the reality of forever alone and at the bottom of Lake Michigan. In victory I somehow spiraled downwards into defeat.