head, overcome by weariness and grief. ‘‘I am a warrior, but I am also a man. You might say I began to fall apart.’’
He sat there on the stool an arm’s length away from Hildy. He wasn’t a vision, a hologram, or a dream. Hildy felt confused. The situation was fantastical, but this man had feelings, a past, a life. He was undeniably real. She groped for an explanation. ‘‘Tell me again, you were in the bottle and you’re a genie? How can that be?’’
‘‘I don’t care much to talk about it,’’ he said and sighed. ‘‘But to give you the short version of a long story: I was to be executed— You wish to know why?’’ He paused as Hildy made a noise and held up her hand like a stop sign.
‘‘Yes, yes, I would. Why don’t you give me the unabridged version? I think I need to hear it.’’
The genie gave another deep sigh, and his eyes got a faraway look. ‘‘It was a case of being blinded by love, I suppose. I had been in Judea for some time when I met a beautiful woman near a well where she waited for an elderly servant to fetch her a drink. She was a lovely thing with flashing eyes and a smile that made my heart race. Her hair was black and interwoven with jewels. She smelled of sandalwood and she dressed in silks.’’ His voice trailed off and he smiled at the memory. Then he continued.
‘‘I looked at her longingly and she looked back. I ventured a greeting. She responded in kind, and with her first words, I was smitten. I approached closer. I took her hand and brought it to my lips. She didn’t resist. In fact, I felt her quiver when I kissed her palm. I suggested that, if she was thirsty, we could visit a nearby tavern and have some wine together. She giggled and said she couldn’t possibly.
‘‘I dropped her hand and bowed. I turned to leave. Her voice stopped me. Perhaps I could come back to her rooms, she whispered just loud enough for me to hear. She had some very fine wine there. I couldn’t believe my luck.
‘‘And I shouldn’t have believed it. Her rooms were in the palace of Herod the Great, a blood-thirsty tyrant—’’
‘‘I’ve heard of him,’’ Hildy interrupted. ‘‘He’s the king of Judea who ordered every child under two who lived near Bethlehem to be murdered. He feared the Messiah, said to have been born there, would usurp his throne. What a monster.’’
Tony G. nodded in assent. ‘‘You don’t know the half of it. He had an obsession with threats to his kingship. Just the year before my own, er, situation, he had executed two of his own sons because he thought they were planning to overthrow him.’’
Hildy’s eyes got bigger. She urged the genie to get on with his tale.
‘‘As I was saying, I retired to the rooms of this alluring young female. She ordered wine to be brought, along with some meats and fruit. We ate, we drank, we talked for a while. I told her of my life. She said little of hers, but I was too dazzled to notice her reticence.
‘‘Finally she dismissed her servant, leaving us alone in her chamber. We kissed. We . . . well, we got to know each other better. Dusk fell. The room filled with shadows. I had stayed too long, but I lay there in a stupor. I was intoxicated with more than wine and careless when I should have been cautious.
‘‘The lady’s servant reappeared suddenly, throwing aside the curtains that surrounded the bed. The old hag warned that Herod was approaching. I must flee. I grabbed my sword and my toga. I was in the act of putting on my sandals when the palace guards crashed into the room and seized me.
‘‘King Herod himself came in behind them. ‘Kill him,’ he said without any emotion. ‘Bring me his head on a platter,’ he added.
‘‘The sweet lady’s hair was a mass of tangled curls and her feet were bare—as was the rest of her, to tell the truth. She threw herself at the king, falling to her knees before him. I didn’t see what followed because the guards were dragging me away.
He sat there on the stool an arm’s length away from Hildy. He wasn’t a vision, a hologram, or a dream. Hildy felt confused. The situation was fantastical, but this man had feelings, a past, a life. He was undeniably real. She groped for an explanation. ‘‘Tell me again, you were in the bottle and you’re a genie? How can that be?’’
‘‘I don’t care much to talk about it,’’ he said and sighed. ‘‘But to give you the short version of a long story: I was to be executed— You wish to know why?’’ He paused as Hildy made a noise and held up her hand like a stop sign.
‘‘Yes, yes, I would. Why don’t you give me the unabridged version? I think I need to hear it.’’
The genie gave another deep sigh, and his eyes got a faraway look. ‘‘It was a case of being blinded by love, I suppose. I had been in Judea for some time when I met a beautiful woman near a well where she waited for an elderly servant to fetch her a drink. She was a lovely thing with flashing eyes and a smile that made my heart race. Her hair was black and interwoven with jewels. She smelled of sandalwood and she dressed in silks.’’ His voice trailed off and he smiled at the memory. Then he continued.
‘‘I looked at her longingly and she looked back. I ventured a greeting. She responded in kind, and with her first words, I was smitten. I approached closer. I took her hand and brought it to my lips. She didn’t resist. In fact, I felt her quiver when I kissed her palm. I suggested that, if she was thirsty, we could visit a nearby tavern and have some wine together. She giggled and said she couldn’t possibly.
‘‘I dropped her hand and bowed. I turned to leave. Her voice stopped me. Perhaps I could come back to her rooms, she whispered just loud enough for me to hear. She had some very fine wine there. I couldn’t believe my luck.
‘‘And I shouldn’t have believed it. Her rooms were in the palace of Herod the Great, a blood-thirsty tyrant—’’
‘‘I’ve heard of him,’’ Hildy interrupted. ‘‘He’s the king of Judea who ordered every child under two who lived near Bethlehem to be murdered. He feared the Messiah, said to have been born there, would usurp his throne. What a monster.’’
Tony G. nodded in assent. ‘‘You don’t know the half of it. He had an obsession with threats to his kingship. Just the year before my own, er, situation, he had executed two of his own sons because he thought they were planning to overthrow him.’’
Hildy’s eyes got bigger. She urged the genie to get on with his tale.
‘‘As I was saying, I retired to the rooms of this alluring young female. She ordered wine to be brought, along with some meats and fruit. We ate, we drank, we talked for a while. I told her of my life. She said little of hers, but I was too dazzled to notice her reticence.
‘‘Finally she dismissed her servant, leaving us alone in her chamber. We kissed. We . . . well, we got to know each other better. Dusk fell. The room filled with shadows. I had stayed too long, but I lay there in a stupor. I was intoxicated with more than wine and careless when I should have been cautious.
‘‘The lady’s servant reappeared suddenly, throwing aside the curtains that surrounded the bed. The old hag warned that Herod was approaching. I must flee. I grabbed my sword and my toga. I was in the act of putting on my sandals when the palace guards crashed into the room and seized me.
‘‘King Herod himself came in behind them. ‘Kill him,’ he said without any emotion. ‘Bring me his head on a platter,’ he added.
‘‘The sweet lady’s hair was a mass of tangled curls and her feet were bare—as was the rest of her, to tell the truth. She threw herself at the king, falling to her knees before him. I didn’t see what followed because the guards were dragging me away.
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