Free Magical Mechanications by Pip Ballantine, Tee Morris Page B

saw us leave, our bellies full, our faces smiling contentedly. His business will prosper.” His smile glowed against his darkened skin. “That is not magic, but something far more powerful—the testimony of the All-Powerful Jaha.” He winked at him and then nodded. “Now, I wish to see my sister.”
     
    Two
     
    “Mother!” Aladdin cried. “Mother!”
    Her hands lowered from the lamp above her head as he entered the humble dwelling. The second lamp already burning signaled she was anticipating a long night and a large amount of work.
    “Well, well, my clever son, what steals your breath so at the end of the day?” Her tone grew mirthless as she added, “I heard a story about some commotion by the docks. A young thief swift of foot enjoyed a quick escape from the Sultan’s guards.”
    Aladdin felt his throat tighten, but hearing footsteps behind him, he quickly rediscovered his voice. “Mother, I have a surprise. A blessing! My uncle has found me!”
    “Uncle?” His mother barked out a laugh. “Boy, what mischief are you—”
    Her words halted at the sight of Jaha. He touched his fingertips to his forehead, his lips, and then his heart.
    Jaha’s arms opened as he said, “Dearest sister, I present myself to you as your humble servant.”
    Aladdin’s mother stumbled back. “You—you—” she stammered, “—you are the All-Powerful Jaha!”
    “And your departed love’s brother. Lost for many a year, but sadly come too late after his death.”
    Aladdin hugged his mother as she fought to catch her breath. “He’s not really a magician, but an illusionist,” he assured her.
    The woman’s eyes darted between him and Jaha. “Mustapha never mentioned a brother...”
    “As I told your industrious son here, I was taken from our family when he was very young. Perhaps he remembered me as a shade, a distant memory, but I never forgot him.” He motioned to a seat and smiled warmly. “May I?”
    Both Aladdin and his mother scrambled to clear a place for him at their small table. With a whisper to his mother, the boy turned to a small hearth and began to boil water for tea.
    Behind him, Jaha continued. “My own life, while of late has been quite blessed with fortune, was formerly a tale of misery and woe. Aladdin has heard much of it already. As I was lost to my brother, please forgive me as I ask your name.”
    Aladdin watched his mother blush; truly a rare sight to behold. “Farrin.”
    “Farrin,” he repeated, his eyes seemed to catch the light of the nearby lamp. “I can only beg you to forgive me for my failure in not contacting you sooner. I hope you do not mind that I called upon young Aladdin here first.”
    Her hand went to her mouth. Aladdin paused when a muffled sob escape his mother. When she spoke, he felt his skin prickle. “Oh dear brother, it is I who must beg of forgiveness for the shame that haunts our family is all on account of my boy.”
    Her son spun around. “Mother, no! You make so very little as a rug maker for the Sultan and for the merchants of Bagdad! What I do I must so that we can survive!”
    “You shame your father’s name with your mischief!” Farrin spat over her shoulder.
    “Farrin, Aladdin, please…”
    They were silenced by the gentle plea. Jaha looked upon them both, his expression not piteous but more regretful.
    “I blame myself for your strife,” he said, his soft, soothing voice filling the confines of their home. “I should have come sooner, taken a more authoritative role in my brother’s affairs, but I had not the opportunity to call upon you.”
    Aladdin stared at the All-Powerful Jaha. His mind repeated over and over again—that this was the great Jaha prostrate before them. He looked over to his mother, and she was as equally dumbstruck.
    “Please, Farrin, let me begin to make amends; let me take Aladdin as an apprentice. The boy is of an age where he should come to discover his path, his destiny.” Aladdin’s mother gasped and clapped her