Before the Story Begins

By- An Unknown Foreign Beauty

(An Aladdin 2019 Two-shot)

"Umi, look at that."

Two little hands grabbed his mother's sirwal and his brown eyes widened with wonder as Aladdin watched the royal entourage marching through the streets. It was the morning of Eid-ul-fitar, the most awaited day of the year. After a month of ritual fasting, it was a great day full of joy. But to Aladdin, this day meant more than joy and celebration.

It was the day when the rich people of Agrabah arranged a feast for the commoners outside the central mosque. Every single person of the kingdom was allowed to join. Even the poorest of the poor were not spared. But to most of the people gathered in the feast, the most exciting thing was the delicious foods served in the feast. Also, occasional two or three extra dinars from those who passed by.

It was a grand parade. Grander than Aladdin had ever seen in the five years of his life. There were dancers and music played by the court musicians. There were drums and horns and gold as gifts for all who joined the parade as well as the spectators. Aladdin felt his jaw hanging open as he saw the grand elephant and the jewel-encrusted saddle on its back. He had heard about elephants, his mother told him about those huge creatures, but he had never seen one before. He had seen camels, donkeys, but elephants? No. He reached on his toes to have a close look of the magnificent animal, but another head of another boy taller than him blocked his view.

"Umi," Aladdin tugged on his mother's sirwal again, "Can I go and see the elephant from there?" He waved his hand towards two other boys in the front of the crowd, grabbing two pieces of jewels those had just fallen from one of the dancer's necklace.

"Hush, Aladdin." His mother gently grabbed his arm and yanked him to the line, "Just watch from here."

"But umi," Aladdin pouted, "I have never seen an elephant before." Tears welled up from his eyes and traveled down along his chubby cheeks. "Please, umi."

"Alright, alright." His mother knelt down in front of his, and her fingers gently touched his cheeks, wiping away the tears. "Come here." She opened his arms for him, and Aladdin ran into her arms. He always loved when his mother offered him to carry him along. He wrapped his little arms around her neck as his mother rose, and balanced him in her arms, raising him a bit higher in the crowd.

"Aha." Aladdin nodded, clung to her neck. Now he had a clear view of the giant animal. The elephant was making its way slowly towards the central mosque. It was the only time of the year when the royal couple also joined the feast with their subjects after the morning prayer. It was funny that this huge animal was so slow compared to its size.

"Umi, why the elephant is so slow?" Aladdin turned his gaze towards his mother, who looked a bit exhausted from carrying him for so long.

"Because they are big." Umi smiled, poking his nose with one finger, and the little boy giggled burying his nose in her hair. He loved the sweet fragrance of her hair, and the giggles whenever she trickled his nose. He also loved the big smile on his mother's face whenever he smiled.

The crowd cheered as the royal entourage took a sharp turn and approached near the mosque.

The crowd parted to make way for the royal elephant stopped near the mosque gate and knelt down. Aladdin raised his head a little to have a good of the magnificent woman appearing from the jeweled saddle on its back.

"Make way for the Sultana." The head guard announced.

The crowd fell silent as the sultana stepped forward. She smiled and waved at her people. Aladdin looked at the sultana, and then looked back at his mother. There was a strange similarity in their smile, like the warmth he felt inside him whenever he looked at her. Beside her, another little girl stepped down from the saddle. She stumbled and grabbed her mother's sirwal.

"Umi, who is she?" Aladdin asked his mother, he just could not take his eyes off the little girl with shining dark hair beside the sultana.

"Ah," His mother smiled, "She is the princess. Princess Jasmine."

"O.." Aladdin straightened his neck to have a good look at the princess. He had never seen a princess before. But to his disappointment, the princess again hid behind the sultana's voluminous sirwal.

The guards along the road raised trumpets and blew a long, double blast. Soon liveried riders were clattering across the path leading to the mosque, their helmets shining in the sun, their scimitars raised to protect their sultana and the princess. The sultana smiled and handed the guards a plate full of coins. Up ahead, along the road, Aladdin saw people running from the fields and huts and pouring down from the nearby villages, hastening toward the road and lining up on both sides of it as soon as the guards began throwing the coins towards the growing crowd.

"Stay close." Aladdin heard his mother saying. Aladdin nodded and clutched his mother's arm, as they were being pushed into the crowd. Everyone was busy collecting the gold coins lying scattered on the ground.

It was chaos. Aladdin felt himself being constantly pushed and pulled by the crowd fighting for every single coin. "Umi," Aladdin cried as his hand slipped from his mother's arm.

"Umi," Aladdin looked around him desperately, but he could not see the familiar grey veiled face of his mother. "Umi," He called again and was pushed to the ground by one of the older boys.

"Hey," The boy looked annoyed and walked away. Aladdin pushed himself up from the ground and looked around. He did not see his mother's smiling face in the sea of unfamiliar faces. A few unknown eyes looked at him, and he looked back. But he did not know what to do or where to find his umi.

Tears gathered at the corner of his eyes. "Umi," He whispered, as tears began to roll down from his eyes. He stumbled as he ked forward, searching for the only face he knew in this unknown world.

Aladdin did not know how long he walked, searching for his umi, until he stopped by a pair of legs wearing a sparkling golden sirwal. "Umi," He looked up hopefully, blinking through his tears, but his tears abruptly stopped when he saw an unfamiliar beautiful face looking down at him.

"Are you searching for your mother?" The beautiful woman smiled and knelt down in front of him. Aladdin nodded, his eyes wide with wonder. He narrowed his eyes as the morning sun reflected from the gold crown on her head. He had never seen someone so beautiful before, except his mother, of course.

"Hey, street rat. How did you slip past the guards?" His thoughts abruptly ended by a tug at his arm. Aladdin screamed as he looked up to find a scary-looking guard tugging at his arm.

"Leave me." Aladdin squirmed and tried to slip away, but the guard's fingers were gripping his arm tightly. It was too painful that Aladdin felt tear gathering at the corners of his eyes.

"Leave him." The beautiful woman caught hold of his another arm and the guard's grip loosened. He stumbled and quickly ran to hide behind the woman.

"Leave him, Rasoul." The woman glared.

"Yes, Sultana." The guard bowed and left.

The sultana knelt down and took his face in her hands, gently wiping away his tears with her fingers. "Are you searching for your umi?"

"Yes." He nodded.

"Where was she?" The sultana asked.

Aladdin did not know either. "I don't know." He looked helplessly at the crowd still fighting over the gold coins. "She was there."

"Well," The sultana followed his gaze and sighed at the ever-growing crowd. It would be hard to find this boy's mother in this mess. She rose and whispered one of the guards to find the boy's mother, and then she looked back to the sobbing little boy.

"We'll find your, Umi." She gently patted his dark head, "Now tell me, are you hungry?"

Aladdin nodded. His mouth was already watering with the fragrance of the delicious foods being carried inside by the royal servants.

"Would you like an apple?" A little head peeped from behind the sultana's sirwal.

Aladdin startled and looked at the little girl with shining hair, holding out an apple still hanging on her mother's dress. She had a thick head of head bound in a tiny braid, and a pair of big brown eyes. Aladdin looked back at the sultana, unsure what to do.

The sultana smiled down at the little girl, and smiled, "Jasmine, why don't you give him the apple yourself?"

Jasmine blinked at her mother and took a hesitant step near Aladdin. "You take this." She quickly placed the apple on his palm, blushed, and ran to hide behind her mother again.

"Thank you." Aladdin blinked, confused, standing with the apple still his hand. The princess had just given him an apple. And the princess was beautiful. He looked around him; the crowd had already stopped fighting for the coins and gathered to watch this unusual scenario. Aladdin looked around him, and then looked back at the princess who was still watching him from behind her mother's dress. He looked at the apple in his hand. He did not know what to do.

The sultana watched the children looking at each other awkwardly, and finally smiled looking at the little boy, looking equally confused, "Until we find your Umi, will you join us in the feast?"

The princess was still watching him, and Aladdin was hungry too.

"Yes." He nodded.

Notes:

Umi: Mother

Sirwal: Middle eastern voluminous pants worn by both men and women

Quamiz: Top worn by both genders in middle east

Review? Faves?

This story comes to my mind after hearing the wonderful song "Desert moon."

One more chapter to go. Something will happen which will change the lives of both of our heroes.

Errors are all mine. English isn't my 1st language and still learning. So consider them nicely.