He had no living family and he was a man, often alone. At night John was a cleaner, scrubbing and picking bearglasses. In the daytime..he dreamt of a trip round the world. He did odd jobs on a yellow river barge, on which he also sleeped. The name of the ragged ship was Linda. The river had allways been and was forever his home.
The canal was a lively place, the water held various and shifting depth and a strange power of life and death. A shadowy strange mist sometimes took a soul, a life. Some one drowned in the black waters, secretely bound to the tide-mystery round the moon. It took people and many drowned in the night current that pulled them to the bottom of the river and deep into the black waves, never to return.
A late night the fog covered Linda and it was so warm John slept on top.
Two dark figures dropped a sack in the water. As John reached the sack he felt something moving inside, like an animal.
when he opened the sack he was chocked! It was no animal, it was a man! A shaggy dirty, but very thankful dwarf.
Me name is Chuckleton the man said and gave John an old lantern from the bottom of the sack with a broken glass. strangely shining as though it was all brand new.
-It is magic he says, -the lamp I mean and holds a hundred thousand wishes.
John didnt believe him ofcourse and gave him a strange look, like -yeah right!! Mr Chucklton seemed suddenly dry back on land and his clothes and seemed suddenly very much cleaner than coming from the dirty canal just a minute ago. Before he disappeared into the foggy night and sleeping harbour-town he whispered..If U use the lantern for the benefit of others...it will benefit all people you meet. There is a price however...ssshahaha he laughed and was among the harbor-houses and beershanks so fast John never really saw which way he went.
A fortnight of rainy days later a storm brew and awaked slowly breaking boats, houses and drowning men outside the pier.
Prayers inside and outside the human heart begged for a release from the storm and as John thought reached for his lantern Linda where just holding on and her masts where about to break and her body crushed against the harbor walls. As he lit the the old broken wick, he said a prayer and the sea was calmed and the storm eased off. A light of shadowy vales filled the room and he could feel a presence and he was no longer alone. A little girl stood for a few seconds before him and asked what is your wish? U must choose something for yourself as well as this part of reality. What is ur wish?
This was the first time he lit the lantern and the coming days after he began to feel very different inside.