When Anise discovered her pregnancy, she knew that it was either her job in the palace or her unborn child. A practical woman would have secretly gotten rid of the child. Getting the potion to get rid of it was a bit pricy, but it was better than the consequences that would follow if she were to be found out.
Anise was not a practical woman.
By sunrise, she had packed as much as she could carry and left the palace. By the end of the day, the slums had a newcomer.
Perhaps, if she had chosen a different path, she would have had a long, comfortable life. But fate had decreed her to love her unborn child and love her unborn child she did.
After all, it was the King's child she carried.
Phoebe Winthrop was an excellent student.
Since both her parents were geniuses, she was expected to be just as bright.
So she met those expectations.
As she walked up the platform to receive her diploma on her graduation day, many had wondered:
What would she be?
A doctor like her mother?
A lawyer like her father?
Many had wondered what she would become. She had so many choices to pick from yet she would only be able to choose one.
A doctor?
A lawyer?
What would she choose?
Many people had expected great things from Phoebe. They expected her to save people, from injury or injustice. They expected her to lead a long, fortunate life.
Phoebe Winthrop was an excellent student.
Was.
Since she died.
Anise stared in awe at the lives in her arms. The whole birthing process was painful, yes, but the result was worth every moment of agony.
A wail came out of the blanket before another wail followed. Embracing her motherly instincts, Anise began rocking her precious children. She assured them that they were safe and murmured endless sweet-nothings until both of them were fast asleep.
Once again, Anise looked at her children with awe and bewilderment.
Twins.
Anise hadn't expected twins.
The baby with the blonde wisp yawned loudly and snuggled against his mother even more. Anise's quizzical frown disappeared at the adorable sight. "Are you tired, little one? Sleep then. Your mother will take care of you."
She turned to her other child.
Unlike her brother, the other infant had far fairer skin and paler, almost white, hair. It was almost as if she was a mere reflection of her twin. So far she had only cried once. She was a quiet baby, which worried Anise. Did this mean her daughter wouldn't survive the slums?
The infant wiggled a little and then kicked, surprising Anise with her strength.
"Are you telling me that you will be strong?" She wondered aloud. The infant gave another kick as if to answer her mother's question. Anise smiled. "You will be strong. As will your brother."
Anise stroked her daughter's cheek fondly. "I am fortunate to have two healthy children. Who am I to deserve such luck?"
Rebirth was a fickle thing.
It's like gambling or roulette. Whatever person, whatever gender you will be reborn as is all by chance. A good person could be reborn as the unluckiest human being in the world. A bad person could live a life filled with luxury and riches.
It's all by chance. There are no favors or exception for any mortal.
So that's why, when Phoebe Winthrop opened her eyes, she wasn't smart, eighteen year old Phoebe Winthrop anymore. No, she was a small, defenseless infant only a day old, born in the slums of a foreign city.
Phoebe Winthrop was dead.
Naturally, she freaked out.
Where was she? Why was her body like this? How was she still alive? Who was that woman? What was that thing beside her? Why couldn't she move? How couldn't she say anything? Why was she crying? Why was it so humid?
Why was it so humid?
"Shhh, Shhh, love. I'm here. Mother is here."
The foreign voice automatically calmed the newborn's body and temporarily calmed her buzzing mind. It was then when the newborn girl who used to be Phoebe Winthrop assessed her situation with the calm and sharp mind she was lauded for in her past life.
Her body was too small and weak to be her own. Judging by how the woman was handling her, she was recently born.
Even though she understood the woman, she knew that the woman wasn't speaking the English language.
The…thing beside her was another infant. So she was a twin?
The room she was in was no hospital. It looked dusty and if she were to guess, the woman gave birth to her and her sibling right in the room with no medical aid. The woman was without medical aid because she couldn't afford it. So the woman was poor.
There was no man.
Her mother was a single mother. It didn't matter if her father was dead or was just an affair. Her mother was barely able to support herself. How was she going to support newborn twins?
Clink. Ah, jewelry. And pretty jewelry too. Why would the woman keep such expensive-looking jewelry when she couldn't afford to go to a hospital?
The scent in the room was sweet. It was mainly coming from the woman. She wore simple enough clothes but she was still very much beautiful.
Then it all clicked.
Phoebe Winthrop was dead.
And now, she was reborn as a newborn twin of an unknown ethnicity who had a prostitute for a mother.
Well.
It wasn't the best situation, but it wasn't the worst.
"Alibaba." Anise decided for the boy.
"And you, my daughter, will be Amani."
Amani, newly named, blinked owlishly at her mother.
To Anise, it seemed that her daughter simply didn't understand that she and her brother were just named. They were just a day old after all.
In reality, Amani was both attempting to familiarize herself with her name and trying not to gape at her brother's.
Phoebe was clever, obedient, and quiet.
Whatever book was placed in front of her, she would memorize line by line if it were requested from her. Her classmates were envious of her ability. Her parents accepted this quality as it was: a tool that would push Phoebe's success. Phoebe's parents were strict with how she used her ability. What she placed in her memory banks should only be relevant to her studies. Her parents had drilled it deep into her mind that perfection was the least that was expected of her.
They had expected genius, brilliance.
Phoebe was clever, obedient, and quiet.
But, in rare moments in her life, she was only clever and quiet.
Like the day when she added A Thousand and One Nights to her memory bank purely for enjoyment
Amani was careful.
She made sure that her brother overshadowed her in every action. Since she was born in a world where women were naturally underestimated, it wasn't that hard.
Keep your head down. Be invisible.
When Alibaba began to crawl, Amani would do the same the day after. When Alibaba said his first word, Amani would garble out the same word the week after. When Alibaba began to walk, Amani would be toddling after him within a month.
Amani paced herself. While Alibaba did his best to shine, she remained in his shadow and watched him.
She was no longer in her world. As much as the idea completely defied the logic she was taught when she – Phoebe – was alive, Amani had no choice but to accept it.
As long as she kept quiet, her life in this world would pass by quickly without any problems. Alibaba would find the cave filled with treasures and outwit bloodthirsty thieves. The end. And she would have no part in it.
That was what she planned.
Year One. She dragged herself around the small space she lived in, an attempt to regain her ability to walk. Alibaba took months before he actually succeeded. Amani revealed her walking ability a month after, when in reality, she already was able to walk three months before her brother.
Year Two. She secretly practiced writing in English on the ground and practiced speaking in English to the cloth walls of her home during her brother's naptimes. Who knew when it would come in handy in the future?
Year Three. She wandered outside of her home for the first time. With her brother, she walked the streets that she would eventually know like the back of her hand. She kept a mental list of small jobs she could do to support her mother. Shoe polishing and touring seemed to be a nice career choice for a child.
Year Four. She would secretly sneak outside of her home during the nights to watch the stars, noticing similarities and differences in the constellations of this world to the ones of her old world. At least the North Star was still there.
Year Five. She learned how to mend and wash clothes, which was useful since Alibaba always came home with dirty and ruined clothes. Though, since he was still a little child, he wore something that resembled a white dress made of rags. Her mother praised her embroidery and, despite her bleeding fingers, Amani felt as if she achieved something great for the first time. Indeed, she was beginning to get good at "blending in".
Year Six. But was she really successful?
It was hard to hide. Amani may have been just a child of the slums, but Phoebe was an educated genius with remarkable memory. She walked differently than the other children. She spoke differently than the other children. She expressed her affection differently than the other children. She looked paler and weaker than the other children.
All in all, Amani was simply different.
"Hey you! Ghost!"
The loud boy did not help her situation.
Alibaba, who was standing beside her, puffed up in indignation at the insult aimed toward his sister. "Don't call her that!" He cried out defensively. And then, Amani's brother and her offender began a juvenile fistfight in which Alibaba was losing.
Amani shook her head and, at the right moment, grabbed her brother and tugged him out of his adversary's fisted hands while giving the other boy a well-aimed push that made him stumble away. The boy gave her a scathing glare, which she pointedly ignored.
"No more fighting." She reprimanded her brother firmly. "You were losing anyways." She added before her brother could complain.
"B-But that jerk called you-!"
"Ghost." Amani confirmed. "Which is a pretty creative nickname."
The other boy perked up in surprise at her statement. "R-Really?"
"Uh huh. It fits me. I think I'll keep it." Amani said thoughtfully. She glanced at the gaping boy. "You don't mind if I use it, do you?"
"Um. Sure." The boy just looked gob smacked now.
"Now apologize for picking a fight, Alibaba."
Her brother pouted and looked away. "No!" He cried out stubbornly. "It's not my fault!"
Amani restrained herself from sighing. Of course, her brother was still six. Technically, she was still six too but mentally…
"Look, I know you did it for me, but I can handle my problems by myself. If I need help, I'll tell you." She told him. "But you have to apologize to-um…sorry, what's your name?"
The boy, who was being ignored until now, stiffened at the sudden attention he was getting. His face flushed in embarrassment at her probing gaze and he dropped his head. "Kassim." He muttered.
"Alibaba, apologize to Kassim."
Alibaba pouted even more.
"Apologize or no dinner."
Of course, she wouldn't let her brother starve, but he was a gullible child and he believed everything she said.
Alibaba's eyes widened comically before he whirled around to Kassim and a quick, "I'm sorry for punching you!" and turned back to Amani nervously. She nodded and patted his head. "Good boy."
Kassim looked at the two with a strange expression on his face that Amani couldn't pinpoint. "Hey…Alibaba, right? Want to join me and my friends on a game of "king of the hill" in Junkyard Street? You can bring your sister too if you want. She can play with my sister Mariam."
"Eh? Really? That sounds fun!" Alibaba cheered.
Amani, on the other hand, was deep in thought.
"King of the Hill".
Junkyard Street.
Mariam.
Kassim.
Why did all of this sound so familiar?
"Mother?"
"Yes, Amani?"
"Where are we?"
"We're in the country of Balbadd, of course. You didn't know?"
What a mistake she made. She wasn't in A Thousand and One Nights. Oh no, she was in a manga, of all storyline dimensions she could be in.
My God, I'm in Magi!
As the twins grew, Anise couldn't help but feel pride for her children.
Her son, Alibaba, was a bright child. Though physically lacking, his creativity and optimism rivaled her own. He had already made friends with many of the other children in the slums. Every day he would come back home bruised, dirty, and grinning. He was a natural leader. He came first. His sister went afterwards. He would be loud and would get into mischief as any other child would. It would be his sister who would get him out of the sticky situations.
Her daughter, Amani, was a quiet one. She would follow her brother around, holding his hand and letting him guide her wherever he went. Amani was a perceptive one and Anise suspected that her daughter was a genius, very much like her father. The residents of the slum were wary of Amani's intelligence, ignorantly assuming that her genius was some unnatural magic. If Amani noticed the glares that many sent at her way, she did not comment or react. She was so unlike her brother, but she complimented him nicely and supported him silently.
"Mama! Look! I played 'king of the hill' and I won!" Alibaba crowed, while waving the flag around as if it were gold gifted by the king. "Amani helped with coming up with the tunnel plan. She also told me how to sneak up on Kassim!" He added as an afterthought.
"Amani, is that true?" Anise asked.
Amani shrugged nonchalantly. "Alibaba did most of the work. I only made a few suggestions. The other boys didn't allow me to play anyways."
Most adults would have been uneasy by the blank expression that Amani wore. Anise, who was used to it by now, grinned proudly at her daughter's modesty, knowing that Amani did the majority of the planning. "My two geniuses!" She praised enthusiastically while swooping them up into smothering hugs.
Alibaba whined while Amani waited patiently for the smothering to end.
Ah, how different they were.
Anise quickly pecked Alibaba's head. "My Sun." She then gave her daughter the same treatment. "My Moon."
Yes, as different as the sun and moon.
"Is your arm okay, man? It looks really bad."
"It's fine! I just tripped."
Amani's perceptive eyes rose at Kassim's answer while Kassim's friends shrugged off the bruise on his face. Even skeptical Alibaba went back to playing.
"That must have been quite a fall." She commented lightly as he passed her.
He flinched and glared at her defensively.
"What? Are you saying that I'm lying?"
"Not at all. I was just impressed that the ground managed to bruise your lower back and your face at the same time."
"Mother?"
"Yes, Amani?"
"Someone is hurting Kassim."
"Big sister Amani?"
A week before, Amani's family had two new additions: Kassim and Mariam. It was apparent that the latter was attached to the pale girl. Amani didn't mind so much since Mariam wasn't the annoying sort, so she allowed the younger girl to follow her around everywhere.
"Yes?"
The younger girl blinked adorably at her idol. In her eyes, Amani was beautiful and graceful in every way. To sum it up, Mariam thought Amani was perfect.
"Do you like big brother Kassim?"
Amani hummed. "I don't dislike him so I guess I like him. Why?"
Mariam just giggled giddily and focused right back onto her sewing. Amani stared just a little more before shrugging and doing the same. The two had the wonderful idea of sewing beautiful pictures onto scraps and selling them for a few copper coins.
Currently, Amani was able to scrounge up enough money to buy a whole loaf of bread and five jerky scraps, which was the equivalent of a feast in the slums.
Anise was dying.
She hid it well from the other children, but she knew that she couldn't escape the shrewd eyes of her genius daughter.
That was why, when Kassim took Mariam and Alibaba to play, Anise pulled Amani out to speak with her alone.
"Mother. It's getting worse, isn't it?"
Anise wasn't surprised that Amani had known what their conversation would be about. She was always a special child. Anise pulled her daughter onto her lap and began to brush back her hair. "Yes, love."
"…You're not going to stay with us for long." It wasn't a question.
Amani was a special child.
So that was why Anise told her the truth. What was there to hide?
"Yes."
Amani bit her lip. "I'll try to find some medicine for you. My sewing improved and tourists are rushing into Balbadd more than usual. I think I'll be able to gather enough to buy the medicine. And if that's not enough, Alibaba and Kassim-"
"No!"
Amani flinched in surprise when Anise raised her voice on her for the first and most likely last time.
Anise made Amani look at her eyes. "They must not know, Amani. I do not want to trouble them on my last days. The money that you will earn will be to feed them and yourself."
"…But-
"Please. Do this for Mother."
There was a moment of silence. Then, Amani took Anise's hands. As a foreign expression crossed her face, Anise began to see her daughter. When had her daughter's hands grown that big? That calloused? When had her eyes become so old? So tired? "Don't worry, Mother. I won't tell them if that is your wish."
When had her daughter grown up so quickly?
Phoebe Winthrop cried countless times in her life. Some were for reasons that she forgot through time. Some were from pain. Some were from anger. All were moments of weakness that she only showed to the walls of her room.
Amani, on the other hand, cried only two times in her seven years of living in this world.
Neither of those times was for her mother's death.
She just stared at the still form of her beautiful mother, knowing that the gentle woman would never have a proper burial.
On the ground was a small pot filled with herbs.
Too late. Her mind chanted. Too late. Too late.
Kassim didn't say anything.
He didn't cry either.
Later, Alibaba would scream at her for not being there for their mother and ignore her for a very long time. Even though they would reconcile with each other a week after, there would be something between them that was broken.
But that would be later.
For now, Amani stared at the reality of the world she was placed in.
I couldn't save her.
"Mother?"
"…"
"I'm sorry."
"…"
Amani and Kassim became closer after Anise's death. It seemed that both had a mutual understanding of what she did. Unlike her naïve twin, Kassim had noticed the signs and how much harder Amani had worked.
That was why, when their mother's body was taken away, Kassim had stood by Amani all night, comforting her as if she were crying. He hugged her and followed her when she went outside to watch the stars.
He didn't say anything. He didn't ask anything. He didn't demand anything.
He was just there with her.
It was the same nights after that. Even after Alibaba reconciled with her, Kassim followed her to the rooftops where they admired the silence of the stars. He never pushed her to tell Alibaba the truth. He never blamed her for being too late. He never questioned why she did what she did.
He was just there with her.
"Kassim, are you going to-?"
"No. I won't tell him. This is between us."
It was ironic how this boy was able to read her better than her own blood brother.
I couldn't save her. I can't save you.
A year after Anise's death, Amani would witness Kassim being attacked by his father. She would witness how her small feet weren't able to be there on time again. She watched with horror and guilt how Kassim was forced to retaliate.
"Kassim…you have the same dirty blood as me…" The vile man had gurgled out.
But it was Amani who had the final blow. She took the knife from Kassim's shaking hands and finished the man with a clean slash.
Phoebe Winthrop's mother was a doctor.
They had expected Phoebe to save many people.
"The only one with dirty blood here is just you. See? It's making such a mess."
They scrubbed their red hands clean with the rainwater.
"Ghost?"
"Yes?"
"Why did you do that?"
"Because even scum don't deserve to suffer."
"Ghost?"
"Yes?"
"Did you-?"
"No. I didn't tell Alibaba. I didn't tell Mariam either."
"Will you-?"
"I won't. This is just between us, remember?"
"…Heh, right."
A week.
That was all she had before she was dragged from the slums and into the palace. That was all she had before Kassim began resenting Alibaba and possibly her. And she took the limited time graciously and spent it on entertaining Mariam, making sure Kassim was comfortable when he came back home, and frequently nagging Alibaba.
"Thank you for the food, big sister!" Mariam, who will succumb to an unknown disease two years after they leave…
"You worked hard." Kassim, who will later curse his fate and fall into depravity because of his jealousy towards Alibaba…
"It was great Amani!" Alibaba, who is fated to shoulder the burden of being the third prince of Balbadd and fated to aid a certain Magi…
Amani could have told them. She could have told them how she knew their futures. She could have warned them of their fates and somehow fix it.
But instead, she smiled at them and asked who wanted seconds.
A loud chorus of "ME!" filled the tiny tent that the children called their home.
I couldn't save her. I can't save you. Any of you.
It's useless to even try.
"Let's run away."
Amani looked up in surprise when Kassim walked up to her out of the blue and began dragging her away from the direction of their home. She was just coming back home from a long day of work. Kassim's behavior was a little off, putting Amani on edge. "What happened?"
Kassim's grip on her arm became tighter but he remained focused on what he was doing. He was almost bordering desperate, judging by his body language.
"Kassim? Did you get into trouble? Where's Alibaba?"
Kassim gritted his teeth at her brother's name. By now, Amani's wrist looked red. "Who cares about that idiot? Let's go. Far away."
And then it clicked.
Amani's shoulders slumped. So it had happened. She knew that, if she had not been working, she would have met her biological father. It seemed that fate had set things in motion.
"Did you and Alibaba get into a fight?"
Kassim didn't answer but his walking slowed.
"Where do you think we can run? Aren't you forgetting Mariam?"
He stopped.
"We're the responsible ones, Kassim. We have to take care of them. They're weaker and more naïve than us. It's what mother would have wanted of us." Amani adjusted Kassim's grip in a way that she was holding his hand. "Let's go home."
Guilt filled Amani's senses as she walked back home where Alibaba wrenched her away from Kassim and proclaimed what they were. He told her excitedly of how their life was going to be better in the palace. Mariam joined in expressing how she always knew that her big sister was a princess and giving the twins her well wishes.
And the whole time, Kassim didn't look at her. Not even once.
"Kassim." Are you okay?
"Princess." Leave me alone. You are different than me.
"Call me that again and I'll sock you in the face." You're wrong.
"Isn't that a bit unladylike for her highness?" You're different. You'll realize it sooner or later.
"Oh, so you're caught up in that royalty shit too. What? Did you think that having the blood of some old man changes the fact that it's just as dirty as the rest of us? Do you think that just because they're going to drag me into the walls of the palace and change how I look and speak that I'm going to be any different than you?" How could you think like that? Don't you remember all the things we went through together? Stop assuming the worst from me! We're the same!
"…That was the most you've ever said in a sentence. You know that, Ghost?" I'm sorry.
"Yeah. Just wanted to make that clear to you when I leave." It's okay. But I'm still going.
"Then why are you leaving?" Don't go.
"Alibaba needs me." I can't stay.
"Isn't Alibaba enough? Can't they just leave you alone? It's not like they would've known or cared if it was just you." Please stay.
"No." No.
The next day, Alibaba and Amani would leave the slums and move into the palace where they would spend their next seven years. The next day, they would begin to spend years attempting to prove themselves to everyone in the court. The next day, they would take on the name 'Saluja'.
But tonight, Amani took in the white cloth of her makeshift home. She relished the dirt under her feet. She praised the sky above her. She treasured the wind around her.
She enjoyed the last day of being just 'Amani'.