Jasmine stirred as she inhaled the fresh scent of dawn. She turned over on her back without opening her eyes. Soon though, she opened her eyes and looked outside and saw the sun wasn’t fully up yet, revealing a gorgeous sunrise, which she knew gave Agrabah a beautiful morning glow. Jasmine then turned to see Aladdin still sleeping, and she smiled to herself as she lightly brushed the black hair away from his face, with him never stirring at the gentle touch.
Almost thinking against it, she looked at the doors of Amiri’s and Suri’s rooms. Jasmine loved seeing the smiling faces of her children every morning, Amiri and Suri now being six and three, with them bursting into her and Aladdin’s room and jumping on the bed full of energy many mornings, but, she also enjoyed the quietness and peace early in the mornings. It was quiet still, and Jasmine assumed Amiri and Suri were still asleep, but it wouldn’t be long before they were up and bouncing around. She contemplated going and checking in on them, but didn’t want to disturb them, knowing they needed their sleep, so instead, Jasmine snuggled as close to Aladdin as she could get without waking him.
Aladdin awoke a few minutes later, and he felt Jasmine against him. Before opening his eyes, he smiled, and by listening to her breathing, he could tell that she had been awake for while now. He then opened his eyes and looked down at Jasmine, who had her eyes closed, and he said,
“Good morning.”
Jasmine opened her eyes and looked up at Aladdin,
“Good morning.” She whispered.
“I take it Amiri and Suri are still sleeping?” Aladdin said, and Jasmine nodded. She smiled as she closed her eyes again and leaned her head on his shoulder, placing her hand on his other shoulder, he lying his hand gently on her delicate wrist. Aladdin then closed his eyes again also, loving the time he got with Jasmine during mornings like these, the two of them usually being awaken by the laughter of their children. Though they didn’t fall back asleep, Jasmine and Aladdin laid together for a little while, but then they heard a door open. Jasmine turned to see Suri, rubbing her eyes as she walked into the room. Jasmine smiled and sat up, as did Aladdin,
“Good morning.” She said as she helped Suri climb up onto the bed and onto her lap, facing her.
“Good morning, mama.” Suri said.
“Did you sleep well?” Jasmine asked.
“Yes.”
“Did you have sweet dreams?” She asked, and Suri nodded. “What did you dream about?”
At that, Suri smiled and said, “It won’t come true if I tell.”
Jasmine then laughed out loud as she held her precious princess against her, and she said,
“Alright, darling. We’ll see if they come true, hmm?”
Suri nodded, and Jasmine placed a kiss on her head. Resting her cheek against Suri’s head, Jasmine thought of how much she loved being a mother. She knew that in some cultures, royal children were not even raised by their parents and they rarely saw them. And the parents didn’t show their children, even as babies any tenderness. They did not cuddle them close or play with them or give them soothing words, all to not make them weak, so that they could be strong rulers. Jasmine would rather die than have her children raised this way. Her and Aladdin loved their children, and they raised Suri and Amiri the very opposite of those other cultures. Amiri and Suri were both so sweet and well-behaved, and because Suri was still little, she liked being held and could get clingy towards Aladdin and Jasmine if there was strangers at the palace, and she was always going to her father for protection. Amiri, the Prince of Agrabah, knew that he was going to be Sultan someday, but he never showed any disrespect to anyone, and though he was a serious boy much of the time, he and Suri played games together often.
“Good morning, papa.” Suri said. Aladdin smiled and stroked her cheek and said,
“Good morning.”
Suri then looked up at Jasmine and asked,
“Amiri’s still sleeping?”
“Yes, Amiri’s still sleeping, but we shouldn’t wake him up, alright?”
Suri nodded, and settled once again against Jasmine’s chest. After a while, Amiri woke up and the four of them went down to breakfast.
Later that evening, after dinner, Amiri and Suri fell asleep while listening to Aladdin tell them a story, which they asked for almost nightly. Suri fell asleep fairly quickly, but Amiri on the other hand was fascinated with the story and stayed awake for as long as he could, but it was a long story and Amiri too fell asleep when he could stay awake no longer. Aladdin and Jasmine then carried the children to their rooms, and when they were sure that they were soundly sleeping in their beds, they put four guards outside their bedroom and left the palace, but they didn’t go far.
Jasmine leaned against the wall with Aladdin standing a few feet away with his foot propped up on the ledge. The two of them were at his old hovel, to which they still would come at night to be alone, but they never stayed the whole night, as they once had. Jasmine watched Aladdin as he looked out at his kingdom, so grateful and proud of the man he had become, the man that he was born to be and that had lied within him his whole life, without him even realizing it. Aladdin was a great and powerful Sultan of the seven deserts, having the potential and ability to do great things for Agrabah, things that never seemed possible for the city he’d lived in his whole life. Aladdin was also as loving and attentive husband as ever, Jasmine being so happy, their marriage as strong as it ever was. And together they raised a wonderful family, their two beautiful children, Amiri and Suri, the Prince and Princess of Agrabah, whom they loved and would do anything to protect. Jasmine couldn’t be happier with her life, and she couldn’t imagine having it other than how it was now. But, that thought caused her to turn to her husband and say,
“Aladdin?”
“Yes, Jasmine?”
She hesitated, feeling silly, but she asked anyway,
“Have you ever thought about reincarnation?”
This brought a quizzical look to Aladdin’s face,
“Reincarnation?” He said, and then he walked over and sat next to Jasmine, and she said,
“Yes, you know, a next life, if you’ll have one or not, and what it will be like.”
“Well, I’m still young and healthy, and so are you Jasmine. I hope that neither one of us has to think about something like that for many years yet.”
“I hope for that too Aladdin, but still, have you?”
“Not seriously, no. What brought this on anyway?” He asked.
“I had a dream about my next life a few nights ago. I can barely remember it, even right after I had woken up that morning, I still couldn’t remember anything about it.”
“It wasn’t a bad dream, was it?”
“No, it think it was a good one. I’m not saying that I know who or what I’m going to come back as, or if I’m going to come back as anything or anyone. I don’t even know if there is such thing as reincarnation. But, if I do live a next life Aladdin, it would be a meaningless life if I wasn’t with you. I want to be with you forever.”
Aladdin then took his hands and put them on her upper arms, gripping them gently but firmly and he said,
“We will be together, Jasmine, always. Like you told me once: Fate brought us together, and fate is going to keep us together.”
“Yes,” Jasmine said, looking into Aladdin’s dark brown eyes and him looking into hers, “We will be together.”
Her voice barely above a whisper, Jasmine repeated Aladdin’s words with complete confidence. Aladdin’s hand then moved to her face, and they kissed each other hard on the lips. When the soulful and passionate kiss ended, Aladdin and Jasmine held each other, she leaning her head against his chest, listening to his heartbeat. Jasmine couldn’t imagine life without this man, her husband, and she hoped she never would. But, she felt that Fate would smile upon her and Aladdin, and that they would always be together, even if it went beyond this life, and into the next.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jena smirked as she watched the man walk away. Though, to her he wasn’t even a man, just a boy, another silly boy who thought he could walk right up to her and hit on her. When he was completely out of sight, she rolled her eyes. This is what she had to deal with, and she was getting sick of it. Jena put the book she was holding back onto the shelf, trying to find a good read in the fiction section of the large bookstore she was at. She put a finger to her full, rose lips and browsed, only to stop when her cell phone rang. She went through her rather large leather shoulder bag and was happy to see that it was her father who was calling her,
“Hi, daddy.” She answered with a smile.
“Hi, sweetheart. How’s it going?”
“Oh, the usual. But, I would’ve been better if you would’ve called five minutes ago.”
“Why’s that?”
“Just another boy.”
“You know, Jena, I’m in no rush to see you married, but have you ever given a boy a chance?” He asked. Jena sighed,
“Dad, I haven’t met one yet that deserves a chance. Why are you so concerned about it anyway?”
“Because, I just want you to get to know more people. You’ve only been out there a week.”
“I know.” Jena said, her father once again noting that she was all the way out in California, while he was still in Texas. Jena’s father was President and CEO of a company that he founded even before she was born, making him a nine-figure millionaire. At only eighteen years old, she was born and raised in Houston, though she didn’t really have a southern accent. Her mother died when she was two, and her father raised her alone. But, Jena’s father had hopes for her, for when she turns 21, she is to take over the international company that her father built.
“And I know that I have a very beautiful daughter, and I’m going to have to get used to more boys.”
“I never said anything.” Jena said with a laugh. Though, she knew her father was right. Jena had dark brown eyes, olive skin, and thick, dark brown hair that at first glance looked black. Her hair was naturally wavy and was long, as it went just past the middle of her back. Though she was naturally beautiful, she liked wearing makeup, usually putting foundation on, liquid black eyeliner, always doing slight cat eyes, and a swipe of lip color. She was short, 5’4, and had lovely curves, wearing a slim size two.
“Alright, alright, I’ll stop asking about boys and we can change the subject.”
“Please.” Jena said.
“How’s the weather out there?”
“Hot, for September, but I’m used to it.”
Jena, this past summer had worked for her father at his company. It was somewhat of an internship, to help prepare her for her future role as head of the company. She would still be working there if she hadn’t moved out to southern California only a week ago to be in the Young Americans. Jena had always loved to dance and sing, having extreme talent in both, but she knew that she would also get to travel the world, something she’d never gotten to do. Though she was wealthy, her father traveled often but she almost always stayed behind in Texas, and had only been to California twice in her life, this being the first time she was truly on her own without her father.
Jena ended the conversation with her father on a high note and she went back to shopping, visiting all the high-end stores she was accustomed to. The phone call from her father had happened early in the day, and Jena thought she would enjoy shopping in the very large mall, the largest she’d ever been in, but while she shopped, she encountered many rude people. After the first couple people, Jena just thought it was just one of those days, but all day long there were many snobby and rude people and that’s when she realized that California was nothing like Texas, and the people here were nothing like those back home.
Later that evening, after the sun went down, Jena decided a long bath would help her unwind from the long day she had had. She undressed, took out her long braid and shook her hair free, letting it beautifully fall around her shoulders, but she twisted it into a bun and piled it on top her head. Jena lit a couple of candles and settled into the hot water. She leaned her head back and forced herself to relax, despite her long, first week away from home. Today had been the first time Jena had ever shopped in California, an experience she thought she would like, but it turned out to be just the opposite.
Jena lived in a beautiful, large house, but it wasn’t just any kind of house, it was a beach house. Jena had her own private section of the beach, and she had so many things to enjoy and had everything that she would ever need in California, or so it seemed: She knew no one, and so far, it didn’t look like she was going to make any friends anytime soon. Jena very much had wanted to come to California, it wasn’t even the singing that made her want to join the Young Americans, it was the so many opportunities she would get, the places she would get to see, and all the people she would meet, though the singing part made the idea even more appealing.
Jena had only been in California a week, and it had tested her. It was the first time she’d even done anything like this on her own. Before coming to California, she was excited and never had any second thoughts, but now she missed home, but most of all, she missed her father. Jena then choked back tears as she started to cry, attempting to dry the tearstained cheeks, but the effort doing little.
After soaking in the water for some time, Jena’s eyes began to dry, and she got out and dried her body, putting on a silk, pink robe that went down to her knees and had sleeves that went to her elbows. She took out her bun and let her hair hang once again. Jena walked through the house and went out to the deck that over looked the beach. The long deck was surrounded by glass, and Jena laid on a couch, bringing her legs close to her. It was dark outside, and the bright moon reflected off the ocean, and Jena watched as small waves stretched up the beach and then went back into the ocean. She couldn’t give up yet. Yes, she’d had a bad couple of days, but she wasn’t about to give in and run back to her home, for she would be achieving nothing. Jena would stay in California for a couple more months, and then if things were still not going how she had planned she would go back home to be with her father, but until then she would stay true to her desires and give this new place and new world a chance.
The next morning, Jena woke up when the sunlight hit her eyes. She shielded her eyes, realizing that she had fallen asleep on the deck. She turned over and laid there for only a few minutes, but then woke up and did her usual morning routine, where she cleansed and moisturized her face, brushed her teeth, ate a light breakfast, and then doing some yoga. Jena loved doing yoga because it kept her fit while letting her relax, her mind and body feeling at peace, which was something she welcomed nowadays. After she was done, Jena went out to the kitchen, where the time read ten o’ clock and the calendar read Sunday. Being a devout Catholic, Jena felt guilty for not being at church, but she had yet to find one in her area, in fact there was still a lot of things she had to do before things could get settled. Jena had to find doctors, a dentist, and a manicurist. She shook her head, and decided that a phone call to her father would make her feel better. Jena assumed he would still be home, she called.
“Hello?”
“Oh, hello John.” Jena said with slight disdain in her voice.
John was the only thing standing between her and her fathers company. As CFO, John was her fathers business partner, but he was ambitious and wanted to be head of the company after her father retired. John knew that Jena’s father wanted to hand the company over to her when she turned 21 though, and he always tried to convince him that she would be too young. Jena, as long as she had known him, had never liked John even though he was always respectful to her, but Jena knew it was an act. She knew that John knew that she was the rightful heiress to the company, but he wouldn’t that that stop him from trying to get to the top. Not wanting to deal with John right now, she told him to have her father call her.
Jena then walked to the living room and looked out the window, seeing the never-ending ocean. She had the world at her feet, but something was missing. Without even realizing it herself, Jena’s heart longed for something. And she didn’t know that very soon would be when she found that missing piece.
The World at Your Feet by DesertFlower
Author's Notes:
Hey! I hope the summary wasn't too confusing! Basically, this is my take on what Aladdin and Jasmine would be like as a modern day couple. But, there is twists. Aladdin and Jasmine are also in the story, but aren't in the whole thing. Read and enjoy, and if you have questions or comments, feel free to contact me! Thanks!