Jasmine“Shh!”
I hiss at the door as it creaks, “We have to be quiet.”
I’m sneaking out again tonight while my parents are away. They make their living as grand explorers. People from all over pay them to solve mysterious and uncover lost treasures. It’s a really cool job, but it means they are away a lot. I don’t mind, because this provides me with time to make tiny explorations of my own. I wait till I’m sure Sebastian is well asleep, and I slip into the lively nights of Agrabah. Tonight I was to go on my furthest journey yet. I had been mapping it out for days, and finally felt certain I had a secure route. The first steps beyond the boundary of my home were always a bit terrifying, but I was quickly taken over by excitement as I remembered my destination. After crossing several bridges and ducking behind trees when a kenspa passed, the playground was in sight. 
It was new to Agrabah, and I had begged my parents to take me when it first opened, but they’ve been swamped with jobs. That’s when I started making plans to come here. I looked around with wide eyes feeling absolutely giddy, “What should I try first? How about…EVERYTHING!”
Making a mad dash I leapt for the swings, swung as high as I could, and jumped off into the sandbox. Then I built the fastest thing I could make, saw the spring riders in the corner of my eye, and jumped on for a ride of ‘chase the bandits’. Starting to feel extra daring, I went down the slide headfirst, and then climbed up the jungle gym to look down at it all. 
Suddenly feeling tired, I just collapsed where I stood. I laid there on my back, and wondered what my parents were doing right now. If they were blasting boulders, or maybe fighting mummies. But then I started to hear someone trekking across the playground, and rolled over on my stomach to see a boy my age. I called out to him for some reason, “Whatcha doin’?”
He looked up at me like I was a ghost. Then seeing me more clearly he smacked his forehead, “Get out here! Mind your own business.”
I came down and put my hands on my hips, “Make me. I was here first.”
He stared at me for a second and then just shook his head, “Fine, whatever. Do what you want.”
When he started to leave I began to follow, now curious about what he was up to. He spun around with an incredulous look, “What are you doing now?! I thought you said you were staying there?” “I want to know what you are up to. Besides you said I could do what I want, and I will. Right now I want to follow you.” “Ugh!!”
He exclaimed throwing his hands up, “Fine. But don’t blame me if you get hurt. I am
not helping you.” “I can take care of myself.”
I said crossing my arms. He just rolled his eyes and started walking again. After traveling for a while, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a map. Peeking over his shoulder, I gazed at it curiously. He shot me a look of warning, but only said, “We’re almost there.”
We passed by a walled gate, which I found to be curious, but said nothing. We then trekked through a field of high hedges and sunflowers, finally finding ourselves in front of a treasure chest. “Wow!” I exclaimed, “We were looking for treasure? You must be an explorer like my parents.”
He suddenly showed the first signs of interest since we first met, “Your parents are explorers?” “Yes! They get jobs from all over the world, and often bring home ancient relics and rare gems or metals. In fact, they are on a job right now inside the Great Pyramid.” “Cool.” “Yeah.”
He seemed to look me over with new appreciation, “Let’s see what’s inside here shall we?”
Just when he reached down to open it, a light shone on us, and a man started shouting, “Thieves! Get ‘em boy!”
A giant dog then came bounding towards with increasing speed. Grabbing my hand, the boy shouted, “Run!”
We tried to go back the way we came, but in trying to lose the dog we ended up facing part of the wall. The boy easily scaled the wall, and was about to jump down when he looked back and realized I was having trouble climbing up. Our eyes met and for a moment I reflected on how earlier he said he wouldn’t help me, and how I had foolishly boasted that I could care for myself. Much to my relief, he jumped back down and cupped his hands, “Here I’ll give you a boost. Climb quickly!”
When we were a safe distance away, I threw my arms around his neck, “You saved me! Thank you!”
He pulled away looking uneasy with the sudden embrace, “Yeah alright. Time we get you home yeah?”
Upon arrival I noticed the sun was starting to rise. This was the latest I had ever stayed out. He immediately began to look between me and my house, “This is your house?! What are you a princess or something?”
I thought for a second, “Well by marriage my family can be traced back to royalty.” “…” “I’m Jasmine.”
I announced, looking at him expectantly. He didn’t say anything for a minute, and I wondered if he intended to keep his identity secret until he finally said, “Aladdin.” “Well Aladdin, come and get me tomorrow night, and we’ll have more fun ok? Bye!”
He called after me, “Wait, I didn’t agree to that!”
But the next night I found him waiting outside my house. 
We met up many nights after that, and I learned a lot about him in the process. He never knew his father, and lost his mother to a fire when he was a baby. He ran away from the people he lived with, because they didn’t care for him or any of the other children they looked after. From then on he decided he would look after himself, which tended to give him a pretty rough edge to his character on the outside. But inside I knew he was more than just the strength he tried to display. Aladdin was truly brave and had the biggest heart.
One night I heard him throwing rocks at my window, and came down to see what he wanted, “It’s nearly midnight you know.”
He laughed, “I have something I want to show you. Come on.” “Fine, let me get dressed.”
When we got to a certain point he insisted that he cover my eyes. “Are we there yet?” “Almost… Ok, open them.”
My hand flew to my mouth, “Where are we?”
It was the most beautiful place I had ever seen. If I had my choice, I would never leave. “Do you like it? I found it while exploring the other day, and thought of you.”
I simply smiled at him. He cleared his throat, turning a shade of red, and sat on the ground. I laid down next to him, and we talked for a long while.
Suddenly standing, he reached down and pulled me up to my feet, dragging me towards a bench, “Sit down here. I need to tell you something serious.” “Is something wrong?” “No, not exactly. I’m leaving. I have to get out of this place. I want to see the world, and I don’t want to wait till I’m an adult to do it. There is true adventure, mystery, and wonder out there that I want to experience. I
need to experience.”
I looked down, suddenly feeling deflated somehow, “Oh. I get it.”
He placed his hand on mine, “But I’m coming back. This is definitely not goodbye forever. We’ll see each other again…That’s a promise. This is the hardest part you know? Saying goodbye to you…”
He reached in his pocket and pulled out something, “I went back to that chest that we didn’t open, and I found this inside. I want you to have it.”
It was a beautiful turquoise necklace. I looked down at it, and suddenly felt tears form in my eyes, “I don’t know what to say…”
When I looked up at him, he suddenly leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. When he pulled away I stared at him with wide eyes, “W-what was that?”
He smiled, “My first kiss, for you know…insurance.” “Insurance?” “To make sure you never forget me.”
I laughed, “I won’t forget you. That’s a promise.”
