He sat alone,
a single rose and a diamond gleaming at his feet,
beside him a woman of rare beauty,
and around him his own island, untouched by time.
Everything he had ever wanted,
everything he once dreamed of,
was now his.

But why did he feel so empty?

The genie had granted his three wishes:
Riches beyond measure.
A stunning princess to call his own.
A paradise to rule in solitude.

Yet he had forgotten the most crucial wish
he had not asked for youth, nor for health,
nor for joy to fill the hollow spaces of his soul.

What good were diamonds
if his bones ached and heart faltered?
What use was the beauty beside him,
if love could not find its way into his tired eyes?
What comfort did the sand bring,
when no footsteps came to share it?

The woman watched him from a distance,
bewitched and puzzled
how could a man have so much
and still look so lost?

And so he sat,
on that golden beach,
surrounded by the glittering results of his desires,
haunted by a twist of fate
and the silence of a wish
poorly spent.