Chapter 7: Testing the Impossible
The rain went on for about another 15 minutes, and then gradually eased to a light drizzle. Lin Yuan sat on his scooter under the shelter of the convenience store, gazing at the wet street.
It was the timing that bugged him. Not that it rained Summer showers were common in Chongqing.
But he had wished the rain would stop that morning, and it had. Hours later, he'd wished for rain again, and here it was.
"... I'm overthinking this," he muttered to himself, chuckling softly and shaking his head.
There were billions of people on earth; there must have been someone who wished for sun every day, and someone who wished for rain. It wasn't a delivery rider controlling the weather.
The traffic light ahead flashed green, and Lin Yuan started his scooter, finished his deliveries without another thought or so he tried.
That evening, Lin Yuan returned home exhausted. After showering, he made himself a bowl of tomato and egg noodles and sat in front of his laptop.
Instead of watching the usual business lectures he reviewed in the evenings, he found himself typing "How accurate are weather forecasts?" into the search bar.
One article discussed sudden changes in weather models, another talked about mountain winds and localized storms; a third discussed the rapid development of summer rain clouds.
Lin Yuan nodded as he read "See?" Lin Yuan said to himself, nodding as he read. "There's always an explanation."
Blushing at his own vivid imagination, he closed the browser. As he went to bed.
His eyes landed on the brass lamp sitting on the desk. Exactly where it always was. Silent and still.
"You almost had me believing something impossible," he chuckled.
"Good night."
The next morning, cool for once, Lin Yuan had a day off. He planned to spend it reading before visiting a few antique stores to ask about the lamp. He brewed himself a cup of coffee and took it to the small balcony outside his apartment, where the sky was dotted with fluffy white clouds.
A gentle breeze whistled past. Perfect weather. "At least today's forecast can't be wrong," Lin Yuan said to himself, leaning against the railing and checking his phone. 'Sunny all day.'
"See?" he grinned. "Everything's normal again."
He took another sip of coffee. And then… an absurd thought popped into his head.
If yesterday really wasn't a coincidence… "No." Lin Yuan laughed at himself. "This is stupid."
He looked at the clouds again. "... What if the wind got a little stronger?" he whispered.
He wasn't really asking anything, he was just curious. Nothing happened for a few seconds.
"Knew it," Lin Yuan said, turning back towards the apartment. But just then… A sudden gust of wind whipped through the balcony, his shirt billowed violently, and a potted plant teetered and then tipped to the side, before he caught it. Dry leaves swirled into the air as the gentle breeze turned into a strong gale.
Lin Yuan froze, watching the trees on the street bend noticeably, their branches lashing. Passersby grabbed their hats as they flew off their heads. The wind lasted nearly half a minute before it slowly subsided, and the air was still again.
Lin Yuan stood, dumbfounded.
"... No." he breathed, looking around the empty balcony. "... There's no way."
His heart started hammering in his chest. One coincidence – okay. Two – maybe. Three… impossible.
He walked back into the apartment, put the coffee down, and started pacing. "There has to be a reason."
Weather patterns changed naturally, the timing only seemed strange because he was paying attention. He needed something undeniable, something so absurd that he couldn't dismiss it.
Lin Yuan stopped walking. Then laughed out loud. "I can't believe I'm even considering this."
Half an hour later, he was sitting on a bench in a nearby park
Children were swinging on the swings. Retired couples were doing tai chi beneath the trees. A vendor was roasting sweet potatoes at the entrance of the park.
Everything looked…normal. Lin Yuan looked up. High in the blue sky, there wasn't a single cloud.
He took a deep breath. "If…" he whispered. "…If yesterday wasn't just a coincidence…" "Then," he continued in almost inaudible voice, "then let a cloud pass over the sun."
Silence. Nothing happened. Five seconds. Ten.
Lin Yuan smiled stiffly. "I knew…"
Then, a white cloud slowly drift into the sky. It came directly in front of the sun. The sunlight immediately softened. The park became comfortably shaded. Several people looked up.
"Finally," one old man smiled, "I can't stand the sunlight."
The cloud stayed for almost a minute before drifting off.
The bright sunlight came back. Lin Yuan's smile vanished. "Impossible."
He looked around. No one else looked up, let alone surprise. For them, in the park… it was just a cloud passing over.
Only Lin Yuan knew that just now, he had spoken and his request had come true. His throat was instantly dry.
He walked home much slower than usual, each step feeling heavier than the last. His brain raced to find another explanation.
Luck?, Coincidence?, Probability?
Anything. But they all crumbled in the face of a simple, devastating fact 'He had imagined something. And then it happened.'
Not just once. Not twice. But Three times.
He unlocked the apartment door and stepped in. The room seemed unusually silent.
His eyes involuntarily fell on the brass lamp on his desk. It sat where it always sat, unmoving, innocent. He stared at it, hard.
Memories flooded his mind of the last week: blue smoke, a floating man… "My Master," a voice said. A wish. "Owner of Earth."
Lin Yuan swallowed. "…No." He shook his head hard. "I still don't believe in genies."
But he couldn't deny it anymore. Slowly, he walked to the window. Outside, the breeze was gently rustling the leaves of the trees. He looked at the sky.
Then closed his eyes. "One last test. A very simple one…Let the wind stop!"
The leaves outside stopped moving. Not gradually.
Abruptly. The air became completely still. Even the laundry hanging on the neighbors' balconies ceased to flutter.
Lin Yuan opened his eyes. His breathing was uneven. A chill ran down his spine. It was the first time since returning from Yunnan that he wasn't looking for another explanation.
Because there wasn't one. He looked back at the lamp. It was silent. Still. But… it didn't look like just another antique anymore.
Lin Yuan sat slowly at his desk. Only one question echoed in his mind
"If that wasn't a dream… then who was that Genie?"