Aladdin almost wondered the same thing. Because the boy who stood in front of him felt as real as the earth beneath them, and yet he wasn’t. Perception was a tricky thing.
“Do you want to hang out in my palace for a little while?” Aladdin asked him. “I won’t be there, but the servants will treat you well, and you can pick any of the guest rooms you’d like to sleep in.”
“Actually, Prince Ali,” someone said.
They turned around to see Zaria, standing close by and watching. “I was going to ask if Jamaal would like to stay with me.”
“You?” The boy’s eyes widened.
“Yes.” She nodded. “The princess’s words from earlier got me thinking. What use is it to think of ourselves as good people when we don’t look out for those who need us? And you deserve a home like any child does. In truth, I should have opened my home to you long ago.”
“I don’t need anyone’s charity.” Jamaal crossed his arms. “I do okay as is on the streets.”
“This isn’t charity, child,” she said. “This would be a two-way street. You need a place to stay and someone to watch out for you. I need someone to apprentice for me. I am the last in my line. I have no heirs. To learn the way of keeping these bees is crucial for this kingdom. And now that Maha’s making the awnings for my bees, there will be more again, too many for me to handle alone. Are you interested in giving it a trial run? In exchange, you can stay with me. You’ll attend the nearby school, and you can have a roof over your head and food to eat. What do you say?”
“Okay,” Jamaal agreed with a widening grin. “We could see how it goes. Sorry,” he said, turning to Prince Ali. “I know your palace would be great, but it would be nice to learn a skill and all.”
“I agree.” Aladdin leaned down to give the boy a hug.
“You’re going to do great,” Jasmine told him.
“I hope I will be great one day,” Jamaal said. “I know I’ll never be great like you, Prince Ali, but even if I can’t rule kingdoms, I hope I can be good at what I do.”
“You don’t need to rule people to be great,” Aladdin told him. “Being a good person and working in the way of justice however you can—those are the things that the truly worthy do. I know it’s the kind of person I still hope to be.”
The boy smiled at Aladdin and Jasmine and then walked over to Zaria. The four of them waved goodbye, and Aladdin and Jasmine watched Jamaal and Zaria walked over to her home with the red painted door. She opened it, and the two of them went inside.
Aladdin turned to Jasmine, knowing they could no longer delay the inevitable. “Ready to go back to Agrabah?”
“It’s time to go,” she agreed.
The carpet hovered above the ground once more. Aladdin and Jasmine settled in, and together they floated into the sky, among the twinkling stars.
As they drifted away, Aladdin turned to watch Ababwa disappear from sight. Now that they could no longer see it, it was probably back to the desolate land it had once been. But at least for a brief time it had been his kingdom.
He knew it was an impossible dream, but as the carpet geared up to zip them back to Agrabah, Aladdin hoped he’d one day have the chance to visit this place again. Even if only in his dreams.
THE GOLDEN minarets of Ababwa disappeared from view, and in mere seconds they zipped across cities, countries, and continents until they were back where it all began: in the kingdom of Agrabah. Her kingdom.
The magic carpet flew low now, close to the city. In the distance Jasmine saw a wedding, the celebrations carrying on well into the night. Candles and lanterns were lit, and people danced. Everyone’s faces filled with joy.
It was almost as though the night they’d experienced had been a dream they were only waking up from. But she glanced at Ali and smiled. Of course it hadn’t been a dream. It had been one of the most authentic nights of her life. And though they had seen so many places…
“Out of all the places you’ve shown me, this is by far the most beautiful,” Jasmine said, looking at the glimmering lights and the smiles on everyone’s faces; the lanterns cast a warmth over the rest of Agrabah. And she realized as she said it that it was true. Sure, it wasn’t as awe-inspiring as the thundering waterfalls overlooking misty jungles, or the quiet island with the bioluminescent fish, copper palm trees, and pink dolphins, and she had deeply admired Ali’s kingdom of Ababwa with its sloping hills, and rocky cliffs, and monarch butterflies—but she realized now: she loved Agrabah. For all its flaws and problems, Agrabah was home.
“Sometimes you just have to see it from a different perspective,” Ali said.
“It’s them.” Jasmine nodded toward the wedding-goers in the distance. “They are what make Agrabah beautiful. And they deserve a leader who knows that. I don’t know why I believe it could be me, but I do.”
“Because it should be. You have the strength, the mind, the courage.”
“You think so?” she asked him.
“Does it matter what I think?”
Jasmine paused to study him. While she certainly cared very much what Ali thought about things, he was right; when it came to being a leader of Agrabah, that was something she had to decide and act upon herself. And this truly was the biggest gift her magic carpet adventure had given her: she now knew her desire to be a leader wasn’t simply fanciful daydreaming. She could do it. She was capable of being the leader her people needed and deserved. Jasmine would do whatever it took to become just that.
A breeze wafted through the air. Loose strands of hair fluttered against her forehead. Ali reached out and tucked a strand behind her ear. Not unlike the boy she had met the other day in the market. Jasmine smiled.
“Look at that cute little monkey down there.” Jasmine leaned over the magic carpet and pretended to point to something on the ground beneath them. “Is that Abu?”
“No, it couldn’t be Abu.” He followed her gaze and then paused with a start. Looking at her, his cheeks grew red as he realized he’d been found out.
“So how many names do you have, Prince Aladdin?” she asked. “I knew it was you!”
“What?” he said quickly. “No!”
“Who is Prince Ali?”
“I am,” he said. “I like to go among the people so I can learn more about those who I wish to govern.”
Jasmine paused. They had, after all, spent their time in Ababwa out and about walking among his people, and they appeared to take it all as ordinary and uneventful for a prince to walk among them as casually as he did. Jasmine frowned. But that was different, wasn’t it? That was his own kingdom of Ababwa.
“How could you know this city so well?” she asked him.
“I came to Agrabah early because if you want to know a people you have to see them for yourself. But you know this—when I met you, you were disguised in your own city.”
