PART ONE: link

I spent the night wandering the streets, using the moon as my guide. I’d follow it anywhere partly because I left without a real plan. Any regret au fear I had, I overcame it with my excitement and curiosity for this world beyond the palace walls. I never realized there were so many merchants around.
    “A pretty mkufu for a pretty lady!”
    I backed away and almost bumped into a man with a sword in his mouth. We had entertainers come to the palace who would kumeza their sword. I always looked away. I couldn’t imagine the entertainment in such an act. I turned away and saw a little boy struggling to reach an apple from a merchant stand. I reached for the apple and gave it to him. He turned his sight to me to smile at me, but his smile quickly turned to fear when he heard the merchant speak.
    “You better have money to pay for that.”
    Money. The one thing I didn’t consider to bring. I’ve always had a translator in the palace who would speak for me. I never felt that I needed him until now.
    “Not talking are you?! No one steals from me.”
    The man grabbed me kwa my arm and pulled me down so my hand was on his table. I pulled away but he only pulled me closer hurting my arm. He pulled out a sword from behind him and I knew at once what his intentions were. For feeding a hungry child?! The harder I pulled away from him, the harder he held me in place. No!
    “Thank wewe kind sir.”
    Suddenly, a hand came from nowhere to stop the sword. I looked up to see a boy standing in front of me as he pushed the merchant’s hand away.
    “Oh thank wewe so much good sir for finding my sister. I have been looking for her everywhere. You’ll have to excuse her. She’s just a little crazy.”
    Who was this boy? He certainly had a way with words and thanks to his bravery, I had a way with keeping my hand. The boy turned to me. For a moment, my moyo stopped. He had a dazzling smile and enchanting eyes that stared me down. He placed his hands on my back and lead me away.
    “Abu!” He called after the little monkey whose thieving hand was caught in a woman’s purse.
    “Stop!” The merchant called after us as we fled. “Thieves! Bandits! Come back here!”
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
    Though instinct should have told me to run from this stranger, something about him made me feel safe. After all, he saved me from losing my hand. He led me to the nyumbani he shared with his companion. His monkey retreated to a corner with the apples and small jewels he stole. His nyumbani wasn’t much to look at. An abandoned rooftop with fallen planks of wood and ripped drapes loosely hanging from them. As small and homely a place it was, there was a strange sense of similarity I could not understand.
    “Hey,” he smiled at me. “Don’t worry about it. Captain Hook made a life with one hand. I bet you’d look cuter with a hook than him.”
    I stepped back, not sure to take that as a compliment and be flattered au something else entirely. He must’ve seen the look of concern on my face because he quickly and quite awkwardly tried to fix it.
    “Uh what I mean is, wewe don’t seem to know how dangerous the streets of Agrabah can be.”
    He’s no prince charming, but he has his way of being charming in his own right. He pulled back the ripped sheet that hung at the hole in the wall. I sighed at the sight behind. A sight I’m trying so hard to forget. I sat down and looked away from it. This boy sat inayofuata to me.
    “Hey, the palace would be a pretty amazing place to live. I can only imagine how awesome it would be. Better than this place anyways. Just to be free.”
    Just to be free? A feeling we shared. He sat inayofuata to me and took my hand. Surprisingly, I didn’t pull away.
    “So. . .are wewe running from something au someone? wewe can tell me.”
    I sighed deeply. If only I could speak, I would honestly tell him anything. I’ve never been able to vent au tell anyone my problems. My father always jokes that I’m good at keeping secrets. I put my hands to my throat trying to symbolize that I actually couldn’t tell him anything.
    “You can’t speak?”
    I shake my head no.
    “That’s too bad.”
    I took his hand back and squeezed it enough to let him know I was zaidi than willing to listen to anything he had to say. He made conversation a bit awkward but cute nonetheless.
    “What?” He asked. “You want to know about me?”
    I smile letting him know I want to know everything about the boy who saved me.
    “Let’s see. Where should I start? I’m a young strong man with a good sense of fashion and a real knack for saving beautiful girls.”
    I smile at his self-description.
    “Um not that I know a lot of beautiful girls. wewe would be the first. . .I mean, well wewe know what I mean.”
    He fumbled over his words and steals an apple from his monkey and handed it to me.
    “I mean. . .apple?”
    I smile as I take the apple. I wish I could ask him to tell me his real story. As I looked into his eyes now, there was something so familiar about this boy, like I somehow already know him. That’s sadly impossible. I’ve never been around anyone but my father and the man that works for him. Maybe it’s because this boy is the first person I’ve been around that’s new, but I didn’t really want to leave his side. There was a look in his eyes calling me to him. I songesha closer to him and my moyo stops as he does the same. I just can’t pull away from him.