UP IN THE AIR

Since the frost still had a full grip on beautiful Faeo, I put on my warmest furs to get to the foreign merchants at the harbor behind the castle. I walked because I liked the cool winter air and my mind wandered here and there. When I arrived, I was able to admire one colorful boat after another. The traders had arranged their wares beautifully and invited me to buy.

Fabrics, spices, sweets, even armor and all sorts of things I had never seen before. I went to a carpet dealer on a larger ship, as my tapestry was getting very old. But I didn't like anything, not even the carpet, which was half hidden under two large crates. I put it back in the pile with the other textiles and wanted to get off the ship. Now I really have to say, I'm not a clumsy person at all. But I tripped over something and actually fell over the railing.

It happened incredibly quickly and before I knew it, I was no longer falling towards the water, but flying through the air. The inconspicuous carpet that I had pulled out from under the crates had caught me and was now carrying me away. Away from the harbor, away from my home. It was an interesting way to stumble into a new adventure and escape the cold.

NEW FRIENDS, NEW ENEMIES

I had long since lost track of time as the carpet flew me through endless skies and clouds. I noticed that the air was gradually getting warmer.
I had spoken to him several times, but no response. In the end I kept quiet, after all I didn't want to disturb him either.
When the clouds cleared, I saw nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing. A vast, dry desert as far as my eyes could see offered me a desolate sight. Then I spotted a small town that the carpet was heading towards. As we got closer, I recognized a colorful festival in the alleyways of the town. Everything was decorated with garlands and balloons and it seemed that occasionally a woman and a man were connected by a ribbon around one wrist each. Of course, my curiosity was immediately aroused and the carpet seemed to sense this as it looked for a place to land.

How could it be otherwise, he didn't really succeed and I fell down just above the ground. A little further on, someone was sitting with their back to me. This someone was a young woman who was as absorbed in her thoughts as I only knew the elder to be. She hadn't noticed my rug either (which was now lying on an old, broken cart, probably resting).

She really was very pretty and seemed to have a clever mind.
Apparently I wasn't the only one to notice this, because a grim-faced gentleman with a large turban on his head came accompanied by two guards and wanted to put one of the ribbons on her that I had already seen others wearing in the air. After a brief exchange of words that I didn't understand, she refused, but the gentleman didn't like this refusal at all. He cursed and swore that he would destroy her life.

I could only watch, as I didn't yet know the customs and traditions in this country. When he was gone, I ran to comfort her. After a little persuasion, she told me what was going on. It was a kind of ceremony in preparation for the great star festival. You looked for a partner and then, through the ancient magic of the star festival, you were joined together forever. She had also fallen madly in love and waited for him to come and symbolically bind them together with a ribbon. But then the local sultan had him imprisoned so that he could have her for himself, thus ruining her plans.
She looked at me with tears in her eyes and I promised to do everything I could to help her.

THE MIRACLE OF THE LAMP
 

Helping the woman, Aleyna, turned out to be complicated. The sultan had come to power illegally, and that was all she would or could tell me. Supposedly he also had magic - and magic is best fought with magic.
She told me about an artifact that was hidden deep in the desert in an oasis. But no one had ever found it before, because this oasis appeared here and there like a freak of nature, without any rhythm that would have allowed us to guess where it was.
So we packed as many provisions as we could carry and set off for this legendary desert area.
I swear on everything I hold dear, I've never had so much sand around me in my life! It was just everywhere. After a few hours it was annoying, after two days it was almost unbearable and after seven days of desolate emptiness, we were now just as desolate and above all hopeless.

As our provisions were running low, we tried to head back towards the city. Even though Aleyna knew the area well, I was pretty sure she had no idea where exactly we were. We just kept wandering around like two empty shells. We had severely rationed the water and it was running low with no town in sight - which didn't make our situation any better.

I had lost track of time when we finally discovered palm trees. And where there were palm trees, there was water! This gave us new strength and we dragged our tired bodies to the patch of green.
We found water and colorful, edible fruit and replenished our supplies.
Just as we were about to set off, I stumbled. It was part of an old, moldy crate.  My curiosity won out, of course, and I dug out the rest with my hands.
Without hesitation, I opened the unlocked lid and there it lay, bedded on red velvet that didn't match the box at all. A lamp.
 

THE COLORFUL ANIMAL
 

For a magic lamp, it was pretty inconspicuous. Neither Aleyna nor I had any idea how it could work, so we left it in its velvet bed. Unfortunately, the two of us now had to carry the box back to the town. The walk had been hard enough without the extra load and we didn't know exactly where to go.
I was annoyed that I hadn't taken the rug with me but had stowed it safely at Aleyna's house. It was probably my only chance of returning home at some point after this adventure was over.
We had decided to stay at the oasis for one night to recharge our batteries.

The next morning we woke up, or rather, we were woken from our sleep by a snort. Lying next to us - believe me when I tell you, I'm not joking - was a camel. But of course it wasn't just any camel, it was totally colorful from head to toe! Red, green, blue, yellow, purple, ... There was actually no color that couldn't be found on the animal. It lay there totally relaxed, as if we had been traveling with it for months. After a brief introduction, we loaded the crate and our provisions onto the colorful camel and set off. Following the animal, of course, as it not only provided shade, but also carried our precious load straight in a certain direction.
Aleyna and I quietly agreed to follow the animal.
There must have been worse ideas than trusting a colorful camel, right?

 

 

THE 40 STARS
 

We marched all day. When it got dark, we were a little surprised. Had it really been that long to get there? It's pitch dark in the desert at night, we wanted to stop for a rest, but our friend, the colorful camel, just kept walking. We held our hands at its sides so as not to lose it.
I remembered old stories like 1001 Nights and the 40 thieves. I occasionally asked my traveling companion about them, but Aleyna just smiled at her.
Suddenly we could see thousands of lights in front of us. It wasn't an illusion - beautiful paper lanterns in every pattern and color you could imagine lit up the night sky in front of us.

It was the Star Festival, the time when couples officially tied the knot in front of their families in a ceremony. I guess that was their way of getting married.
Aleyna led me through the narrow streets to her modest home. Of course, her lover was secretly waiting for her there. Our journey was soon over, as it was almost midnight and the end of the party was approaching. They both had families, but it was too late. So they asked me to be their witness and hold the ceremony with them - of course I accepted the honor and accompanied them to their happiness.
Later, during the small, meagre meal that was part of the ceremony, she told me about the origins of this celebration.
A father did not want to give his daughter into the hands of a man from the lower social class. His faith belonged to the sky and the stars, he said to the lovers: Only when all the constellations he knew were shining at the same time would he agree to their union. The two made an appointment for the next night to run away together, to give up their lives for their love. And then it happened - all the constellations lit up at once. The father counted 40 of them and he didn't know them all by far. He kept his word and the two of them were happy. 

Since then, they celebrated that night and the paper lanterns symbolized the shining stars.
A wonderful story, but I wondered whether the two of them had secretly given the father something to make him suddenly see shining stars... Why else would this phenomenon occur?
 

 
 

HIDE AND SEEK
 

Of course, our return did not remain hidden from the Sultan for long, and the alliance between Aleyna and her lover was no longer a secret. Rumor had it that he was raging with anger because there was nothing he could do now. It was said that he didn't want Aleyna to be happy with anyone else, so he wanted to have her lover killed.
We didn't want to find out if there was any truth to these rumors and decided to strap the lamp and some belongings onto our colorful camel and leave as quickly as possible. I even thought about my carpet this time, but it seemed to have lost its magic.

It quickly became clear that we could rely on our friend. He apparently knew exactly that we needed a hiding place and led us unerringly in one direction. We marched bravely through the hot desert sand, knowing that we were slower than the Sultan's men and that they would soon catch up with us. The invisible path of our colorful friend led to a sandstone cave that was so well camouflaged that you could only see it when you were standing in it. It was just perfect for resting and making plans. Aleyna didn't want to give up and, after all, we still had the magic lamp.
 

 

THE GENIE IN THE BOTTLE
 

It was hopeless. No matter what we tried, we couldn't activate the lamp. I was beginning to wonder if it was the right one at all. We often wandered aimlessly around the spacious sandstone cave, pondering, despairing. There even was a small spring of fresh water here, we had the stars on our side - as Aleyna said several times. But the stars didn't help us against the Sultan.

Our food was running out, so I ran off with our colorful camel to get more. Nobody knew me, it seemed the safest option. Our friend led me to a camp of traders and I paid for fruit, bread and some dried meat as I was told. I noticed a single small basket of cherries, so I didn't have to think twice. Perhaps these were just as good as the ones in the world beyond the rabbit hole.

Fully packed, the colorful animal brought me back to the sandstone cave. I proudly showed off the cherries - but neither Aleyna nor her lover had ever seen fruit like this. It was strange, so I sat down on the carpet with them. The lamp lay in the middle of us after another unsuccessful attempt to activate it. I placed the cherries next to it and wanted to demonstrate how to watch out for the pit and eat them. But before I could take one, the lamp suddenly started to glow and vibrate. The colorful camel snorted at the edge of the cave, then a genie appeared. It was a red genie. She bowed low and then began to eat the cherries while we just stared at her with open mouths.

Of course we all wondered - where did the cherries come from? And what kind of crazy genie was it that loved these fruits so much?
 

 

THE MONSTER
 

After she had eaten all the cherries, we chatted with her for a while. We actually only had one wish, which disappointed me a little—but hopefully it would be enough for our dilemma with the Sultan. She understood our situation and had promised to help—also to restore the balance of power.

So we packed our things and set off for home, but we wouldn't get far. We found another oasis, one my companion didn't know about. Since our legs were tired and our stomachs were rumbling, we stopped for a rest by the small, crystal-clear lake and ate a meager meal under the palm trees.

Splash. It was only a small splash, but none of us had been paying attention to the lake. Our colorful friend suddenly became very restless, and the bag with the lamp almost slipped off his back. There it was again! A small, colorful fish jumped out of the water and disappeared with another splash. The same thing happened in another place. Suddenly, the lake teemed with colorful fish. We watched, fascinated, until one landed on the shore. It crawled toward us like a toad, and more and more followed suit. Our laughter quickly faded, because as soon as these fish touched the bottom, they had teeth like piranhas! We immediately gathered everything and tried to flee, but the palm trees suddenly grew so dense that we couldn't get away from the lake. The voracious fish came ever closer, and I tried to calm our camel. But it lashed out in panic, and the lamp fell out of its pocket. I immediately grabbed it - and the genie appeared. She quickly grasped the situation, stood in front of us, and spread her arms toward the lake.

She sent a swarm of mosquitoes, as dark as a storm cloud, out onto the lake. It worked; the fish boiled back into the water and caught their prey. In the lake, they looked like normal, beautiful, colorful fish again. The genie suspected a trap set by the Sultan, as she sensed evil magic. Then she asked for cherries, which made us smile. Since the palm trees were also back in place, we took to our heels and left the oasis—of course, not without promising our genie two baskets of cherries.

 

 

HOW TO OVERTHROW A RULER?
 

We were quickly back in the city and were able to reach Aleyna's house unnoticed. My carpet was happy to see us again and had obviously made friends with the colorful camel—but nothing surprised me anymore. I went out again to get lots of cherries at the market and was especially careful on my return that no one followed me.

Then we sat together and researched, pondered, and devised one plan after another to overthrow the Sultan. After the genie had eaten her fill of cherries, she assured us that all she had to do was touch the Sultan. Then she could take away his magic, and as a normal human, he would no longer have any power over us. Then she disappeared into her lamp, and we continued to think until we had come up with a few reasonably good ideas. In front of us lay stacks of papers and individual pages; I hadn't seen such chaos in a long time. I had no idea which documents the pages belonged to, so I wasn't the first choice to sort them. So I checked on our colorful camel again and took care of it. It was already early in the morning when we all fell tired into bed. But we had a plan.

 

THE SPOOKY SECRET
 

Of course, we had no chance of carrying out our plan. The next morning, the Sultan's henchmen stormed the house, and we were all taken to the palace. And when I say all, I mean all of us—even the carpet and the colorful camel were thrown into the dungeons with us. Luckily, no one had discovered the lamp, which was safely and well hidden in my doublet pocket. But unfortunately, none of us had managed to smuggle in a few cherries.

We were guarded, and no one showed up all day. During the night, the guard disappeared, and a little girl appeared. She quickly told us that all the Sultan's subjects knew about the hunt and admired us for our courage and boldness. Therefore, everyone was trying their best to help us. She and her friends had tricked the guard and stolen the key—once we were free, the girl led us all the way up the stairs from the dungeon to the palace. A maidservant awaited us and led us to a secluded part of the palace, where we were given water and bread in a room with furniture covered by sheets.

A servant relieved her and told us about the Sultan: his habits, his regular daily routine, and the best way to approach him. This was at the daily audience, which was to take place in the morning. Perhaps we would be lucky and our escape would go undetected. The servant merely winked and was replaced by three skilled seamstresses who sewed us beggar's clothes as camouflage. They worked all night while we rested, for tomorrow would decide everything. But hardly any of us slept a wink. The horrific story of how the Sultan was betrayed and murdered by one of his mistresses swirled around in our minds.

She had poisoned him with his favorite food, pumpkin stew, and he had been able to use his magic to transform himself into the ghost he now was. This also explained his reaction to Aleyna's rejection. The seamstresses were almost finished when we finally drifted into a restless sleep. Would fate be on our side tomorrow?

 

HAPPY END
 

When we awoke, someone had brought us cherries. Of course, we immediately summoned our genie and told her the story of the poisoned sultan. This time, she took all the cherries and disappeared without an explanation. Disappointment spread, as she had been our last chance. However, there was no turning back; everyone was counting on us—somehow, we simply had to manage to defeat the sultan. We decided to simply storm his throne room and then improvise. A stranger formation consisting of two locals, a stranger, a flying carpet, and a colorful camel would probably never be seen again.

The sultan was already expecting us; our escape had, of course, not gone unnoticed. But this time, he stood alone against us; even his last guard had now turned against him and his reign of terror. But with his magic, we stood no chance; he knocked us all down like chess pieces in a game. Aleyna clung to her husband, weeping. The camel lay panting on its side, and the carpet lay crumpled and motionless on the floor. I scrambled to my feet with the strength of rage within me and confronted him, though I had no idea what else I could do. The Sultan just laughed. Then suddenly, someone else laughed. A bright, shrill voice, and it silenced the ruler instantly. A spirit appeared, closely followed by our genie. So she hadn't abandoned us after all! The spirit was female, and I assumed she was the Sultan's lover, the one who had poisoned him. He literally turned red with anger and roared with fury. He ignored us completely and focused all his magic on the spirit.

Everyone who was still conscious sought shelter, but before the evil Sultan could unleash his power, he exploded in a blinding flash and was consumed by his own magic. Blinded, we blinked at the spot where he had just been standing. The sultan had vanished, and the spirit of his lover with him. With a crooked smile on my face, I imagined the two of them screaming at each other in another world—for all eternity.

 

HOW DO WE GET HOME?
 

It was over. After a few days, it turned out that a young warrior had earned the respect and admiration of the entire people; he had prevented many wars and much suffering for the city during the reign of terror. This time, they apparently wanted to do things right and choose their future ruler. I was allowed to contribute a few political thoughts, but mostly kept to myself. I was much more worried about how I would get home, as this adventure was drawing to a close. I thought of returning down the rabbit hole, but every journey is different, so too is the homecoming. Here and there, I helped Aleyna, who wanted to run a small farm with her husband—guess three times, our colorful camel wouldn't be the only one. I would miss it terribly; after all, it had saved us from the oasis.

Every day I visited our colorful friend in his stable, and today was no exception. I only greeted Aleyna and her husband briefly; they were busy and waved me through. In the stable, not only was the camel waiting for me, but my carpet lay there in the straw. Poor thing, who could have left it there? I picked it up and carried it outside.

Suddenly, its fibers sprang back to life; it flew from my hand and knocked me over, making me cry out in fright—but I landed softly in its center.

Soon it was flying with me across the yard. I could only wave to Aleyna and her husband, who had rushed outside because of my scream, before the carpet carried me higher and higher through the clouds. What a shame, I would have liked to have said a proper goodbye to my friends. But just as the carpet carried me home, I carried the memories of this adventure and of all my friends in my heart—and later I recorded them in this diary.