Fall Is Beautiful

S2 chapter 3: A Dream

"Jafar."

Suddenly the back of the truck door opened, and it startled me awake. Oh. It had all been a dream. Jafar had been alive... he had been right there... hadn't aged one bit... HE WAS RIGHT THERE. And now it was all gone.

Although, Sin was used to dreams like that. Yet, that one was slightly different. Jafar hadn't lingered to yell at Sinbad about leaving him. This time, he had just looked shocked.

"We're here. Let's go," someone said as the others started to unpile from the truck. Sin was the last one out, apart from Sharrkan, who rolled the drivers window down. Alibaba walked up to him.

"You going to throw the car away at the spot?" He asked, and Shar nodded.

"Yeah. See you at Mt. CUV." They both fist bumped, and Sharrkan drove back down the road. I could see the sad look in Alibaba's eyes, and I assumed this was dangerous... Sharrkan was going into the dangers by himself. Now, I became worried myself. Alibaba then took a deep breath.

"Welp, we made it. Welcome to Ballbadd!" He gestured past all the fog, towards lights and sounds of people talking, playing and being kids. Oh how Jafar would've loved this. I was loving it. It was like paradise. "I hope you don't mind, but I'd like to ask you some questions before you get settled in. Drakon and most of the others can vouch for you, but I'd still like to get some better understanding of who you are. It's not for personal reasons, just protocol." I gave him a quick nod, and we headed into the allure of lights and laughter.

We walked past food markets and toy markets where older kids traded amongst themselves. The younger kids seemed to also trade, but left it mostly up to their "siblings" to do it for them. The ages ranged from 4-23 in this place, which made sense since it had been 4 years since... well, everything.

Alibaba led me into a room with wooden walls. It smelled like fresh paint in there, and a boy with dark skin like my own and black hair made into dreads, or braids, was sitting in a chair across from a desk. He looked up at Alibaba and smiled. The latter smiled back and walked quickly over to him and helped him up. It was then that I realized that the boy was paralyzed from the waist down. "This is Cassim." Alibaba introduced, and Cassim held his hand out for me to shake while being supported by Alibaba. I shook it, smiling gently.

"It's great to meet you, I'm Sinbad. Drakon has told me lots about you. He just... didn't mention the legs. Sorry if that came out wrong." I chuckled a little, nervous on how Cassim would react. He just laughed with me, and sat back down in his chair with the help of Alibaba.

"Ah, this is new. Drakon wouldn't have known since he's been gone for so long." We all shared a small laugh before Alibaba gestured for me to sit at one of the chairs while he took the one beside Cassim.

"So... I suppose I should start this off with an apology." He started, putting his hands together, frowning. I tilted my head a little, confused. Why would he be apologizing? "I'm sorry we couldn't have saved you earlier. Our intel unit was... unfortunately taken down." He gave a quick glance at Drakon's legs, before looking back at me. "We couldn't find Drakon anytime soon until we were able to get a new team. Most of the kids here aren't willing or too young to be apart of it, so it took time. I'm happy we were able to get you and Drakon out of there." I nodded.

"Likewise. It's a nightmare in the PSI camps." Cassim and Alibaba exchanged a nod before going back to our conversation. I hoped I hadn't said anything unwise... I wanted to stay here.

"Now, I know I said I wanted to ask you some questions, but in reality I only need one answer. I'll cut right to the chase... Cassim?" Alibaba nodded to Cassim once more, and he nodded back before pulling out a communication device. "This is our radio. We use it to communicate with our intel team, strike team and medical team. I hope you don't mind me asking, but what color are you?" I blinked, almost forgetting what the question meant.

"Red, same as you, Drakon told me." Alibaba smiled and nodded, resting his hands on his lap.

"That's great!" Cassim hushed Alibaba down, reminding him of the injured kids in the other room. I wanted to chuckle, but I wouldn't. Not now. I wouldn't have fun now. I didn't deserve it. "Last question." We were already done? That was... quick. "What unit would you like to be assigned to? Don't worry, we won't be having you do anything yet, and you can say no to it, but we really need some extra hands right about now." I wanted to say no, to say that I had to leave now, to tell him that I couldn't stay. All because before I knew it, I knew I was only going to hurt others again. I looked down at my knuckles, the scar still there, still bright. Sharrkan still had his scar too... and it reminded me of how much guilt I still have of that day. That day I lost my happiness, and a few months later, I lost my joy.

"No, I'm sorry, but I can't. Not right now... at least. Well- you see- I'm not thinking of staying here that long." Alibaba gave me a confused look, tilting his head a little.

"Why's that?" He asked, and I could hear Cassim scribble out something on a notebook or something. Did I make the right choice? Well, I had to think of a reason, now.

"I- um..." I paused, trying to think of a way to explain, to reason. "My brother! I need to find my little brother." I said quickly, trying to keep my voice hushed. Alibaba's almost glaring look turned more genuine and kind after that, he smiled warmly and leaned forward a bit in his seat.

"I understand. Family is hard to keep a hold of these days. We can help find him, if you'd like." I gulped. I had just dug myself a grave and put myself in it. Jafar was dead. I knew that. Why'd I use him as an excuse to get out of here? Just why. Just why.

"No... no thank you. Just like you said, you don't have a lot of hands at the moment, I wouldn't want to burden you any further." I tried to keep my voice calm, and Alibaba all but nodded.

"I understand your concern, but you can trust us. You can lean on others every once in a while." My heart almost leaped, in a back way. I wanted to stop the tears from coming, but they came before I could stop them. Alibaba's eyes widened, and Cassim quietly kept to himself as if he wasn't in the conversation, which he almost wasn't at this point. "Hey, hey, what's wrong? Did I say something I shouldn't have? I'm sorry- I tend to say things without thinking-"

"My brother might be dead." Was all I said, wiping away tears and stopping more from coming. "I know in my heart that he is, but I can't stop hoping that he isn't. I want to see him again so badly, he's the only family I have left." At that, Alibaba went completely silent. The room fell asleep with silence, and my heart raced against my chest. Until a hand was lowered onto my back. I looked up, and saw that Cassim had rolled his chair, which I realized was a roller chair, over to me.

"If he's alive, we'll find him." He assured, and the tears came rushing back. And for a moment, I had hope once more.

This story has been DEAD for MONTHS but it's back!!! Like the twist I did at the beginning hehehe? Yeahhhhh ofc you don't.