In a far away land, where fairytales such as mermaids and genies exist, a young boy sat beside a body covered in a blanket. There were tears running down his filthy face. No one seemed to notice him, but that was okay. He didn't want anybody to bother him. He wanted to spend as much time as he could with his mother . . . or what was left of her.

Hesitantly, he reached down and pulled the blanket away to reveal her face. He could barely recognize her, she was so covered in the boils and scars that the plague had left her with. He bit his lip as the tears started to come faster, and he hugged his legs to his chest and sobbed into his knees. She was really gone. At first he hadn't known why she had locked herself in their tiny closet, but as her voice grew more course, and weaker with everyday, he understood. The sickness that was terrorizing Agrabah had found it's way to Aladdin's mother. So, he spent all of his time sitting by the wooden door of the closet, talking to her. He fretted briefly about how he was to get food to her, but his mother told him not to worry, that she would be out of the closet soon. And she was right. Three days later she was dead. Dragged out of the closet by her son when she didn't answer his call; shaken and cried over when she didn't wake up. Cursed and shouted at for leaving, and dragged once more, but his time out of the hut so that the dead-collectors wouldn't get her. But her body was so heavy, and the boy was weighted down with sorrow so much that he gave up trying to hide her, and covered her with an old blanket to give her some semblance of a funeral.

Looking down at his mother's face, Aladdin covered it up once more and stood. He couldn't stay here any longer. He could only take looking at his mother's corpse for so long.

Aladdin looked down at the covered figure of his mother, and he turned and ran. He gasped for air and blinked rapidly to stop the tears from blurring his vision. However, the tears only came more rapidly, and Aladdin ran blindly. He tripped over a stone, and as he fell to the ground he vomited. What a pitiful sight he must have been: a five year-old boy upchucking and crying.

Once he had gotten his stomach under control, Aladdin wiped his mouth and rubbed the tears from his eyes. He looked around and saw that he had somehow ended up on the shore. He walked over to a rock overlooking the sea and kneeled down, looking at his reflection. His mother had always said that he would grow up to be a handsome man, but Aladdin only saw a plain five-year-old boy, with dark tear-streaked cheeks, sad brown eyes, and messy black hair.

Just then, the water rippled, and the image changed. It transformed into a girl about his age, with long flaming red hair, big blue eyes, and pale skin. The girl rose up from out of the water until her face was inches away from Aladdin's. He sat still, transfixed as she raised her pale hand up to his face, and touched his cheek. When she pulled away her hand, on her finger was a single tear. She stared at the tear in wonder.

"You're leaking," she said.

"I'm crying," Aladdin said, putting his hand to wear she touched his cheek.

"I know that! Why is water coming from you're eyes, though?" the girl asked.

Aladdin thought about this for a while.

"I think it helps get rid of grief." Aladdin said.

The girl nodded. "That makes sense. I just wish that I could get rid of my grief that easily." She said wistfully.

"What grief do you have?" Aladdin asked, thinking that no one could be experiencing as much pain as him. His mother had practically died in his arms!

"My mother just died in a . . . . in an accident." The girl said, looking down.

Aladdin's eyes opened wide, and he instantly regretted the selfish thought that had passed through his mind. She knew exactly what he was going through.

"I – I'm so sorry. I know how hard it is to lose someone you love like that." Aladdin said.

"Do you?" The girl asked, looking up at Aladdin with her big blue eyes.

Aladdin all of a sudden felt very dry-mouthed as he looked into her blue eyes, but he managed to push through the words. Somehow, he managed to retell and re-live his mother's last days, his tears returning towards the end of his story.

"Don't cry! Please don't cry!" The girl cried, sliding out of the water to sit next to Aladdin. He was so grief stricken, that he didn't even see that instead of legs, the girl had a long emerald green tail.

The girl cradled Aladdin's head, and began to sing to him in her clear voice.

Oh the waves roll low

And the waves roll high

And so it goes

Under a bright blue

Endless sky

Waves try to measure

The days that we treasure

Wave hello

And wave good bye

Aladdin snuffled. "That was beautiful." He said.

The girl smiled. "Thank you, my mother used to sing that to me and my sisters before we went to bed."

Aladdin nodded, and stuck his hand out to her.

"My name's Aladdin." he said.

"I'm Ariel!" the girl said brightly.

Aladdin looked down, and noticed the long emerald green tail seated next to him.

"Holy camel! You've got a tail!" he exclaimed.

Ariel giggled. "Of course I do! How else would I get a long? You don't thing I'd have tentacles, do you?"

Aladdin just shook his head, dazed. "N-no, I just don't meet many mermaids." he stammered.

"Well then, I'm happy to be the first one you've met!" Ariel said, smiling at Aladdin.

Aladdin couldn't hold her gaze for very long, and felt his cheeks warm up. Ariel made him very uncomfortable for some reason. "Oh look! It's almost sunset!" Aladdin pointed out, trying to direct Ariel's attention elsewhere.

"Sunset!" Ariel exclaimed. "Oh no, Daddy's going to kill me! See you later, Aladdin!" Ariel said, quickly kissing him on the cheek before she jumped into the water.

Aladdin sat there, dazed. He put his hand to where she kissed him and smiled.

"I just met a mermaid." he realized, his smile growing bigger.

All of a sudden, it seemed like a weight had been lifted off of Aladdin's heart, and he laughed.

"I just met a mermaid!" Aladdin shouted, not believing it.

Aladdin skipped all the way back home, forgetting that there would be no mother there to great him. No, all of his thoughts were focused on the red-headed girl with a tail whom he had just met. He laughed as he remembered how fascinated she had been, and how bright she had seemed, even though she had faced such tragedy. Aladdin wasn't surprised when he found himself fiercely hoping to see his new friend again soon.

He never did.