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Nadia Ali by N. Ali

Once there lived a man with his wife and three children. He worked as a fisherman, but this was not making enough money to support his family. Everyday he would set out just before the sunrise to cast his nets along the seashore and yet everyday he would come home with a small amount of fish. He promised himself that he would not cast his nets more than four times a day ...

Read Nadia Ali's bio and her mythic story

Nadia Ali

BIO

Nadia Ali is Freelance Writer who resides in the Caribbean Island of Trinidad. She began her freelance writing career as an online greeting card writer. This gave her a niche market, sense of security and time to work on her own children’s book series, which have yet to be published! She presently writes for multiple genres from children, parenting, art and travel.

She was inspired to become a writer by gaining second place in a writing contest she entered as a child. Since then she has always seen herself with a choice of two careers either by her love for writing by becoming a writer or her love for art by becoming an illustrator at Disney. Needless to say which one eventually worked out.

She enjoys writing as she finds it gratifying to enlighten others - so to speak, by sharing words, experiences, opinions, information and good reading material.

Nadia Ali can be reached at nadia@freelance-worker.com

WRITING SAMPLE

Once there lived a man with his wife and three children. He worked as a fisherman, but this was not making enough money to support his family. Everyday he would set out just before the sunrise to cast his nets along the seashore and yet everyday he would come home with a small amount of fish. He promised himself that he would not cast his nets more than four times a day otherwise he would never spend time with his family.

In the early darkness of the morning, he cast his net upon the glistening water. He felt a heavy weight therein. Feeling excited, he pulled in the net in anticipation, hoping to find a big catch of fish. Instead there was the carcass of a donkey tangled in the net. The fisherman was very disappointed, especially as the carcass had torn the net in several places. Still driven by his need to earn a living he sat on the seashore and repaired the net.

The fisherman walked to another part of the seashore where the sea rippled as if there were fish. He cast out his net and again he felt a heavy weight in it. This time the fisherman was worried that he caught yet another useless object. Hauling in the net, hoping to be wrong he found a large basket, which was full of rubbish. The fisherman grew annoyed at this and began to moan aloud, with that he threw away the rubbish and cast his net for the third time in another part of the rippling seawater.

This time nothing but mud and shells did he catch. Feeling sad and loosing hope he walked even further along the shoreline, but as he pulled the net closer there was a hand sized, yellow vase, which seemed to contain something. The fisherman picked it out from amongst the fish and stared at it curiously. It was properly sealed, so he assumed it to have a precious object of some sort inside. "I will sell the pot and the contents in the market and buy wheat for my family." He said softly to himself as he took out his knife to pry the lid open, which popped off with ease revealing nothing inside. Feeling disappointed he set it down, only to see a thick cloud of smoke rise up out of the yellow pot, shadowing over a great part of the sea. The thick smoke assembled to form a genie, which was bigger than anything the fisherman has ever seen before. Unable to run due to his fear he stood and watched as the figure hovered over him.

"Great king of the genie," said a towering genie with folded arms of muscle and a cloud of smoke as legs. "I have returned." He continued "I will grant you one wish and one wish only, choose the manner in which you shall die!"

The fisherman stood in amazement with mouth open and eyes fixed on the genie. "Die?" The fisherman said in hushed tones.

"You, speak with more intensity so that I may hear your words!" Echoed aloud the genie. "Kill me! Why are you going to kill me genie I am the one who set you free." Said the Fisherman beginning to fear the presence of the genie more and more.

"Although you have set me free I will grant you only one desire and that would be to choose the way in which you must die, " insisted the genie as he continued. "Many, many years ago I protested against my king of the genie and as punishment he sealed me in a copper vase and threw it into the sea. I vowed then that if anyone should find the vase of copper and release me from its magic spell before the first hundred years completed I would grant the finder wealth beyond any wealth known to mankind. But alas, the first hundred years passed.

For the next hundred years should anyone who find the vase of copper and release me form its magic spell I vowed to grant the finder treasures of an imaginable amount. But again that never happened. I then vowed if after three hundred years of being locked in that darkened vase someone let me out I would make him a king and grant him three wishes daily. Since then to now I have remained in that vase for more than five hundred years. My vows of prosperity and good will to the person who should free me turned bitter. I then vowed that whoever releases me from that point on from the vase I would immediately only grant him the way in which he wanted to die." With that the genie finished his story and stared down at the fisherman. "Today you have freed me so today I shall kill you. How shall you die?’ He asked

The fisherman was feeling fearful of the genie that towered above him. His very tone sent a tremble though the fisherman’s bones.

"But genie, most powerful genie" He added as not to upset him again. "I beg of you, spare my life oh genie"

The genie looked down at the fisherman who expressed much sadness and whose face was filled with gloom.

"You are wasting my time Fisherman. Now choose how you wish to die!" He said with increasing volume.

The fisherman began to panic realizing that the genie was not going to pardon his life. Quickly thinking he thought of a way to trick the genie.

"Before I choose how I shall die it cannot be true that such a magnificent genie such as yourself could possibly fit into a small vase as that. I do not believe that you can even fit half way into that vase"

"It is true that I came from such a small vase did you not see when the thick smoke came from it, for that was me!" he replied with pride at having being called such a magnificent genie. "Surely, this cannot be true?" repeated once again the fisherman.

The genie so wanted to prove that he had indeed come from the vase that he turned himself into the thick smoke and went back into the vase.

"Ah! You see Fisherman; I the magnificent genie can surely fit into such a small vase. Now choose the way you wish to die!" he called out from inside the vase.

"No, O tiny genie!" He said quickly replacing the enchanted lid back onto the top of the vase, sealing the genie inside.

"I will throw you back into the water that brought you to me and I shall warn all other fisherman not to open your vase. You are a most wicked genie, who is not a faithful believer other wise you would never vow to kill one who sets you free," stated the fisherman as he held down the enchanted lid on the vase.

The genie replied, "Fisherman, surely you did not believe me when I said I would kill you. I was not serious. Of course I shall repay you for setting me free. I shall be your guardian" The genie waited in silence for a response from the fisherman, who said softly "My God is most sufficient for me, and He is the most excellent Guardian". With that the genie felt a swaying motion as the fisherman threw the vase back into the waters of the sea. It took its course in the water becoming lodged by rocks never to surface again. From that day on the fisherman would only need to cast his nets twice a day, for they would be full of fish to support his family.