The Vine

On a blazing starlit night in the desert, the stable-boy Afif cannot sleep. Neither can the sultan’s youngest son, gentle and cultured Prince Zayn. On this unearthly, magical night, the two meet properly for the first time, as they ride their treasured horses through the dunes; but if they ever wish to converse again it must be in secret, for the sultan deems such a friendship inappropriate.On a blazing starlit night in the desert, the stable-boy Afif cannot sleep. Neither can the sultan’s youngest son, gentle and cultured Prince Zayn. On this unearthly, magical night, the prince and the stable-boy meet properly for the first time, as they ride their treasured horses through the dunes; but if they ever wish to converse again it must be in secret, for the sultan deems it inappropriate for a prince to be friends with a stable-boy. The prince is determined not to be denied his new friend, and a great vine becomes the means by which the two surreptitiously meet. They find, through each other, that the world is more beautiful than either had imagined. An old-fashioned short story in the tradition of Oscar Wilde’s fairytales, set in the palace and stables of a fantasy Middle-Eastern realm.