The worn, tired looking man sat under a tree along a road, staring at the cobblestone street in front of him. The rain was pouring now and this tree was the only shelter he could see nearby.
How did I get here? He wondered as he brushed his stringy blonde hair out of his eyes.
I can’t remember anything. Why am I traveling on this street? No, no let’s try something simpler. What is my name? …I don’t even remember my own name?!
The man glanced around for any signs of civilization again but in the darkness all he could see was this road leading off into the distance. He pulled his coat more tightly around his body to fight off the cold.
Well isn’t this just fantastic, stuck in the middle of a downpour, and I can’t remember how I got here or where I was going.
He reached into his pockets but they were empty, save for a bit of lint and a handkerchief.
I must be going mad! I-
A grave female voice, cracked with age interrupted his thought.
“And what will your third wish be, my boy?”
The man jumped from his sitting position and turned around quickly. The old woman was also standing under the tree, she was dressed in dark blue robes and her face was hidden in the shadow of a hood.
“My third wish? What about my second, or even my first? Are you some kind of genie who forgot to count?” The man asked in a confused tone.
“Why, of course… you don’t remember. You see, you and I have already met. I offered you three wishes in return for a small favor. You agreed, but with your second wish you asked me to return everything to its previous state before we had met. I did so, and now you have one final wish remaining.”
“Now hold on, what favor did I agree to do for you?” The man asked indignantly.
The old woman laughed, what made the sound so eerie was not how well the laugh fit her appearance, but the dissonance. It was beautiful, a pure laugh, as though from a child.
“We hadn’t discussed our terms as of yet.” She replied. “And you’ve still yet to make your third request.”
The old woman shifted herself upon her cane and waited expectantly.
“Alright, woman,” He snapped cruelly. “Tell me who I am, why I am here…what is my name?”
The old woman began to laugh softly, with that youthful beautiful laugh, as she began to prepare her magic.
“What’s so funny, woman, I can’t remember any of those things.. just do it!” The young man snapped.
She replied in her cracking voice, so different from the sound of her laughter. “No… it isn’t that. It’s just, you asked for the same thing with your first wish.”
(adapted from a conversation in Planescape: Torment, to be continued, maybe.)