“Thanks for remembering.” Ali looked relieved. “I’m all mixed up today, aren’t I?” He quickly tied the pouch to a loop on his waist. He turned to Jasmine now. “Shall we head over to advise the people?” Ali offered his arm to her.
“Let’s.” Jasmine took his arm. “So,” she said as they walked toward the palace, “tell me a little about this surprise.”
“Can’t do that. It won’t be a surprise then.”
“Oh, come on, at least a hint?”
“Nope. Sorry. It will spoil the fun.”
“Fun? The suspense is unbearable!” she protested.
“Well, now I have to keep it under wraps.” Ali laughed. “The suspense will make the discovery all the more exciting.”
“Fine.” Jasmine rolled her eyes. “I can wait.”
Arm in arm, they headed back to the palace. They were both so taken by the courtyard’s murals and potted plants, and with one another, that neither of them noticed him—the man peering through the wrought iron gates just on the other side of the courtyard. And neither of them saw this stranger carefully watch them returning to the palace, his eyes narrow. His expression darkening.
THE ADVISORY HALL—that’s what Omar had called it when they walked in—was not so much a hall as practically a palace in its own right. A freestanding white brick building, it sat just off to the side of the courtyard. Inside, the walls were a cool gray, and paintings of the kingdom of Ababwa with its sloping green hills and images of the town square they’d passed by earlier were encased in silver and gold frames, hanging at even intervals all around them. Aladdin took in the cliffside gardens and butterflies in one painting and the lagoon in the other. Genie had indeed created a most enchanting place.
The two of them sat atop a raised stage on matching plush chairs with tall gold backings. The magic carpet lay at their feet, resting and still. To their right was a wooden podium and a carpet runner that snaked all the way to the oak doors at the far end of the room. Aladdin could hear conversations from outside, and though he could not make out what they were saying, he could tell from the frenetic energy that Omar was right—the people on the other side of that door were eager to meet with him.
He understood why Genie had come up with this meeting idea. Aladdin had told him he wanted to be a source of advice and comfort to the people in his kingdom. And while Aladdin appreciated this attention to detail, glancing over at Jasmine now, he hoped she couldn’t tell just how anxious he felt. It was one thing to want to help people with their problems but another thing to actually do it. What if he couldn’t? He had no experience in such things. It didn’t matter that they weren’t real people, because Jasmine believed them to be so. Whatever advice he gave for their imagined challenges and troubles would reflect upon whether he possessed leadership qualities. His words would matter to Jasmine. He had to get it right.
“Are you ready, Prince Ali?” Omar asked. He stood by the front door and held on to its brass handle.
Aladdin nodded. There was no use in putting off the inevitable. He risked a quick glance at Jasmine, hoping she couldn’t sense his nerves. But she was looking ahead eagerly.
Aladdin turned back to see Omar had opened the door. The line began right at the front of the door and stretched out of his field of vision.
“How many people are there?” Aladdin managed to ask.
“Not many,” Omar assured him. “I’d say about fifty. Not more than that.”
“Oh,” Aladdin said weakly. “That’s all?”
A woman approached the podium first and looked down at the ground as she spoke. A brown shawl was draped around her shoulders. “Prince Ali, I come here today with grave worry in my heart. My father is ill.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” Aladdin said. “What is his ailment?”
“Headaches,” she said. “They’re so bad he can’t work or eat properly. The local apothecary in the town square has managed to find a concoction that works quite well, but the herbs are precious and two gold coins each week is more than we can afford.”
The woman looked so familiar, Aladdin thought. The rings of exhaustion that circled her eyes made her look much like a tired neighbor he’d known when he was younger. She, too, had cared for a family member who suffered from migraines. She’d spent her days working and her nights tending to her sick father.
“I was wondering if there’s work you may need done at the palace,” the woman continued. “I am a good seamstress and I clean very well. Cook, too. I’d be ever so grateful for the opportunity.”
Aladdin admired the woman’s sense of pride. His own mother had been the same way.
“I appreciate your offer of help, but we have everything covered here,” Aladdin told her, thinking of the line of servants he’d met upon their arrival. “However…” He reached into the satchel attached to his belt, buried within the folds of his clothing, and pulled out some coins that he offered to Omar. He was careful not to disturb the lamp, which had also been tucked into the satchel. He presumed Genie had sent it along in case of emergencies, but it made him a little nervous to have it here in Ababwa. He didn’t want to disturb it or let Jasmine or anyone else see it.
Omar took the coins from Aladdin and handed them to the woman. She stared at the money.
“I don’t understand,” she said slowly.
“Is it enough?” Aladdin asked. “I can give you more if you need to tide yourself over for a little while longer.”
“Y-y-yes, it is enough. N-n-no, I don’t need more. But sir, I can’t.” She shook her head. “I am capable of working for it. I want to.”
“I appreciate your work ethic,” Aladdin told her. “But sometimes we need help, and we have to be strong enough to accept it. Especially when it’s a matter of grave importance. You need to care for your family. When things are better, you can help others, and in this way, the work continues. Would those be acceptable terms?”
“I will never…” The woman’s voice choked up. “I will never be able to repay you for your generosity. Yes. Once I can get back on my feet—I will pass this generosity you have offered me onward. In whatever way that I can, I will. I swear it, Prince Ali. Thank you.” The woman clasped her hands to her chest in gratitude before leaving.
“That was very generous,” Jasmine told him once the woman had left.
“I know money won’t solve all the problems that come through this door, but sometimes all people need is a break when they need it most.”
“Giving money to people when they need it is a very kind gesture.” She hesitated. “But is there a system in place for people like this that could help further?”
“A system?”
“I’ve read about something similar in one of my favorite books. It’s about legendary leaders,” she said. “I read in there that some kingdoms have free clinics. They pay for doctors and herbalists to set aside time every week to meet the needs of those who cannot afford such things on their own. Once that woman runs out of that money, she may still need more assistance—and it was so difficult for her to accept what you gave her as it was, who knows if she’d come to ask again? A free clinic could be a way to not only help her get the regular assistance she’ll most likely need, but it could help others throughout the kingdom. It’s something I’ve been trying to talk to my father about for our own kingdom, in fact.”
“That’s a great idea,” Aladdin said, touched to know Jasmine was trying to do this for Agrabah. He could only imagine what a service like that could have done for his mother when she had fallen ill with no means to pay for medicine or a doctor’s visit.
The next people who approached the podium had simple enough issues. Two neighbors bickering about a shared water pump they’d installed between their homes; each neighbor believed the other used it more. Aladdin smiled a bit. This very issue was one his friends back in Agrabah had once had. Just as he had back home, Aladdin drew up an equitable schedule for them to put up in their homes. Of course, back in Agrabah, the schedule was written on a scrap of paper and not on a fancy papyrus scroll, but the end result was still the same: both men walked away pleased.
The next two people who arrived were disagreeing about a fence one of them was planning to install.
