FIVE
Maram trudged back to her apartment, vowing not to return to the bathhouse unless he was there. Somehow that one encounter with Aladdin had left the place empty of all joy for her. She had returned every day, yet he had not. She wanted, no she needed to see him again. She'd been touched by so many men, but that one kiss from him had burned through her memories of all of them so that only he remained.
Who was Aladdin? More than some simple spinner's son. More than any man she'd ever known...they'd shared one moment, but that moment was everything.
"Did you put him up to it?"
Maram blinked. Two hulking shadows bracketed her favourite couch and the dark-clad figure who reclined upon the cushions.
"I'm still in mourning, you know," Anahita said, throwing herself down in a picture
