Pairing: Sinja

Rating: K

Genre: General, angst(?)


The sun was barely over the horizon when Balbadd's port sprang to life. Fisher boats returned to the docks from the vast open ocean, whereas small trade sampans were just starting to leave with their loads. All the preparations need to be done before the market begins.

Ja'far's shop was no exception. He was up before the fishers came back in order to be fully operational by the time the first haul was unloaded. Some of the fishermen sought out his help when they wanted him to speculate the revenue for their fresh-caught products, others needed him to calculate the money exchange rate if the catch was exported.

And as one of the only few educated members of the port community, which meant that Ja'far was never out of work. It certainly didn't help that he was very talented in his work and renowned for quick turnover rates.

As the day progresses, the number of fishermen dwindled and were replaced by merchants, foreign emissaries and long-distanced traders. Now Ja'far's job consisted of helping the new incomers figure out their money exchange, or more often, helping them draft out letters, signs and invitations. Occasionally he was asked to do accounting for new land purchases, but those were rare because the king of Balbadd made it a law to distribute land fairly to every citizens, hence only very rarely was someone able to obtain permission to purchase another's land.

Today was just like any other busy day. The amount of clients was enough to keep Ja'far constantly on his toes as he scribbled down writings and calculations while passing a few light conversations with some of the waiting clients.

Ja'far finished composing a money request letter for a client before turning to the next one. "How may I help you?"

"Could you help me write a letter to my intended?"

"That…Not to come out as being rude, but shouldn't that be a private matter?" Ja'far scrunched his brows together. He couldn't remember ever having such a queer request before. Then again, he never had such a unique-looking client either: The man was relatively young compared to the usual members of the port, in about his late twenties or early thirties. Admittedly, he was quite handsome - he possessed the golden-tan skin that was popular with the ladies nowadays and had long violet hairs that could probably make any female population grow red with envy...or sexual frustration, Ja'far noted wryly to himself.

"You see," the man scratched his head sheepishly, "my intended have an affinity for words and inks, but I am incapable of writing and I heard that your service is quite reliable and professional. I can pay more if you want…"

Any further rambling from the man was cut short by a wave of Ja'far's hand. "It certainly is an unusual request, but since I offered to help write for others, I see no reason why I should turn you down. If you so desire, we can move to the back room so that others cannot listen in on your personal message."

"That would be perfect," the man grinned.

For the second time Ja'far caught himself studying the man's flawless features, right down to those gleaming teeth that flashed at him. He wondered who the lucky woman was to have receive attention from this handsome stranger.

"Please follow me." Ja'far beckoned towards his client and they moved off to the small private room at the back of the shop. "You can sit here." He motioned the taller man over to a bench and began spreading out a clean sheet of parchment on the wooden table between them. When he was done, he sat himself opposite the man with his quill and ink at the ready.

"Let's see…" The client shut his eyes in contemplation. "I apologize-"

"No greetings? How about the name of the woman?" Ja'far raised his eyebrow.

"Sorry, got too excited. You can omit the name for now. My intended probably doesn't want the name revealed especially when someone else is helping me write the letter out, if you get what I mean."

"Fair enough, please continue."

"Hello, how are you? I hope you have been living well since we last met. I apologize for not visiting you as often as I should have. You know, the usual obligations...However, know that there isn't a single moment that passed by without me thinking about your safety and health - By the way, our friends also wanted me to say hello for them. They have dearly missed you as well. Oh, if only you had seen them at the Maharagan festival. They challenged me to a drinking contest. And when it comes to drinking, how could I ever lose? They were already completely drunk when I was still on my third cup of wine!" Ja'far smiled at the client's enthusiasm. He seemed so caught up in his own description of the festival that Ja'far had some difficulty keeping up with him.

The man finally noticed his feverish scratching on the paper and laughed in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I got carried away, didn't I? Anyway, back to the main topic: do you remember what day is it today? Then again, you never remember 'trivial' things...Well, thank heavens you have someone like me to help remind you of the dates. Today is the same date as the day we first met, all those years ago. You used to be such an angry kid back then, even now it still astounds me how much you have changed since that day. I want to let you know that I am very proud of your accomplishments, that I would not have been here today if it hadn't been for your continual support, that I love you from the bottom of my heart...and that I regret very much what happened. If only I have been by your side more often and notice the changes, perhaps things could have been different."

Ja'far frowned. This was starting to sound very depressing for a love letter. The white-haired man looked up when he realized that his client was no longer talking. The former enthusiasm was replaced by a pained, distant expression. He judged that the other's mind was already some place in the past.

"Are you okay?" Ja'far inquired softly. His voice jerked his client from whatever dark thoughts he had.

"S-sorry, I got caught up again." The man tried to laugh it off, but it came out sounding unnatural and harsh.

Strangely the laugh affected Ja'far more than it should. The forlorn expression on that person's face didn't match his features. That expression didn't belong there, Ja'far realized. He sighed and put down his quill.

"I think we should take a rest for a while." In a sudden act of kindness, Ja'far offered "why don't we go to the bar on the other side of town? I heard they have some good wine there, although I don't drink them much. Consider it my treat."

At the mention of alcohol, some of the previous life returned back to the older man's eyes. "Really? I don't mean to impose on you, but at least let me pay for the drinks."

Ja'far waved his protestations aside. "This is nothing, consider it part of my service. Let me go and close the store first."

~oOo~

"And the woman said that she would kiss me!"

"Did she really?" Ja'far smiled weakly. The other man, whom he learned was called 'Sin', was slightly drunk. What had started out as a short rest turned into hours of conversation between the two men. They conversed about anything and everything, from Ja'far's business to the best way to catch a Southern Sea Creature (in which Ja'far was quite at a loss as to how such a task can be accomplished).

At least he seemed to have forgotten about his depression, Ja'far thought to himself as he watched the other man down his eighth goblet of wine. How he managed to stay conscious after so much alcohol was beyond Ja'far's comprehension. "I think it's about time we go back, it is already dark outside."

"Oh you're right, I tend to forget the time when I am drinking" Sin agreed as he glanced outside. "Come on," he slapped money onto the table and proceeded to drag the white-haired man out by the hand despite the younger man's protest of 'I thought I'd said before that I will pay for the drinks!'

Seeing that Sin was intent on ignoring his complaints, Ja'far gave up and followed him silently. He became aware of the older man's hand still wrapped around his own. Initially he wanted to point it out, but the soothing heat engulfing his own hand felt strangely comfortable. The night in Balbadd was relatively cold after all. Unconsciously, Ja'far inched himself closer to the other man to draw some warmth from him.

"Well then, here we are," Sin commented as they approached Ja'far's store. Only then did he released his hold, although not without applying a quick, lingering press. It was so fast that Ja'far couldn't tell if he imagined it.

"Are you sure you can get back safely?" Ja'far asked.

"I may have drink a lot, but I am fine." Sin laughed off Ja'far's concern. "Thanks for drinking with me today."

"My pleasure," Ja'far returned. As he watched the other man turned away, he felt that there was something they were forgetting. "Hey." The other man stopped in his tracks, looking back with a - was that hopeful? - look. "I think you left something in my store." He quickly ran in and brought out the love letter, handing it over to the man. "I am sorry that I didn't manage to complete it, so I won't charge you this time."

Sin took over the letter and smiled in a somewhat bitter way, though it was so dark that it was hard to tell. "It's fine, I apologize for breaking down earlier."

Somehow hating the look on the other's face, Ja'far said "why don't you drop by tomorrow? I am sure we can recompose the letter. That is, if you are still here by tomorrow."

"That would be great," Sin smiled at him. "I will be on my way then, good night."

"Good night." Ja'far casted one last look back at Sin before returning to his abode.

"He didn't recognize you, did he?"

Sinbad looked up as Hinahoho and Drakon emerged from the shadows. He smiled sadly as he tossed the letter into the ocean.

"No. But at least he was able to remember me for one whole day, which was better than before."

"How long are you going to continue on like this? I can't bear to watch you beat yourself over something that was unavoidable. Surely Ja'far would have disagreed with you behavior if he knew." Drakon said.

"I will continue on for as long as possible, even if it takes my whole life to wait until he regains his memories." Sinbad laughed bitterly to himself.

Balbadd's port greeted another new day. Ja'far swiped his forehead as he attended to the needs of the different clients.

"How may I help you?" Ja'far said as he turned around to greet his next customer, a dashing man with violet hair.

"Could you help me write a letter to my intended?"

-END-

A/N: Just as a side note, in case things are not clear...but this fic plays off the idea of anterograde amnesia, an illness in which the patients fail to make new memories. In severe cases, they can forget things right after they blink their eyes; so a patient could be re-reading a book for the umpteenth time and still have no recollections of ever reading it. However, a patient can remember all the memories prior to their illnesses and retain working memory (i.e writing, reading etc), they just can't form new memories.

So the basis of this fic is: Ja'far losses all his memories regarding Sindria and Sinbad transferred him to Balbadd because he didn't want people who recognize Ja'far to be calling him all the time on the streets and in the palace (I am sure it is an agonizing experience if you can't recognize someone when they expect you to remember).

Hope this help clarifies things c: