Chapter 8: Proof Beyond Coincidence
That night, Lin Yuan could not fall asleep. Whenever he closed his eyes, he would only see those few minutes replaying.
The rain stopping. The sudden downpour beginning. The wind rising. The cloud passing the sun. The…The wind stopping the instant he had wished it to.
He had always been a man who believed in reason, that there was an explanation for everything in the world.
Perhaps it wasn't an explanation he could understand, but an explanation existed. And now… for the first time in his life, he could not find one.
The following morning, Lin Yuan skipped his routine of rushing into work. Instead, he sat at his desk, pulling out a notebook.
On the very first page, at the top, he wrote down one sentence: 'Possible explanations'
Following it, he brainstormed everything that popped into his head
Coincidence.
He stared at it, a small smile creeping onto his lips, before writing beneath it, 'Once. Probably. Twice if lucky.'
Weather forecast error.
He immediately crossed it out. "The forecast doesn't control the weather" he muttered. "It only predicts it."
Hallucination.
He scowled. "I was not imagining the rain" Other people were also being drenched.
He sighed, dropping the pen. None of it made sense. And frankly, that annoyed him more than it scared him. Lin Yuan had always prided himself on being a practical person.
'If Something was broken? You fixed it.'
'You didn't understand something? You studied it until you did.'
'You wanted more? You worked for it.'
It was simple. It was logical. And logic, however, required evidence.
One coincidence was not evidence. Neither were two. Even four could be written off as incredibly rare luck.
He needed certainty if he ever wanted to discover the truth.
By mid-morning, Lin Yuan found himself wandering through a quiet park on the riverside. Weekdays were usually less crowded, only a few elderly folks stretched and practiced their tai chi, while a number of fishermen stood by the riverbank.
It was perfect. No one would notice a young man intently gazing up at the sky. Lin Yuan settled onto a wooden bench at the base of a large, mature tree.
He folded his arms. "... One last time,"
He wasn't praying, nor was he making a wish. He just wanted to confirm that what he had witnessed the day before was indeed real.
A cool breeze rustled over the river, whispering through the leaves above his head. Lin Yuan watched, his focus intent.
"I wish the wind would stop," Almost immediately… the leaves became still. The ripples on the water stilled. Even the flags fluttering at a restaurant on the other bank hung limp.
The sudden silence felt unnatural. Lin Yuan slowly stood. His heart rate picked up.
"No…" he breathed. "...Do it again."
He swallowed. "Blow."
The stagnant air stirred. A gentle breeze returned, not strong or weak, just exactly as it had been a moment before.
Lin Yuan's mouth went dry and his hands trembled. He looked around frantically.
None of the other people present reacted. The fishermen still bobbed their floats, while the older couples continued their movements. It was as if the world itself considered this to be entirely natural.
Only he knew differently. He walked along the river for close to an hour, his thoughts were chaotic storms.
If someone had told him yesterday that they could control the weather...He would've recommended a hospital.
Now… he couldn't bring himself to laugh.
He stopped at the edge of a small bridge, the river flowing below. Several ducks paddled serenely in the water. Lin Yuan rested his hands on the railing.
"... Okay," his voice was a mere whisper. "If this is real..."
He tilted his head towards the west, gazing at the horizon. "...delay the sunset."
Nothing. He chuckled nervously. "Maybe that's asking too much."
He checked the time. Six twenty-five. His phone indicated that the sunset should occur in under fifteen minutes.
Lin Yuan continued to watch. Ten minutes ticked by. The sun was surprisingly high.
Twenty minutes. The sky should be beginning to turn orange. It still looked like late afternoon.
Pedestrians continued walking normally. Nobody seemed concerned.
Lin Yuan refreshed the weather application. Lin Yuan refreshed the weather application on his phone; the sunset time hadn't changed. He checked his watch. Six forty-nine.
Almost twenty-five minutes later. And then… slowly… very slowly… the sun began its descent. Golden light flooded the river.
Golden light spread across the river. The evening was here.
Just very, very late. Lin Yuan remained standing frozen on the bridge. He wasn't smiling anymore. He wasn't trying to explain anything anymore. He simply watched the sky.
His breathing deepened visibly. "It's real," he whispered before he even knew he had said it.
When he finally returned to his apartment, night had fallen on the city.
He skipped the television, ignored his laptop, and sat at his desk. His brass lamp sat in its usual position, cool to the touch. Lin Yuan reached out towards it, his fingers stopping an inch away.
"No," he pulled back.
"If that wasn't a dream...". He glanced at the lamp. "... I don't think touching you again is a good idea."
He leaned back, his mind a whirlwind.
'Could the lamp have controlled the weather?'
'Was someone playing an incredibly elaborate joke?'
'Was he part of some top-secret scientific experiment?'
Every possibility seemed more absurd than the last. For the first time in years… Lin Yuan had to admit something to himself.
"I have no idea," he whispered, and a suffocating silence fell around them, broken only by the whisper of the night breeze as it slipped through the open window and tugged at the city noise drifting in the distance.
Lin Yuan closed his eyes. He craved an answer. But wasn't sure he was ready for what it might be.
The brass lamp remained undisturbed on his desk, poised for movement, waiting patiently, as if the lamp already knew its owner would reach for it again.
Lin Yuan continued sitting there, long after the city had begun its nocturnal slumbers. The lamp sat within arm's length.
For the first time since bringing it back from Yunnan, he wasn't looking at it as an antique. It wasn't just a collectible to him. Now it was a question. And this question wouldn't be leaving him any time soon.
He pulled out his notebook, instead of scribbling a new theory, he started listing every recent event that had happened since returning from the cave.
'Found an old brass lamp.'
'Dreamed of a Genie.'
'Asked for ownership of the Earth as a joke.'
'The dream felt unusually real.'
'The lamp has always been warm.'
'Rain stopped after I casually wished for it.'
'Rain started after I wished for it.'
'Wind changed.'
'Sunset was delayed.'
He looked down at the last entry on the page.
He could just imagine another person's reaction,.= they would assume he was crafting the next big fantasy epic. Yet, every word on the page was an objective truth. Or at least… that's what he had experienced.
Closing his notebook, he mumbled to himself, "No, I'm missing something. There's definitely a piece I'm overlooking."
He was nowhere near accepting magic. Not yet.
The next morning, Lin Yuan called in sick for his delivery shift, an unexpected move in his almost year-long history with the company.
"Sick?" his manager exclaimed, sounding surprised.
"Sort of."
"Are you sure?"
"I am."
After hanging up, Lin Yuan instantly felt a surge of guilt. He loathed missing work, especially when his paycheck was the only thing keeping him afloat, but today... He needed the answer more than he needed the money.
He spent his day searching through libraries, online websites and dusty old articles, scouring through ancient lamps, Chinese mythological tales, and old Middle Eastern legends.
Nothing seemed to resemble to the relic he possessed. His searches closest resulted in articles detailing the mythical genies of bedtime stories.
Leaning back in his chair, Lin Yuan chuckled dryly. "Seriously?" he scoffed, closing the web browser, "That's totally useless."
By midday, frustration replaced the curiosity.
He stared at the brass lamp on his desk, its gleam mocking him.
"Either I'm going crazy..." he sighed, "...or you're much more than a piece of brass." He ran a hand through his hair, the lamplight illuminating the weary lines on his face. "I sound insane."
He got up and went to the kitchen to make a cup of coffee. In the process of filling the kettle, he stopped dead in his tracks. His gaze drifted back toward the desk... And the lamp.
A fleeting memory flickered behind his eyes – smoke, a towering ancient figure. The voice that spoke to him in his sleep… "Please state your first wish." Lin Yuan had just laughed it off as a dream.
What if... His heart rate accelerated, beating rapidly against his ribcage.
"No." He shook his head, denying the notion as absurd. "This is ridiculous"
He tried again to fill the kettle, but after thirty seconds gave up, leaving the kettle empty. Returning to his room, the lamp looked surprisingly ordinary in the afternoon sun.
He stood in front of the lamp for a moment before reaching out, his fingers brushing against the smooth brass. Still warm.
He hesitated, his fingers trembling slightly. "If this is not a dream..." he whispered, "There is only one way to truly know."
He cupped both his hands around the lamp and rubbed the surface gently.
One rub. Nothing. Two. Still nothing.
He exhaled in relief. "I knew-" but the thought died on his lips. The engravings adorning the lamp suddenly glowed with a soft golden light.
Lin Yuan 's eyes widened. "No..." A thin ribbon of blue smoke curled from the spout of the lamp, then another, spiraling upwards into the air and expanding into a familiar shape.
Lin Yuan instinctively backed away as a strange hush fell over the room, the blue smoke tightening until it formed golden. Golden eyes slowly opened.
The ancient figure emerged again. Tall and regal, his silvery hair cascaded as if caught by an unseen breeze. The lower half of his form dissolved into a swirling, vaporous mist connected to the lamp.
His eyes, now fully open, fixed on Lin Yuan.
With a profound gesture of respect, he bowed his head.
"My Master," he boomed, his voice calm and resonant as it had been in Lin Yuan 's dream. "It pleases me to see you again."
Lin Yuan could only stare, his lips moving, but no sound escaping. Everything he had steadfastly refused to believe in was now swirling peacefully in the middle of his apartment.
"This..." Lin Yuan choked out, swallowing hard, "...you're actually real."
"I have always been real, my Master," the Genie said serenely. "It was you who could not perceive it."
Lin Yuan 's legs gave way and he sank into his chair, letting out a hollow laugh, not out of mirth, but out of utter disbelief. "I… I thought I was dreaming," he admitted.
"Your exhaustion may have clouded your judgment," the Genie offered with a faint smile. "It is understandable."
A long pause ensued before Lin Yuan found his voice again. "So… did you… grant my wish?"
The Genie inclined his head in agreement. "I accepted your first wish exactly as commanded."
Lin Yuan 's brow furrowed. "I wished for ownership of the Earth."
"Correct," the Genie confirmed.
Lin Yuan 's eyes swept over his meager surroundings. "But… I don't own anything. I'm late on my rent. My fridge is basically empty. I still have to work deliveries tomorrow."
He gestured with an open hand. "How exactly am I the owner of the Earth?"
The Genie lowered his gaze. "I do not know."
Lin Yuan blinked. "... You don't know?"
"My duty is to grant the wish spoken by my Master; I possess no authority to question the result."
"So… you don't even have a clue as to what happened?" Lin Yuan asked, frustrated.
The Genie's expression shifted into something unusually contemplative. "I only know… that your wish was accepted."
Lin Yuan leaned back, the apartment suddenly feeling much more cramped. If the Genie was real… everything else had to be real too.
The unseasonal weather, the bizarre coincidences, the delayed sunset – none of it had been in his imagination.
Lin Yuan looked back at the Genie, his mind a whirlwind of questions.
'Where was he from?'
'How old was he?'
'How had the lamp found its way into the depths of a cave?'
But before he could choose the first question, a sudden, metallic "Ding!" echoed through the room.
Lin Yuan looked up, instinctively turning toward the source of the sound, only to find a translucent blue window materializing before his eyes. Text began scrolling across its surface.
Neither Lin Yuan … nor the Genie… had ever seen anything like it before.