“That’s not why I called you,” Aladdin said impatiently. “Jasmine and I were getting along great. Perfectly, in fact. It was a dream come true. I think…no, I know…I love her, Genie. I really do.”
“That’s fantastic, kid!” Genie smiled. “So, what’s the problem?”
“The magic carpet. It’s missing.”
“What do you mean it’s missing?”
“It’s disappeared.”
“You didn’t tell it to stay put?”
“I told it to rest while we went out into town. But if it didn’t run away, it’s—”
“No way did it run away,” Genie interrupted. “It’s not possible for a magic carpet to just up and flee. They’re not built that way. It can be full of shenanigans, to be sure, but following directions it does very well.”
“I think it was stolen. By someone here in the kingdom. The kingdom you invented.”
“You’re saying one of my inventions stole the carpet?” Genie’s eyes widened. “That’s impossible. Goes against the whole architecture of the town.”
“Well, there must have been some sort of glitch. It’s not your fault. Mistakes happen,” Aladdin reassured him. “I was hoping to call you out here to see what went wrong and fix it.”
“Well, that’s a first.” Genie frowned. “Which one do you think took it?”
“It was a man. He had a wiry build. Silvery hair. Gray eyes. He smelled like salt water, and his clothes were tattered, but they were green.”
“Wiry build. Salt water. Silver hair.” Genie’s frown deepened. “Don’t remember anyone like that. I based my people on those one of us knows personally. And the tattered clothes don’t fit my design aesthetic. You saw the little boy I modeled after you, didn’t you? I put some patches on his elbows and knees to make it believable, but even he was pretty well-dressed given his circumstances. This guy can’t be one of my creations. Doesn’t fit the bill for it.”
“Are you saying he’s real, then?” Aladdin stared at Genie.
“That’s the only explanation.”
“But how? You said this place was deserted.”
“I said virtually deserted,” Genie corrected him. “This place has been famously deserted ever since a big earthquake about a decade or so ago. It is possible I missed one person. There’s a lot of caves and craggy spots here. It happens.”
“Well, what does he want with the rug when there was a palace of gold and riches for the taking?” Aladdin asked, perplexed.
“Beats me, kid.” Genie shook his head. “Maybe he just wanted to take a joyride? Put it in his place for some home décor? Hard to know what was going through his head. I can tell you the motivations of anyone I made, but not him.”
“We can’t leave Ababwa without the magic carpet, though.”
“No, you can’t.” Genie nodded. “It’s the only way in and it’s the only way out.”
“You can take care of this, can’t you? I mean, we were already pushing it with how long we’ve been here. You can help us get the magic carpet, can’t you?”
“Of course. But don’t worry—even though you’ve had an entire day here, back in Agrabah they’re still cleaning up from the harvest festival.”
“That’s great,” Aladdin sighed, relieved. “So you can get back the magic carpet for us and then we can head on back and no one will be the wiser?”
“Absolutely. In a flash. Not a problem at all,” Genie replied.
“Thank you so much, Genie.” Aladdin smiled. How had he lived his life before his friend? He had the solution to everything.
He waited for Genie to swipe his hands in the air and bring back the magic carpet, but Genie simply stood there with his arms crossed. Waiting.
“Ahem.” Genie cleared his throat, gesturing toward the lamp in Aladdin’s hand. “I’m ready when you are, kid.”
“What do you mean?” asked Aladdin. “I told you to please go ahead and find it. We don’t have time to lose.”
“I’ll do it as soon as I can snap my fingers. All you have to do is say the magic words.”
“Magic words? You mean I have to wish for the carpet to come back?”
“That’s right.”
“But…” Aladdin’s mind raced. “Isn’t this part of the original wish? To get us back from Ababwa to Agrabah is kind of implied in the wish to come here in the first place, isn’t it?”
“Nice try,” Genie said. “I wish it worked that way but it doesn’t. You got me on the loophole with making you a kingdom gratis, but there’s no loophole for this. This person is operating outside of the kingdom I created. If he was an imaginary rogue character, I could have fixed it no problem under the manufacturer’s warranty, but he’s not one of mine. I wish there was a way around it, but rules are rules, and genies are nothing if not bound by rules they wish they didn’t have to follow. I’m really sorry, kid.”
“No. That can’t be,” Aladdin said frantically. “There’s got to be some wiggle room.”
“Afraid you’re all out of wiggle room. Just say the words and it’s all fixed. Otherwise, I can’t help you. And not to tell you what to do with your wishes or anything but when it comes to strategic wish making, this seems like a good one to make. You have to leave the kingdom of Ababwa eventually.”
“But I can’t use up a wish. Not on this. Not yet.”
“What are you going to do, then?”
“I don’t know. I’ll try to figure it out and find the carpet on my own.”
