Once I had grown into a man, my wants changed. I hoped for a bride whom I could live happily with until the end of my time. As I was taking my daily stroll through the palace gardens I heard a laugh that was the most beautiful sound to ever reach my ears. It was so light and happy. I had to know whose laugh could take hold of my heart so quickly.
The garden was large and it took me several minutes of searching to find her. As I rounded the corner I saw her. She was lying flat on her back with a her knees pulled up. She had a booked propped up against her knees. Then I heard it again... that beautiful, heavenly laugh.
The Sultan's Wife
(Source: Blogspot)
Her smile caught me off guard! Never before have I seen such a women whose face held such beauty. Her cheeks were rosy from the sunlight and laughter. It only took one glance, and I knew she was mine. I would do anything to have her.
~~~
He must get here soon! I've never read such a funny book and I just know this will be one of his favorites. Right as I was about to get up to look for him, my eyes locked with the Sultan. He came through the shrubs and plants towards me. He demanded that I marry him and become his bride. What was I to tell Aamir? My love... my life. I knew I could not tell the Sultan no, for surely that would mean my death.
Aamir and I thought for months how we could keep our love hidden. I could not bare to be without him. He was a part of me and I a part of him. My fear was keeping Aamir secret from the Sultan, but this we must do to survive.
~~~
Where could she be now? I have found her the most perfect dress for the evening festivities and she should try it on before tonight. She always disappears on Tuesdays...
Author's Note: I wanted to write about the reason the Sultan decided to execute his wife. In the story of The Arabian Nights: Scheherazade , the sultan finds out his wife's secret accidentally. There is no explanation as to what she did. I thought it would be interesting to write about the moment they met and the reason he decided to execute her. She had a life before she met Sultan, but knew she would not be able to tell him no.
Bibliography: The story is The Arabian Nights: Scheherazade written by Andrew Lang and then illustrated by H.J.Ford (1898).
I absolutely enjoyed this journal entry. The emotions of love from different views are strong. Sultan is a man who got everything he wanted without question, so when he fell in love with a woman, he knew he could just have her. He had no challenges, until now. To actually have her love was a real challenge that he could not win over. I feel bad for the woman who cannot live her life the way she wanted. You did a great writing!
ReplyDeleteAlthough I haven't read this story I loved your retell of it! You made it short, sweet and simple. I feel like a lot of older stories have to do with secret love stories and people being in relationships they don't want to be in or were forced into. It's sad thinking that some people were stuck in miserable relationships just because they didn't have a choice.
ReplyDeleteThat’s an interesting take on the story. I read The Arabian Nights as well. I kind of assumed the Sultan was a jerk and didn’t give much thought to his wife. The most I thought was, hmm she married a very jealous man. This story makes sense, I feel like a Sultan would literally just pick a girl and say “you’re my wife now”. That kind of sucks. It’s an unfortunate situation but a really good story.
ReplyDeleteI liked the vignette of the moment they met--it was really descriptive, especially the Sultan's point of view! I felt like you really caught the surprise of the moment for the future wife when you jumped from the Sultan's point of view to hers, and she was just enjoying the sunshine and her book, and she's laughing, and she looks up and sees him--that was really abrupt, just like the change in mood she probably felt...
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