Disclaimer: Aladdin and company are property of Disney and were used without permission but were used with love and respect as always. Sindie and Ashleigh are my creations, and I own the full rights and priviliges of using them. My characters may not be used without my permission. To better understand this story, I suggest you first read Untold Stories: Future Shock and Untold Stories Part II: The Shocking Mix Up.

Email me with your comments, suggestions, and criticism at sindie 11@yahoo.com.

Completed 04.20.00.

Chapter One

A young lady sat on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. She just stared at nothing, really, and she sighed at the air around her. This was her life..boring, adventureless. The door opened and a familiar figure stood there.

"Mom," she said in an annoyed tone, "what do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"You look really busy to me, Ashleigh," smiled the mature woman. "Can't your mother have a couple minutes with you?"

"Well?" Ashleigh inquired. "What is it? What do you want?"

"Do you want to go for some coffee? It's been forever since we've had one of our little mother-daughter outings. There's a lot we need to talk about."

"I don't feel like going out. It's cold and crappy out there. God, I hate living in the city."

Her mother looked a bit sad and came closer to her daughter. She sighed heavily and sat down on the bed.

"Look, Ashleigh," she began, "I'm your mother. I raised you, and you need to understand that I'm only trying to look out for you. You can't spend the rest of your life cooped up in your room like this. It just isn't healthy. Now, come on, get dressed and let's go."

"Oh, fine," Ashleigh sighed. "I'll meet you out at the car in five minutes."

"Okay."

Her mom left and closed the door quietly. Ashleigh groaned and stood up in front of the mirror. She looked at her reflection as she brushed her hair.

"Look at me," she mumbled. "What a freak...these eyes, it's like they're not even human...I don't look anything like my mom..."

She quickly finished getting ready and hustled out the apartment door. Ashleigh met her mom in the car in front of the complex, and they drove to the coffee shop. Her mom turned on the radio and flipped to the Oldies station.

"This is my favorite group," she reflected. "I remember the 90s like it was yesterday."

"Oh, please, Mom," groaned Ashleigh. "Spare me...Googoo Dolls? What kind of name is that for a band?"

"Well, it's better than some of the music you listen to," her mom giggled. "Besides, "Black Balloon" is one of my favorite songs. Things have gotten so out of hand in the twenty-first century. I remember the dawning of the new millennium. Everyone promised a better future, but here it is 2019, and it looks worse."

"You're so old-fashioned, Mom."

Just as Ashleigh made that remark, they pulled up to the coffee shop. They rushed into the warm interior and sat down at the counter and ordered their drinks.

"So, what did you need to talk about so badly?" Ashleigh asked, playing with a sugar packet.

She opened it up and poured the sugar into her mouth.

"Ashleigh, I wish you wouldn't do that."

"What?"

"You're a young lady. Don't play with the sugar."

"Whatever."

"Anyway, I know you've had a rough life. I don't understand how your dropping out of high school is going to help that though."

"I'm eighteen, Mom. I think I can make my own decisions. At least I don't fantasize about traveling in the past."

"Hey, that really happened. I wasn't much older than you when..."

"When what?"

"Look, it's nothing...We're not here to talk about me anyway. This is about you. I've been thinking, and I know exactly what we need...a trip. You know, a vacation."

"Vacation? Where?" Ashleigh inquired, not very interested in the topic.

"To a place that has meant so much to me since I was young. It's a part of your past, too, you know."

"Yeah, a past I know nothing about. You never told me who my father is."

"I told you he died a long time ago."

"Then how come I never have seen any pictures of him? How come you've never taken me to his grave?"

"I...I couldn't..."

"Why not? Didn't you love him?"

"Ashleigh, please," her mom whispered, tears coming to her eyes. "Don't..."

"I'm sorry...Mom, I didn't mean to..."

"It's okay. Look, we're going to take this trip next week," she said, quickly recovering herself. "It is a bitter-sweet kind of place that hurts and pleasures me at the same time, and trust me when I say that it dates back farther than you could ever imagine."

The day came when they were ready for the trip to the place that remained mysterious to Ashleigh. They went to the check-in at the airport and turned in the luggage. As they walked down the hallway to the terminal, Ashleigh noticed an array of all types of people around her. She noticed how many different kinds of people there were. Since she had been so secluded most of her life, she never realized just how diverse the world was around her. As they neared the gate, her mom motioned for her to take a seat. They waited for nearly an hour before the flight was announced, and they boarded the plane. Ashleigh sat next to the window and looked out at the dreary sky.

"So, we're going to Saudi Arabia?" Ashleigh inquired, not looking at her mom.

"Yes, I guess you had to find out sooner or later."

"Yeah, and the announcer had to be the bearer of bad news."

"Why is it so bad?" her mom asked. "You've never even been there. How can you judge a place you've never been to?"

"You act like you own the place," muttered Ashleigh. "What? Did you know the ruler personally or something?"

Her mom just smiled and looked at the collection of pamphlets in a pocket in the seat in front of her. She pulled one out and examined the beverages.

"I wonder what they're serving for dinner," Ashleigh's mom wondered. "The flight will be non-stop, so I would imagine that they will show some movies, too. Did you know, Ashleigh, that the time difference between here and there is eight hours?"

"Eight hours!" Ashleigh exclaimed. "I'll be a freaking zombie by the time we reach there!"

"Watch your mouth, young lady."

"What did I say? 'Freaking?' Mom, that's hardly a bad word. You should hear how some of the other kids talk around the apartment."

"Well, I don't care to hear. No one should speak like that. It just isn't...proper."

"Sure, whatever."

Ashleigh slumped back in her seat and sighed heavily, rolling her eyes. What was it about her mom? Didn't she get it that young people are just different? She moaned as the plane began to move on the runway.

"I hate planes."

"You've been on a plane before."

"Yeah, eight years ago...when we went to Florida. That was different."

The plane took off, and Ashleigh moaned again at the thought of spending the next several hours next to her mom in a confined area, going to a place she dreaded.

"Ugh, I feel like crap," Ashleigh moaned as they exited the airplane.

The lobby was filled with people rushing from here to there, and they were caught right in the middle of it all. Ashleigh was quickly dragged aside by her mother.

"Watch out, dear, you'll get run over. Well, welcome to Saudi Arabia."

"Oh, joy," she muttered. "But why here?"

"Because this is where it all starts. You'll see in time. Now, come on, let's get our luggage."

They walked down to the baggage claim and got their luggage and headed out on a bus. Ashleigh looked blankly out the window at the dry desert in all directions. She didn't understand how anyone could live in such a place, and with the exception of the road that stretched out in front of them, there was nothing but sand. The bus drove for two hours until coming to a rather old town. They got off and walked down the street until coming to a motel. After checking in, Ashleigh and her mom relaxed in the room.

"Isn't this something?" her mom asked in wonder. "This place is so full of magic. I can feel it."

She smiled, staring out the window at the town.

"Magic?" Ashleigh laughed. "Mom, I think you've been reading too many spell books again. There's nothing here but a bunch of old, cracked buildings. If this is your idea of a vacation, then I would have rather stayed home."

"Look," her mom began, "look over there, beyond the main city. Can you see it?"

"See what?" she replied, looking out the window.

"See the domes?"

"Oh, yeah...What are they from?"

"That's the palace."

"Palace? Mom, do you know where we are?"

"Of course I do," she smiled. "This is the heart of many legends of wonder and enchantment. These are the lands of Agrabah."

"And your point is?"

"This is when they came from, Ashleigh. Twelve centuries ago...Let your heart believe the truth. Here it is, right in from of you, the very place where Sultan Aladdin ruled."

"Okay, Mom, you're scaring me. I don't know that much about history in some foreign country, and frankly, I don't care. We're Americans. We should be in America, not here, where you are fantasizing about meeting some ruler from over a thousand years ago. That's just crazy."

Her mother looked away from the window and down at the floor. She sighed sadly and felt her eyes becoming watery.

"What's crazy is not believing in the truth...believing what is real and what has shaped the present. What does it take to convince you? Why would I ever lie to you?"

Ashleigh didn't bother to look at her mother. Rather, she just turned away and sat on the bed.

"I'm tired," she muttered. "This is all too much for one day. I'm going to bed."

The night came quickly, and Ashleigh was sound asleep. Her mother, on the other hand, was still awake as she lay in bed. She lay there, wondering how her daughter could refuse to open her heart and let herself belief. This was a part of her past, too, and as much as her mother hated to admit it, the past was a part of her daughter more than Ashleigh could ever imagine.

"Sindie," said an old, quiet voice from the shadows in the corner of the room.

She looked up and gasped, "Who--who's there?"

An old man with a cloth covering his eyes revealed himself. She gasped again and cowarded away as the man approached her.

"Get away," Sindie muttered. "Please, I have nothing for you."

"I am not a beggar or a thief," the man said in a steady voice. "I have come here to help you."

"Help me? And how do you know my name?"

"I have connections to the Divine. You are a part of the human race that has a connection that no one else has. I know of your past when you left this time and traveled back twelve centuries."

Sindie looked at Ashleigh as she slept.

"Yes, you're right...But why do you come here?"

"The better question would be why do you come here?"

"Because this place means a lot to me. I wish she could understand the connection I have to the past."

"You have already began your journey then. You have much farther to travel though. This is only the beginning, Sindie. The Divine is calling for your presence soon."

"I--I don't understand," Sindie shuttered. "Are you talking about God?"

"God, Allah, Jehovah, what ever you call him, or more precisely, it. Your religion has named the Divine Powers God, and since it is easiest for you to understand if I speak in terms of Christianity, then so be it. Everyone has a place in the world here and in the next. God has a plan for you, Sindie. You are unique, and your daughter's future greatly requires a higher understanding. You must bring it to her."

"How else can I convince her? What must I do?"

"You must pass into the next world."

"You mean, die?" she choked. "But I can't just leave her..."

"You will never leave her. You cannot fight the inevitable."

"Why me?" Sindie hastily questioned. "What do I have to me the chosen one to die for this sake?"

"Do you love her?"

"Yes, I love her more than anything."

"Then you are willing to die for her. In time, you will see."

The old man just faded away in front of Sindie's eyes, and she turned to the sleeping image of her daughter. A small tear formed beneath her eye, and she quickly wiped it away.

"I'm going to be strong," she told herself, "and I'm going to do it for you, and I hope to God that you can be strong, too, my child."

Chapter Two

Sindie stood in front of a stand in the marketplace that was selling souvenirs. She smiled in wonder at them as she looked at nearly every shelf. Picking a T-shirt up and holding it up to herself, she turned around and asked, "Ashleigh, what do you think? Do you like it?"

But Ashleigh was no where to be found. Sindie panicked and threw the shirt down on the stand, quickly running through the crowd and looking for a sign of her daughter.

"Ashleigh!" she called many times.

Just as she was about to leave the main street, she noticed Ashleigh standing in a phone booth on the phone. Sindie immediately ran to the booth and yanked her out of there. Still holding onto the phone cord, Ashleigh exclaimed, "Do you mind? I'm on the phone!"

"Get off this instant!" her mother yelled. "You had me worried sick!"

"I'll get off when I am ready," Ashleigh replied nonchalantly. "Now, if you don't mind..."

Ashleigh rudely closed the door again, and Sindie scoffed at her daughter's behavior. She sat down on a nearby bench and sighed heavily as the sun beat down on her. She just stared at her daughter as she continued to talk on the phone as if nothing happened. Finally after twenty minutes, Ashleigh hung up the phone and exited.

"There," she muttered. "Are you happy? I'm off!"

"It's about time," replied Sindie in anger. "You should have never left me without telling me where you were going in the first place."

"Oh, and maybe you should have never taken me away from my home without asking me what I thought first," she spat. "Or is that different?"

"Yes, it is."

"How so?" Ashleigh inquired, looking her mom straight in the eyes with a glare.

"Because I am your mother. I was just trying to help you. Back home, things were falling apart every which way we turned. I had to take you away from that place."

"Help me?" Ashleigh whispered in a sudden mix of sadness and hurt. "If you really wanted to help me, you would have told me the truth about a lot of things a long time ago. You would have let me know my father or at least who he was, and you would have at least told me why we are here."

"But I have told you why we are here!" protested Sindie. "If you would listen..."

"Oh, I forgot. Because this place 'means a lot to you.' And then there are all those crazy stories about time travel you've told me. Seriously, Mother, everyone who is sane knows it is not possible to travel through time. The universe just doesn't work that way."

"You don't understand," stammered Sindie. "It is not that simple. God, I wish it were..."

Tears streamed from her eyes as she looked up at the sun.

"Let's get out of the marketplace," she continued. "Let's forget about what happened here. There's a much better place I've been meaning to show you."

A couple hours later, they found themselves waiting in line to go on a tour of the palace. Sindie tried her best to stay focused on keeping things calm and tried to not think about the visit from that old, mysterious man the previous night. The tour began, and for once, Ashleigh actually smiled at some of the things she saw. She was truly amazed by the splendor and beauty of the palace's interior, and when they entered the throneroom, Sindie just stopped, absently looking at the room in awe.

"This place," she mumbled. "It's all so magical."

She closed her eyes and felt a sudden feeling a weightlessness. She was floating as if on a flying carpet. She smiled and extended her arms, and the ride began. She felt the world moving beneath her as she traveled through the air. It was magic, or so she thought.

"Huh? Where am I?" Sindie asked herself when she opened her eyes.

She noticed she was lying in a hospital bed with a white sheet covering her body. Tubes were in her nose, and she was connected to a monitor that kept track of her heartbeats. She looked around to find another person in the room. It was a nurse, and her back was turned.

"Um, excuse me," Sindie said louder. "Can you tell me what happened?"

A little startled, the nurse whirled around and came to the bed.

"You're awake," she smiled. "Thank heavens. We thought we might lose you."

"Lose me?" Sindie was confused. "I don't understand."

"When they brought you in earlier, you were unconscious. You had a heart attack, my dear."

"What?!" she exclaimed, trying to sit up. "That can't be!"

"Shhh, calm down," replied the nurse calmly. "You've been through a lot. You mustn't alarm yourself so."

"Where is my daughter?"

"Don't worry. She is fine. She came with us in the ambulance. I'll go get the doctor."

Sindie just nodded and looked at the ceiling. How could this be? She had no recollection of having a heart attack. The last thing she remembered was...flying.

The doctor came in shortly, followed by Ashleigh and the nurse. The doctor was the first to speak.

"You suffered quite a major attack there, my lady," he said. "It is quite strange, too. Your medical records are normal, and your blood pressure is at normal levels as well. Your heart seems to be perfectly healthy, and yet, this is one of the worse cases I've ever seen."

"I think you have me confused with someone else, Doctor," said Sindie. "See, I was just on a tour of the palace when..."

"When what?" he asked.

"I can't remember. I was there, and that is the last thing I remember. I woke up here."

"Get yourself some rest," he instructed. "I'll be back later to check up on you."

Ashleigh came by her mom's side and stared at her. She tried to smile at her mother, but she looked down at the floor instead.

"Ashleigh?" Sindie asked. "What is it?"

"Mom...I thought that...that I might lose you."

"Oh, Honey..."

"No, please, don't...don't comfort me. I've been so mean and heartless. I'm sorry. I didn't know what to do. I mean, there you were one minute, and the next...one the floor. You just...fell."

"But I was flying. I never felt myself falling."

"Mom, what are you talking about?"

"The last thing I remember is closing my eyes and feeling like I was flying. I swear it was real."

"Mom, please, stop this...these fantasies...you're hurting yourself, you know. You need help," Ashleigh sobbed.

"Is that what you think?" whispered Sindie. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Oh, Mom, I'm sorry, but I just can't take anymore of this."

"Ashleigh," Sindie pleaded, grabbing her daughter's sleeve. "Please, if you believe nothing else in your life, believe this. I love you. God, do I love you. I wanted to badly to make you see the truth, you know...but you didn't open your heart. I've been a failure."

Tears streamed down Sindie's cheeks as she closed her eyes.

"Mom, don't give up...you just can't. I mean, we--we can get you help. I'll call the doctor, and we will find you a place to go where they can make you better."

"No, Ashleigh. My head is clear. It is my heart that is hurting."

"Well, you just had a massive heart attack. I can get the doctor..."

"It's not that kind of pain," Sindie sobbed softly. "It's nothing that can be mended here on Earth."

"Wha--what are you talking about, Mom?"

"Ashleigh, there comes a time for everyone. Now is my time..."

"No!" Ashleigh cried. "I won't let you!"

"I am sorry...You will see in time."

"I--I don't understand," Ashleigh muttered in tears.

"You will in time..."

Sindie stared at the ceiling, and then the last breath escaped from her mouth. Ashleigh immediately panicked and called the doctor, but it didn't matter anymore. She was gone.

Or was she gone? Now begins what most human beings have never experienced...That is, those who are alive.

Sindie felt herself floating. She looked down and just below her was her body. She was confused and felt hurt as she looked at the daughter and saw tears streaming down her cheeks. She tried to come to her, despite the fact that she had passed into the next world.

"Ashleigh," she said in a shaky tone, "Honey, I'm right here. I didn't leave you. Look, I'm right here..."

Ashleigh could not hear her. Sindie still floated midair in shock at what had just happened. She was dead, but she refused to be it. She became frustrated and floated about the room in a rage.

"This isn't fair!" she yelled. "How could you?! How could you take me from her?! Now what?!"

Without her control, she was suddenly pulled gently and steadily into a tunnel of some sort. She looked around and noticed a bright light straight ahead of her. It appeared to be only a couple feet away, but when she moved toward it, it still sat there, far off in the distance, but seeming like it was right within her reach. She calmed down when she began to feel how peaceful this place was. There was not a sound, and yet the silence felt like it was playing soft melodies of soothing music for her ears. She smiled as she continued to float toward the light, and as she neared it, she began to her faint voices. She couldn't quite make them out, but she recognized them already. Her smile grew as she realized what was happening. This was dying...this peaceful and beautiful atmosphere filled with a Divine Presence and a soft touch of the deepest love ever known. She did not long to go back to Earth anymore. This was Heaven.

The light suddenly extended itself toward her and swallowed her up until she could see again again the light faded some. There before her was a place unlike any she had ever seen before. The sky was full of stars like the night, yet beautiful clouds of all colors and rainbows stretched across it. The surface on which she stood was as bright as day though, and around her were thousands of people. She looked around anxiously, hoping to see a face she would recognize, and then she saw him.

"Oh, my God," she whispered. "It's really..."

"Sindie!" someone suddenly exclaimed. "Can this be? Has this must time passed?"

She whirled around to see Jasmine standing right behind her.

"Jasmine!" she smiled. "It's you! Oh, it's so wonderful to see you again!"

By that time, the others had joined. Sindie smiled reverantly to Aladdin, who she had never forgotten. Her first words to him were, "So we meet again. This surely much be the day the love blooms."

"Yes," he smiled. "Everyday here is but one day because here, there is no yesterday or tomorrow, so we never long for the past."

"The past," she muttered with a bit of sadness.

Despite her overwhelming happiness to be here, she still felt the slightest attachment to what she had left behind.

In the welcome she received, the old man she had met on Earth came to her.

"You!" she exclaimed. "You're the one who came to me that night!"

"Yes," he replied calmly. "Now it begins."

"What does?"

"The journey you must take."

"I don't understand," Sindie stuttered.

"Fashir," began Aladdin, "what are you talking about?"

"You know him?!" exclaimed Sindie.

"Yes," Fashir answered. "I have had my connections to certain people over the years, but that will be explained later. You must come with me."

"Where?"

"Come, there is no time for questions. You still possess a bit of your earthly feelings. If you remain here too long, you will forget them, and our mission will be impossible."

"But where are you takng me?"

"To the Divine Power."

Sindie's eyes widened. She didn't know exactly what that meant, yet she knew she had to go.

Chapter Three

"Close your eyes," instructed Fashir.

Sindie followed his orders, for she didn't know what else to do. She figured he knew more about this place than she did, so she kept her eyes closed until further notice.

"You may now open your eyes," she heard his voice shortly after closing them.

Sindie slowly opened her eyes, but she couldn't see anything because the light all around her was so bright. She knew Fashir was right beside her because she could feel his hand holding hers, but she could not even see him. Her ears heard a high-pitched sound that was barely audible. She listened carefully, trying to understand it, but she could make out nothing more than a melodic tone.

"Are we--" she started to say.

"Yes, we are there," Fashir replied.

What she heard next could not be translated into human words. Fashir began to "speak" in the same way that the high-pitched melody around her did. She wasn't afraid because there was something calming about the whole experience, so she just stood there, waiting for what was next to follow.

"You are going to be told a message," explained Fashir. "Do not be afraid, and do not move. Do not speak, see, listen, touch, smell, or taste. Do nothing but exist."

Sindie didn't understand exactly what that meant, but all of a sudden, her being was completely stripped of its ability to see, hear, feel, smell, taste, move, or speak. There was still something there though, a part of her that she had always sensed was there, but a part that remained as mysterious as the Divine itself. From within, she began to "hear" the message, and this is what it said:

"Be not afraid, my child. I bring to you a message. I have seen how the world you once lived on has fallen apart with the passage of time. It is depressing even for me to see that what I so long ago created could be come to this, and as I see this hate, this destruction, I cry. I feel for my children, and I feel their humanity from within. They never believe the Truth though. Your soul to this world is still new and fresh, and that is why I must tell you now: You still have a connection to that world. You have not yet forgotten what time is, unlike those who has been here for quite some time. You are also the only person from this time who has traveled to the past. You had your daughter because of that connection, and she is now the physical barrier across time. Like all people though, she refuses to believe what is True. You must show her that Truth, for other wise Heaven will fall apart when I see that the one last chance I have to bring triumph to humanity has failed. Find her father. Make her believe, and only then will things be restored."

It stopped and Sindie found herself once again able to sense all around her. She saw the bright light fade in front of her eyes, and she fell to the ground and wept.

"I thought Heaven was supposed to be a place of eternal happiness and love," she cried. "Then why I do feel like I still belong down there?"

"It is happening," muttered Fashir.

"What is?" she asked, wiping a tear from her cheek.

"Heaven is falling. That was the price for this mission you are to embark, and that is why you are feeling these emotions. Because the Divine had to speak to you before you lost complete connection to the earth, you were still more human and you were spirit. No complete human can hear the Divine and understand the message. That is why you had to be in spirit. As long as people continue to not believe the Truth to the fullest extent, the Divine will only feel more of humanity's hurt. No human could ever understand that the Divine holds humanity within itself. Heaven was created on the Truth and those who believed in It would have a home there, but now the Truth is fading away more and more. You must prove that you can find the Truth by embarking on this mission."

"But why me? And where do I find the Truth? I still am lost," Sindie pleaded.

"You must first believe."

That was the last thing Fashir said before he, too, faded.

Sindie fell to the ground and buried her face in her hands, weeping vigorously. She felt awful and confused. She didn't understand why she had to be the chosen one to prove that people were still capable of love and to prove that the destruction humanity plaged the Earth with could be ended...with just one person? This is what she didn't undertand the most. How could just one person make a difference, and of all the people, why her? Why was she so special? True, she had traveled through time, but she didn't see how that should matter. It wasn't like she had any control over what had happened...how he took her from her home and to his Citadel, where he...

"Stop," she whispered to herself. "You can't allow yourself to think about it...It's just too horrible."

Sindie stood up and walked slowly toward nowhere, or so she felt. She didn't know where she was going or how she had even gotten here. She just kept walking, and before she knew it, she felt weary and collapsed.

When she awoke, she found herself surrounded by familiar figures.

"What happened?" asked Aladdin.

"Huh?" she groaned, rubbing her head. "What--"

"Are you okay?" Jasmine asked in concern.

"Yeah, I'm fine...It's just that I...uh, I was taken away, and then I tried to come back, and I couldn't find my way..."

"It's okay, my lady," said a man who looked similar to Aladdin.

"Who are you?" she asked, eyeing the man in confusion.

"I am Aladdin's father, Cassim."

"But...but you look the same age as him. How is that possible?"

"Look at yourself, Sindie," said Aladdin, holding a small mirror up. "You are young again, too."

She gasped when she saw her reflexion. She looked barely a day over twenty, as did all the people around her. She hadn't noticed it before, but it appeared that everyone's youth was restored when they entered Heaven.

"Amazing," she whispered. "I didn't know that everyone looked so young again."

"I guess it's just part of the miracle," smiled Aladdin. "Anyway, what happened?"

"I was taken to the presence of the Divine, and he...it spoke to me."

"What?!" everyone exclaimed.

"I know it sounds hard to believe, but it's the truth. I almost don't want to believe it myself, but there it was, right in front and behind and on all sides of me at once. The voice I heard was heard from within, not like a voice you hear through your ears, but from inside...It's so hard to explain. I was told I have to prove to my daughter that she is the connection across time...because like so many people, she refuses to believe the Truth. I don't understand what this means, but..."

"Connection across time?" Jasmine questioned. "Is there something we don't know?"

"Well, yes," Sindie stammered. "A year after you were sent to my time, Mozenrath took me captive in your time. He uses my magic to alter your pasts, and I couldn't control my magic because I was under his curse. Somehow your love was saved when I prayed and it was proven that you two do indeed possess a real love. Mozenrath could never see that though."

"I'm sorry," Aladdin replied softly. "I never knew he did that to you..."

"It's okay," Sindie tried to smile. "It's in the past now, right?"

"What is the past exactly?" asked Jasmine.

"You mean, you don't know what the past is?" Sindie asked in surprise. "It's what happens before the present."

"I know that," began Jasmine, "but think about it. That only applies to down there. Up here, there is now past. Since all the people who ever lived in the past are here, if not somewhere else, then the past is living right within the present."

"I never thought of it that way."

"It's true," said Aladdin. "Not everyone lives here though."

"Then where?"

"They created their own Hell by the way they choose to live on Earth."

"Hell," Sindie whispered.

She stared off in the distance, noticing that the sky was glowing a dim red in that direction. Could it be? she asked herself.

"I know where I have to go," she said. "I'm going to Hell."

Chapter Four

Ashleigh sat in the front row of the church during the funeral service. There lay the casket of her mother, right in front of her. She kept imagining that one moment the casket would just open up, and her mother would come out and tell her everything would be okay, but that did not happen. As the minister spoke of life beyond that on Earth, Ashleigh painfully blocked out his words.

She always believed in magic...Well, where is the magic to bring her back to life? God, if you really cared, you wouldn't have taken her from me...or my father for that matter. Why me? Why me, an eighteen-year-old girl, who knows nothing about her future now? She was the only person who ever loved me, and what did I do? I just shoved her out of my life like everyone else...but she wasn't like everyone else. She loved me...

As these thoughts plagued Ashleigh's mind, the procession out of the church began. Ashleigh was the first to follow the casket down the aisle. At the cemetery, Ashleigh stood alone and watched as a few relatives payed their last respects. When she finally thought she was alone, she knelt on the damp, cold ground and buried her face into her hands on the top of the casket. She cried bitterly, almost feeling like her tears were freezing in place on her skin because of the chilling air. Those same types of feelings felt frozen in place inside, like they would never leave.

Ashleigh felt a hand gently touch her back, and when she turned around, her grandmother stood there. The eldery lady smiled kindly and asked, "Are you ready, child?"

Ashleigh just nodded and stood up and walked to the car with her grandma. The old lady drove to the city and looked as some snow began to fall.

"Look, Ashleigh, aren't the snowflakes beautiful?"

"They're also cold," Ashleigh muttered.

"Come now, child. You mustn't wallow in the pain so. It does heal in time."

"I don't like time...It either goes too quickly, like when the ones we love are still alive, or it drags on mercilessly, like when the ones we love die."

"Ashleigh," her grandma comforted, "I know this is not easy for you, especially at such a young age like this, but everyone dies sooner or later. I've seen my parents die, and my husband died only five years ago. And now my daughter..."

The old lady choked on her words as she started to cry.

"She was always such a wondrous child," the elderly lady tried to smile. "Such a brilliant imagination."

"She did have a brilliant imagination," Ashleigh reflected, thinking about the stories she had heard about the time travel and the magic.

There was a pause, and then Ashleigh asked, "Grandma, do you know who my father was?"

The old woman gasped and remained silent before saying, "Your mother never talked much about him. I didn't see your mother for a few years back then, and one day I got this phone call, her saying she was pregnant. She said the father was no one she loved, and she said he was a horrible man, someone she would never tell her child about."

"I don't understand," Ashleigh said in confusion. "Why would she have a child if she didn't love him? What could he have done that made him so horrible?"

"I don't know, Ashleigh. I just don't know."

The conversation ended as they drove on, and from above, Sindie momentarily listened in.

"If only you knew," she whispered.

"Knew what?" asked Aladdin, overhearing Sindie.

"What?" Sindie asked, whirling around. "Oh, nothing. Look, it's nothing, really."

Sindie seemed distracted as she continued to gaze at the reddish hue in the sky in the one direction. She noticed that it had become brighter and was dominating more of the sky. Heaven was really falling, and it seemed like this would just be another Earth: Heaven and Hell merged together...only forever. It wouldn't be like Earth because on Earth, people don't have to endure the pain forever...but here, they would. This was Heaven falling indeed because of the sorrow all around, that people no longer believed in Truth.

"I must leave now," Sindie said in a determined tone of voice.

"But how will you get there?" Aladdin asked.

"I'll just follow that red over there, and then I'll see where it leads me. I must do this."

"We're going with you," replied Aladdin quickly.

"What? But why? This isn't your concern. It's very kind of you, but..."

"Listen, Sindie," Aladdin said firmly. "You've helped us out more than once, and this is the least we could do. It surely can't be safe for you to go alone. Trust these words coming from someone who has had many adventures: You never know what to expect."

"Well, if you really want to..."

"We do," insisted Jasmine. "Now, come on, let's go."

"Thank you," replied Sindie with gratitude. "You don't know just what this means to me. My daughter will soon know the Truth, I hope."

"Your daughter?" they asked.

"Yes, she is the reason for why I am taking this trip."

Without further delay, they began their trip to Hell. Who knows what would lie ahead.

They walked toward the direction of the red light. It was impossible to know what direction that was because there was no north, south, east, and west. That was the least of their concerns though. As they continued to walk, they also had no concept of how much time was passing. The air around them became cooler and windy, and of any of them, Sindie coped the best with it. The others had been away from anything but paradise for too long to know what it felt like to be in a storm.

The bright and colorful clouds that had once dominated the sky turned black and thickened until the red in the sky could no longer be seen, and the speed of the wind picked up to a harsh level. It smacked the travelers in the faces mercilessly, and then the rain began to fall from the clouds, erupting into a full-fledged storm. The ground no longer was bright. Rather, it was slimy and very difficult to walk through, pulling down on their feet. In the midst of the storm, suddenly a loud and bright clap of lightning came, blinding anyone who saw it.

And then...it all stopped. Blackness hovered all around, and it was impossible to see anything at all. It was now bone-chillingly cold.

"Listen," whispered Sindie. "Do you hear that? That thumping?"

The others listened, and indeed, there was a thumping sound coming from all sides. It grew louder and faster, and as this happened, the blacknesses disappeared, revealing the place. It appeared like they were trapped, for the ceiling, walls, and ground were all slimy and thick. The vibrations from the thumping echoed throughout this strange place, filling their souls with fear.

"Where are we?" asked Aladdin.

"I hate to ask," mumbled Jasmine, touching the wall. "What is this stuff?"

Sindie touched the wall and was immediately overcome with fear.

"It's--blood," she stammered. "What kind of sick person would build a place like this?"

"Maybe someone who doesn't want us here," suggested Aladdin.

Sindie thought for a moment about the place: Cold, slimy, and filled with blood.

"I think I know where we are," she whispered. "This is a cold heart."

"What?" asked Jasmine in confusion. "But I don't understand. How can we be inside a heart?"

"I don't know, but what else could this be? It's cold, and yet you can hear the thumping of the heartbeat, and there is blood pumping through the walls. This is the heart of someone who didn't know love."

"Or maybe it's the heart of everyone who didn't know love," Aladdin added.

"Maybe," began Sindie, "but one thing's for sure--Ow!"

She grabbed her chest in pain and fell foward onto her knees.

"What's wrong?" they panicked.

"My heart..."

"But you're dead. How can your heart hurt?" Jasmine asked.

"I don't know...It's feeling some kind of pain though. We must get out of here at once."

With that, they began to run, and when they scenary had changed, they stopped. Sindie fell to the ground.

"I'm dizzy," she moaned. "My head hurts."

"Are you sure you want to go on with this?" asked Aladdin.

"Yes, I have to...if not for me, then for my daughter...and for everyone else. The Divine is depending on me..."

"I still don't understand why you were chosen," said Jasmine.

"I would tell you," began Sindie in a faint voice, "but it's just too painful..."

Before she could say anything more, she closed her eyes and fell unconscious.

"Is she okay?" Jasmine asked Aladdin.

"I think so," he replied. "She can't die, but I really don't know what else we can do for her. Maybe she will awaken if we just let her rest. This has probably all been too much for her."

Before Jasmine could reply, the cave-like place they were in began to shake. Electrical impulses traveled down the wrinkled membranes for walls and a ceiling, and two ghostly figures appeared twenty feet away from them. It took a moment before the images became clearer, and then Aladdin and Jasmine realized who they were.

"Oh, no," whispered Aladdin as Jasmine and he looked on a terror.

The male figure grabbed the female figure by both arms and pulled her in close. He violently started to kiss her all over, and she seemed at his mercy, so she did nothing to fight back. He threw her down on the ground and ripped off her clothes, a malicious smile on his face. What happened next was a nightmare. After he was finished with her, he threw her aside like a toy and stood up and left. She lay there without moving and just faded away.

Later, the same female figure appeared again, only she was alone and sitting at a desk, looking over a book, a very familiar book. She cried bitterly and buried her face into the book's pages, moaning, "Why me? Why? What did I do to deserve this?"

She faded and returned again, holding a baby in her arms. She looked at the child in a mixture of disgust and sadness and cried as she rocked the baby.

"You have no idea," she told the child in her arms. "You have no idea about who you are supposed to be...You weren't supposed to be born. But surely, a child like you couldn't be a mistake. You are my child, and for that I love you...but every time I look at you, I will only be reminded of the man your father was and how he will never, ever know the love of having a child. You are not his...I must keep telling myself that. You are mine and mine alone."

The image faded. Aladdin and Jasmine were speechless. Sindie came to and looked at them with a questioning look.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I'm so sorry," they whispered.

"About what?"

"We saw everything just now," Aladdin said lowly. "The memories in your mind were played out before our eyes."

"But...you weren't supposed to know," Sindie said sadly, trying not to cry. "No one was supposed to know."

"I'm sorry for what happened, but it was beyond your control. You can't just let something like that eat away at your mind for so long," Aladdin tried to comfort her.

"No, I don't want to listen," Sindie mumbled. "Please, stop talking about it. Just stop it."

"But--"

"I said to stop it!" she yelled, standing up. "You don't understand! You nor her nor anyone else will ever understand just how messed up everything had gotten! What can you possibly know of pain? You've been in paradise for years! I've seen the suffering down there on that plagued planet, and damn it all, I've suffered long enough! I'm tired of this! I just want to die from here as well...This is crazy...All of this...There is no love here. Heaven was supposed to be a place of eternal love and happiness, and all I've felt since the moment I've arrived here is fear, hate, and terror. Is this the price I pay for trying to live a good and true life on Earth? Whose damned justice is this anyway? God's? I don't even know if I believe in anything anyone..."

"But Sindie..." Aladdin tried to say.

"Just go away," she muttered. "Leave me in peace."

Aladdin motioned for Jasmine to step away from Sindie. This is truly nothing either of them could understand. They had known what it meant to be loved, for they had each other. Sindie was forgetting love and giving up on the Truth. She was creating her own Hell and becoming more like Ashleigh's father than she ever cared to admit. This is what it felt like to become evil.

Chapter Five

Sindie remained slumped over on the ground for quite some time until she heard a loud bang. In shock, she jerked her head into a position so she could see what was going on. Off in the distance, an explosion had just occurred. It took a moment before the bright light caused by the bang disappeared. What could that be? she asked herself. She stood up and began to walk in the direction of the explosion, completely ignoring Aladdin and Jasmine's presence.

Her eyes focused only on the area that suddenly peaked her interest. Nothing else seemed to matter. She suddenly began to run, and when she reached the place the explosion had come from, she gasped in terror at the sight. Thousands of spirits were stuck from the waist down in the mud, and they were moaning and extending there arms toward her as she walked through them.

"Don't touch me!" she cried.

They acted as like they either didn't understand her words or didn't care. A closer look at their faces revealed tears pouring constantly from their eyes, and their mouths were sewed shut.

"Shut up, you worthless pieces of rubbish!" yelled a horrific voice from a mountain. "Don't make me errupt my anger at you again!"

"What?" Sindie asked. "Who's saying that?"

"Who dare speak back to me?!" demanded the booming voice. "Who here is capable other than a stranger?!"

"I am capable," said Sindie sternly. "What are you doing to them?"

"Me?!" laughed the voice maniacally. "I am not to blame here. They are the weaklings, the cowards who took their own lives because they couldn't face the reality that life is unfair and harsh."

"Who are you?" demanded Sindie.

"Who am I?! Why, I am Suicide, my dear. It appears that you are too vigorous and proud to be standing on my ground."

"Suicide? Well, if you're really who you say you are, then reveal yourself to me."

"You cannot see me, but you most certainly can feel me all around. Some people know me all too well, and since they feel so worthless on Earth, I befriend them."

"You are no friend if you kill them."

"On the contrary, it is not I who kills them. They killed themselves, remember?"

"But you lead them to believe they are nothing...It's your fault."

"Oh, really? Well, perhaps you would feel otherwise if you were still alive and feeling the way you do now. Tell me, Sindie, do you feel like you're at the end of your rope? Would you then use that very rope to hang yourself because you feel worthless? Admit it, you would if you were still alive. You wouldn't be able to live with yourself, knowing all the pain you've imposed on your daughter. You know she was a mistake. Tell me the truth aloud so I can hear just not miserable and pathetic you really are!"

"Stop it!" she cried. "You won't get to me! What can you do to me anyway? I'm already dead, remember, you fool?"

"You may be dead, but that doesn't mean I can't make your afterlife a living hell!"

"You're right," she staggered. "It is my fault. All my fault. I should have never..."

"Go on."

"...never helped them. I should have just minded my own business like everyone else."

Aladdin and Jasmine came close enough to the scene to hear that last line. They felt really hurt by Sindie's words, but they knew her words weren't genuine. Despite the hurt, they ran to her side.

"Don't listen to him," Jasmine prodded. "He's evil. He doesn't care about you, but we do. Please, listen to us."

"Please, Sindie," added Aladdin. "We understand that you've been deeply hurt, but you can't allow him to win. You are so much stronger than you will ever imagine."

"Fools!" bellowed the voice. "It's too late! You can't help her now! She is now mine!"

Suddenly, the ground softened and started to swallow Sindie.

"No!" she screamed.

"Hold on!" yelled Aladdin. "Grab my hand!"

Sindie desparately grabbed his hand, holding on for her soul's life.

"You'll never win!" bellowed the mountain. "Now you've made me angry, and that was a mistake!"

A large ball of fire shot out from the mountain, almost hitting the trio.

"Don't let go!" cried Sindie. "You've almost got me!"

With a final tug, she was freed, causing the ground to once again harden below her feet.

"What?!" shouted the voice. "How did you escape?!"

"Because there are some people who still care about me, despite my depression! I am not as weak-willed as you thought!" Sindie spat. "And I'm not at the end of my rope, and you seem to have failed!"

"How dare you!"

Another ball of fire shot out from the mountain, but they were already on their way out of the place. Since the voice was trapped in the mountain, it couldn't chase them. Sindie had escaped Suicide.

"That was too close," said Aladdin once they were out of harm.

"Thank you," smiled Sindie. "Look, I'm really sorry about before. It's just so difficult sometimes..."

"It's okay," reassured Aladdin. "You don't have to explain your feelings to me."

"I guess I didn't realize how strong I really had been," said Sindie with a sigh. "My whole life has been spent wondering if my very own daughter was a mistake, you know? Well, maybe not my whole life, but for quite some time anyway. People should be able to have a child with someone they love, not because they were..."

"You don't have to talk about it," said Aladdin gently.

"I know, but I should tell someone...You already know though."

"Yes, we saw everything," began Jasmine. "Hell really plays with your mind. It questions all you've ever held dear and true."

"No wonder it's called Hell," Sindie reflected. "I know it sounds completely ridiculous, but I never really gave much thought to the word. It's not so much a word as a place though. To actually know I'm in Hell right now is almost unbelievable, but it's true. Even the Truth exists here, in a place so horrible."

"What do you mean?" asked Aladdin.

"Well," hesitated Sindie. "Let's see how well I can explain this. Even in a place so full of evil and hate, there is still the power within myself to fight those things. If I believe that love will triumpth, then it will, and it does. Look at what happened back there. Even though I stopped believing in myself, you pulling me to safety...literally and emotionally. Someone else showed me love even when I thought I had lost it all."

Aladdin smiled and didn't know how to respond. Just as they turned a corner though, they stopped in their tracks. A huge maze of tunnels was in front of them. It looked like a cave with no way out. When they turned around, they noticed that the same types of tunnels were behind them. The tunnels where everywhere, and there appeared to be no way out.

"How did we get here?" asked Jasmine.

"I don't know," whispered Sindie. "But it would seem like this place has a way with making things suddenly appear out of nowhere. I hate these mind-games."

"Well, what other choice do we have?" asked Aladdin. "Let's just choose one and see where it leads. It's your jourey, Sindie. You decide."

"Okay," she replied. "Let's go down this one."

Without further hesitation, they walked down one of the tunnels. Screams and moans echoed through the walls relentlessly, and the tunnel bended and twisted. As they kept going, the walls became closer, and the ceiling became lower.

"I don't like this," complained Jasmine. "This place is getting cramped.

"It's narrow, just like the narrow-minded person it's leading to. It's also hard and cold and poorly lit."

"I can't wait to meet this person," mumbled Aladdin sarcastically.

"How do you think I feel?" questioned Sindie. "I know exactly to who this leads."

They turned a corner, and there was a dimly lit room in the cave. All alone sat a male figure with his back turned to them.

"Mozenrath," Sindie said in disgust, and they stopped moving.

Chapter Six

The figure turned around and glared at the three.

"You'd better stay out here," Sindie instructed Aladdin and Jasmine. "I don't think it would be a good idea if you were to enter."

They just nodded in agreement, and Sindie proceeded into the chamber where Mozenrath sat.

"I knew I would find you here," she muttered.

"Funny," he spat, "you're the last person I expected to see here. What the hell do you want?"

"Excuse me, but I don't appreciate the way you are speaking to me."

"Then leave!"

"I hate this just as much as you, trust me, but I can't just leave...not after all I went through to get here. Now, I've got something very important to tell you. You must listen."

"Why should I?"

"What choice do you have anyway? You're locked down here forever. If I don't do this, then Heaven and Hell will become one, and it will just be like another Earth, only forever."

"And your point is? Look, I don't care to listen to your pity story. What ever your problem is, it isn't mine."

"But that's where you are wrong."

"What are you talking about?" he inquired.

"Look," Sindie said softly, and for the first time since she had died, she used her magic.

There right in front of them was a portal, and in the portal was a girl with black hair and a pale face. She was sitting in her room alone and staring out the window at night. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

"Who is she?" Mozenrath asked.

"She is yours, and she is also...mine," Sindie choked on her words. "She is the result of what you did to me."

"That's impossible!" raged Mozenrath. "You cannot blame this one of me! How can I possibly be her father?!"

"I know you are the father. Just look at her...She looks just like you, and that's what has haunted me all these years. Every time I look at my daughter, the one I love, I must see a man I despise so much."

"So, you are acting bitter toward me because of her?! Is that why you came here?"

"It's a real shame how blind you are," said Sindie lowly. "You could never see how beautiful anything was, and now...everything is so horrid...dead...alone...I hate the feeling."

"Now you know what I've been feeling my whole life and afterlife."

He looked away from her in almost a kind of shame.

"What do you mean?"

"Think, okay?" he spat sarcastically. "Even if she is my daughter, I could have never been her father. I was never raised to love, and I don't even know what it is...expect a weakness that plays with people's hearts. When your parents don't love you and send you away, all you have left is a feeling of emptiness. That is exactly what I felt as a boy, so I tried to fill it with something...anything. That is when I learned that I could be powerful if I learned magic. I put years of energy and time into what I did and into who I was. I always believed that I would prove the whole world wrong one day...prove that I really was somebody. But who was I kidding? Now there is really nothing. Being dead has left me hanging off the edge of a cliff, and there is no return for my sins."

"I'm sorry," mumbled Sindie.

"What?"

"I said I'm sorry...I mean, for what you had to go through. No one should have to go through that kind of life, but you just can't give up."

"No one has ever shown any concern for me before, but this is insane, you know that? It has been too late forever now, and that cannot be changed."

"There is one thing that changes everything."

"What's that?"

"Love."

"Love? But no, I can't possibly..."

"What?"

"Love..."

"Listen," whispered Sindie, trying not to cry, "it is more powerful than any magic. If you allow yourself to believe that, you will see what I mean."

He closed his eyes tightly, and Sindie grabbed his right hand. They faded from Hell and reappeared on Earth. Ashleigh gasped when she saw two translucent figures in her room.

"Mom?!" she choked.

"Yes, Ashleigh, it's me," Sindie tried to smile between the tears.

"Oh, Mom!" Ashleigh smiled and ran toward Sindie, but when she tried to hug her, she went right through her.

"What?" Ashleigh asked, sounding confused.

"Honey," Sindie began, "I am not back forever. I am still in another world, but there is one thing I had to show you."

"Mom, are you really dead?"

"Yes, Ashleigh. You know that I am, but that doesn't mean I have ever left you. Now, look at this man here. Tell me, what do you see?"

Ashleigh raised her eyes and met her gaze with this stranger's. She gasped in disbelief and started to cry.

"Is he--?" she tried to ask.

"He is your father," Sindie said strongly.

"Oh, my God...Is it really..." Ashleigh couldn't talk, but she tried to touch him.

Again, her hand passed right though him.

"You really are my daughter," Mozenrath managed to say. "I am sorry I never knew until now. Thank you for showing me."

"For showing you what?"

"Love."

With that, they started to fade away, and Ashleigh pleaded for them not to leave. Before they were completely gone, Sindie whispered, "I will see you again soon, my darling. We will always love each other."

When they were gone, Ashleigh just closed her eyes and smiled, whispering, "Thank you. Thank you for everything."

Rather than being brought back to Hell, Sindie and Mozenrath found themselves in Heaven. Everyone was there, even Aladdin and Jasmine. Sindie didn't know how they got there, but she knew one thing was very clear, clearer than anything could ever be:

"The love has been restored," smiled Fashir as he looked on the happy moment. "And so has the greatest Truth ever known."

Thanks for reading it to the end! This is just one of many stories by Sindie. All my best to you. :)