I encountered the Djinn where the desert met the night, its form shifting like smoke caught in a wind that did not exist. It offered no commands, no curses, and no miracles, only choices. With every path it revealed, another quietly disappeared into the darkness.
Many fear the Djinn for the power it possesses, but they misunderstand its true nature. It does not create destiny; it merely exposes the countless roads already hidden within us. The burden of deciding which one to walk has always belonged to the traveller.
I left the dunes with the unsettling realization that fate is often the name we give to the consequences of our own decisions. The Djinn is not a keeper of wishes, but a mirror reflecting the weight of free will.
The Smoking Djinn