A THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS #ONCEUPONNOW

06 | AND ONE NIGHTS

06 | AND ONE NIGHTS
▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂

"ONCE UPON A TIME..."

"I have never heard that saying before, is that not of Western entertainment television?"

"King Shaza, please do not interrupt me." I said crisply. I

 found my rage and anger quietly dissipated and filled with something else. I did not hate him nearly as much now that he was besides me. He was different than what I thought a killer would be.

"I am sorry." He said sheepishly, "I am just excited for your tale."

I look at him sharply. His curiosity is a good sign. The Americans have that saying: curiosity killed the cat. But in this case, curiosity will save the girl.

"Once upon a time, there was a man named Ali Baba."

"Ali Baba?" The king interrupted again, "What a peculiar name!"

"Please do not interrupt me, I am telling my tale." I scolded, "And Ali Baba is not a strange name, it is not strange to the men of other lands. Shaza may be a strange name to other nationalities as well."

The king nodded, "That is true as well. You say things very agreeable to me."

I sighed, "Do not interrupt as I said before." I began my story again, "There were once two brothers, Ali Baba and Cassim. Cassim was greedy, and after the death of their father, Cassim married a wealthy woman, living easily and without having to work. Ali Baba married a poor woman, settling down to be a woodcutter."

"One day, whilst chopping wood in the forest, Ali Baba overheard forty thieves mention a magical cave in which they kept their treasure. To enter, one must say 'Open Sesame.' and to seal it, one must say, 'Close Sesame-"

The king interrupted again, "My cook makes good sesame dessert! You must try some!" I ignored him. 

"Sneaking in, Ali Baba discreetly took a bag of gold. He brought it home to his wife. He wanted to see how much his new wealth was worth, and so, he borrowed a scale from his sister-in-law, his brother's wife.

But his brother's wife was curious as to what he was weighing, to see what her poor brother-in-law was weighing. Without Ali Baba's knowledge, she put some wax into the scale. To her surprise, when the scale was returned to her, she discovered one of the gold coins stuck into the wax."

"This is why I do not trust women." The king murmured. I gave him a sharp look, and he shut his mouth.

"His brother's wife told her husband of what she had discovered. Together, the two of them pressured Ali Baba to reveal to them where he got the gold. Reluctantly, he revealed to them about the cave. Cassim brought a donkey and bags to gather the treasure. He entered into the cave with the magic words, but in his excitement and haste, he forgot the words to get back out again."

"Oh, no!" The king cried, his eyes dancing with wonder, "What happened?"

I did not reply, continuing my story, "The thieves found him there and killed him. They quartered his body and left it at the entrance of the cave as a warning. When his brother did not return, Ali Baba went to the cave and found his brother's body.

Ali Baba brings home the body and entrusts Morgiana, a clever slave girl to figure out what to do with it, so that they will be convinced his brother died of a natural death. Ali Baba realizes the danger everyone he knows and loves is in if the thieves know that he knows about the magic cave.

In order to fulfill her task, first, Morgiana purchases medicines from an apothecary, putting up the ruse that Cassim is gravely ill. Then, she finds Baba Mustafa, an old tailor and blindfolds him, leading him back to their house in order to stitch Ali Baba's brother back together again so no one will be suspicious.

The burial proceeds without any questions, but the thieves discover someone knows about their cave because of the missing body. One of the thieves go to town, and he overhears the tailor saying how he stitched together a dead person. He figures out it must be the body of the man they killed.

At night, one of the thieves go to the tailor and ask him where he stitched together the body. Because Baba Mustafa, the tailor was blindfolded he does not know the residence he was in. However, the tailor is able to retrace his steps and lead them to Ali Baba's house. The thief marks the house with a symbol so when he comes back, he will be able to recognize it and bring along the rest of the thieves..."

The clock tower struck, interrupting my sentence. The loud gong startled the king, who was paying rapt attention to my words. The king jumped up in surprise, looking taken aback by the gong as if not realizing that my story had held his attention for hours.

"It seems like it is dawn, your Highness." I said to him.

"Continue the story, my Queen."

"It is dawn, King Shaza." I insisted, "I am tired, and my throat is hoarse. Perhaps tomorrow I can continue the tale?"

The king paused for a moment. My breath hitched, this was the moment that decided everything that would matter.

"Very well." The king said, clapping his hands together. Two of his guards appeared, "I shall see you tomorrow."

I let out my breath slowly.

The king glanced back at me, 'My dear Arista, I told you you would survive till dawn, did I not?"

The ambassador scurried into my room, clad in his silk pajamas and rubbing his eyes. He jumped at the sight of me alive and well.

"She is alive." He gasped out.

The king nodded, "Indeed she is." He smiled, "And since she has survived till dawn, I suppose that she is our new queen."

"A new queen!" The ambassador gasped again, "We've never had that before!"

"No, we have not." The king agreed, "Move her to the new wing, it's almost finished. It seems like a new queen is in session.

I lifted my chin up.

I had survived one night. I only had a thousand and one more to survive.

And maybe at the end of all these nights, the monster would be conquered, and the country would be safe.

This was not a happy ending yet, but it was an ending. It was one step closer to a happy ending, and that is all that counted.

▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂ ▂

THE END.

or is it?