Crunch, the gravel groans beneath my shoe-clad feet as I stumble deeper into the forest.
It's darker tonight than what it was just two nights ago. I should've used my head, obviously the moon won't stay full; at least it's generous enough to relieve my eyes of the pitch black darkness associated with a winter's night.
I force my feet to halt and look up at the moon who is confidently following my every move. With a slight nod I thank the crescent for its generosity.
See, the moon and I have a pretty good relationship, even though she never bothers to talk to me. She's a good listener nonetheless; she never judges me and is always there when I feel the need to let my burdens out of their heavily guarded prison.
A slight smile creeps onto my face; I would be crazy if the moon had refused to capture my escaped prisoners as my brother had done years before. I should probably get a move on, before the cold air attacks my exposed fingers and tints them purple.
My eyes meet with the shadows residing on this eerily silent fraction of earth; the silence does not unsettle me, in fact it does the opposite. I will my legs forward. Silence is frightened, so much so that it dissolves a portion of itself into the shadows to create space for sound.
The familiar sound of my feet befriending the ground greedily snatches the now vacant section where Silence once existed. My ears endure the boasting of the singular noise until it gets tainted with another, unfamiliar sound. The tip of my shoe has strayed off its path and befriended something that sounds metallic.
I dare to look down, my eyes examine the brass object half barried beneath a pile of fallen leaves. With a tentative hand I push the deceased leaves off the unidentified object.
It isn't heavy, nor is it light. It definitely isn't new, I can tell so much from its lack of shine. With the object in hand I move back a few steps, welcoming the dim glow the moon is offering me.
Upon examination I conclude the object looks like a genie lamp. I can't help but laugh at my finding; there's no such thing as a genie, but my youthful side possesses my being. My eyes fall closed and I feel my fingers connect with the side of the cold metal; the contrast between my bodily heat and the sharp cold of the metal battle for dominance creating a dull sting beneath my fingertips. Without hesitation I begin to rub the area where my fingers lay.
Wish one, I voice in my head, is that the moon be given a voice; the only concistancy in my life; my only trustworthy friend.
      Wish two, my mind speaks, is happiness. Everyone in this world deserves to experience the emotion, to feel content with themselves- even if it's only momentarily.
      Lastly, wish three- at this point I'm not even thinking about what I'm saying- is equality. I wish for people to start seeing that we are all the same; yes we may have physical and psychological differences, but at the end of the day we're all human beings.
      Just because you have a lighter or darker skin tone does not give you permission to suppress another person. You can't decide the importance of another life based off your own flawed thinking.
      At the end of the day not one person is more important than the other; gender, race or religion does not define your importance or where you lie in the "ranking order" of life. It does not give you the right to abuse or suppress another just because you were forced into having this fucked-up mindset that your "social status" or "importance" is determined before you even learn to talk.
      Race, religion, gender and wealth are all meaningless name tags we place on ourselves and others, yet they do not define you or your importance- we are all the same. We all start and end at the same place, experience the same emotions just at different times within out lives.
      I release a cloud of carbon dioxide from my lungs then open my eyes. I look down at the lamp in my hands and laugh once, twice and a third time before mumbling to myself, "Wouldn't it be grand if this were real," I shake my head slightly. "All fools dream I guess."
      With one last airy laugh, I return to my neglected journey. Silence returns from its tea break, making peace with the sound emitted by my feet.
      As I near the end of my journey I rest the lamp onto a nearby bolder. "This is where we part ways, Lamp." I look down at the dormant lamp staring up at me. "May you lure another fool, perhaps smarter than what I am, and grant him or her access to your benefits." I can't help the underlining sarcastic tone drenching my words. I give the lamp a nod of respect -as a way of greeting- and look up at the sky one last time before returning home.
      I turn on my heels and complete my journey. As I open my cabin door, I allow myself to hope. A part of me believes that there is a genie living in the lamp, but I was not worthy of the three wishes it has to offer, but one day soon the one worthy of the wishes will find the lamp and the world shall become a better place, until then I will live my life in solitude away from the flawed mindset of the uneducated imbeciles I am forced to call my peers.