The Genie Who Lost Her Lamp

Chapter 6:The Seller

"Morning," a bright and cheery voice cut through Ali's dream, making him turn around, grunting and trying to fall back asleep. "Ali, we have to go somewhere. I won't tolerate you making us late," Idris said, her voice becoming more pungent, placing a hand on his shoulder. Ali grumbled, trying to scoot away from her arm.

"No!!" Idris yelled suddenly, roughly grabbing his shirt and yanking him towards her. Ali opened his eyes, finding himself awkwardly lying down, with his torso half raised from the ground, his shirt about to rip open, Idris holding onto it tightly.

"What? What?!" Ali asked, his voice still heavy with sleep. Idris pointed behind him, breathing loudly. Ali turned around, his heart sliding in the pit of his stomach when he realized he had been about to roll off the cliff, his foot one centimeter away from certain death.

Ali turned around, tense and clearly more awake. "What a great wake up call," he groaned, throwing his head back. His shirt roughly dug in the skin of his neck, making him glance down. Idris was still holding onto it. "Didn't mean to scare you, sorry," Ali said, glancing at her hand to try and get her to move it.

Idris seemed to get the hint, pulling back her hand. "You should be sorry! You were about to tumble off!" Idris scolded, gesturing wildly. "And I can't bring you back to life!" She snapped, standing up.

Ali looked down, his cheeks turning red from the shame. "Sorry," he mumbled again, standing up and quickly stepping towards the ruins of the building, not wanting to be near the edge. He adjusted his shirt, straightening it.

Idris exhaled, turning around and slinging the bag over her shoulder. "Come on, we need to go. We're already late." Idris said, her jaw tight.

"Yes, sir- I mean ma'am." Ali quickly corrected himself, following Idris, who suddenly stopped. She turned around, glaring at Ali. "I don't know the way out. Lead the way." She snapped.

Ali tried not to laugh, shutting his mouth and slipping underneath a small doorway. "This way," Ali said, starting to walk through a larger path in the middle of the broken building.

Idris said nothing following him. Ali wondered what had gotten into her, wondering why she was so happy yesterday and now the complete opposite. 'Was it the alcohol?' Ali thought to himself, holding a dusty rag above Idris' head to let her pass underneath. Ali then turned around, and stepped out from behind the ruins. As he walked, he realized his wound didn't hurt him anymore. He glanced down, and saw it had been disinfected and covered in bandages. Ali turned to glance at Idris, wondering when she and done it. He wanted to thank her but kept his mouth shut.

"And we're out...where do we need to go?" Ali asked, looking at Idris. He realized she had slipped the veil back on her head, making sure the veil was covering her face.

"We're going to The Seller." Idris said, starting to head down the busy and bustling street. Clouds of dust rose behind Idris, making her disappear for a second before he could spot her back again.

Ali struggled behind her, almost getting run over by a donkey. "Th-the seller? What's that?" Ali asked, coughing on some dust that slipped inside his throat.

"The right question is, who is he." Idris said, her voice muffled by an old lady screaming behind Ali.

"Correction then: who is the seller?" Ali asked, finally managing to catch up with her.

"He's a man. A man who sells everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything." Ali couldn't stop the tremor running down his spine.