Magi: The Tale of Faith and Hope

Banquet

"Ah~ Thanks for saving us," Aladdin said brightly while Morgiana waved goodbye to Nadja and her parents. "It's a good thing my flute was inside that bag of keys."

"For real," Faith said with a smirk while their friends from the caravan and the boss grinned.

"Yeah, that was a close one!" Hope said with a wry smile. The boss smiled. He was really glad to see that his favorite trio of siblings had made it out all right. He had gotten pretty attached to these kids. He really admired the way they looked out for each other.

"In any case, I didn't think you'd be acquaintances..." he said thoughtfully. Who would have thought they also had connections to old his friend's caravan.

"Aladdin! Faith! Do you remember?" Leila asked excitedly.

"Actually, that's Faith," Hope said, pointing to her sister, who gave a little wave.

"Eh? Oh, sorry! It's kind of hard to tell you apart..." Leila apologized, feeling a bit lame now. They really did have the same face... the only thing that could be used to mark who was who was their gold necklaces, which had different markings (actually the girl's monogrammed initials in English) on them.

"I remember!" Aladdin said cheerfully before the silence had a chance to get too awkward. "That friendly onee-san and..." He pointed at Sahsa. "That unfriendly onee-san!" he finished, pointing at Leila.

"Pfft!" Faith laughed while Leila pinched his cheeks for that. Hope sweat-dropped and smiled wryly at their antics. Poor Leila, she had looked so excited too see him again, too.

"Same brat as always, Aladdin!" Leila said, chagrined, while poor Aladdin massaged his sore cheeks.

"Really? I think you've changed a little bit," Sahsa told him with a smile. "Compared to before, you've kinda... become stronger."

"Oh, now that she mentions it, I think you have," Hope said with a smile. They'd been together everyday, so the change hadn't appeared as drastic to them.

"Yeah, I think you've gotten a little taller, too," Faith said, holding out a hand to measure his approximate height.

"Is that so?" Aladdin said with a smile, looking a little proud of himself. "Well, I have crossed the desert!"

"Yeah, that was tough," the twins agreed with wry smiles.

"What! Up until now you've been outside of the desert!?" Leila cried, taken aback, as she and Sahsa both flinched in surprise. How did that happen?

"Then, the fact that we met here today is an amazing coincidence..." said Sahsa.

"The world is huge; this can't be just a coincidence..." Leila said, sweat-dropping, as she pinched Aladdin's cheek again.

"That's not completely wrong," said Sahsa's father. "During my travels I often make friends and reunite with the most unexpected people," he explained, smiling as he bumped fists with the boss.

"Likewise, after ten or twenty years, you still continue to keep up that caravan..." the boss agreed with a grin. "In the world, there is a strange 'force' that binds people together..."

"Heh~" Faith said as the girls stared at the old men with smiles. Who'd have thought these guys were old bros?

"That's right. Just as that person said," Aladdin agreed, holding Baba's staff. "In the world, there is a thread that binds us together... People are bonded together by the strong guiding force we call 'chance meetings'. Though we may be separated, surely... those important peoples' spirits are by our sides..." Morgiana looked up at the sky as she thought back to the voice she heard that had helped her find the strength to break free from her shackles.