Albert liked his job. He liked everything about it. He liked being on the world's rivers, he liked piloting his boat in the most remote areas of the world, and he loved the thrill of discovering something new, something the world hadn't seen in a very long time - places and items thought to be lost.
His wife, Victoria, was also an adventurer and they had raised their only son, Albert Jr, to also be an adventurer, though Albert Jr had not wanted that life for himself. Instead, he became a historian and settled down to raise the daughter he had with his painter wife, Sneh.
When Albert Jr and Sneh went off to do their own thing teaching around the world, they sent their daughter, Alberta, to Albert, hoping for some stability for the young girl. Albert on the other hand, could see Alberta's rebellious nature and her curious spirit and saw it as a chance to raise his granddaughter as an adventurer. Though he stopped short of taking her on actual adventures with him.
'Tātayya Albert?' asked Alberta one day.
'Yes, Alberta?' Albert responded. He had been making notes in one of his diaries, but stopped to hear what the child had to ask.
'Do you think… maybe one day you could take me out on an adventure?'
'I don't know about that. Adventuring is extremely dangerous. You could fall overboard and be eaten by piranhas.'
Alberta chuckled. 'Some piranhas attack people, but they don't eat people.'
'Who told you that?'
'Skipper Edward.'
Albert was going to have a strong word with Skipper Edward once he got back to the dock 'Alberta, I've love nothing more than to take you on an adventure with me,' he said. 'But perhaps when you are a few years older.'
'But Tātayya -'
'I thought you enjoyed being around the skippers.'
Alberta's shoulders fell and she sighed. 'Yes. I do. But they get to come back from exotic far off places and they talk about it and I suppose I feel a bit left out.'
Albert sighed. 'Very well. I'm heading out to meet an old friend at The Lost Delta on Friday. Would you like to come along?'
'Oh yes! Yes of course!' said Alberta, excitedly. 'Dhanyavādālu, Tātayya! Thank you! I have to go and pack!'
'Of course, of course,' said Albert.
'I can't wait until our return - I can tell the skippers all about our trip and I can write a letter to Amma and Nanna -'
'Actually, Alberta, I would appreciate you don't tell your parents about this trip. At least for now,' said Albert.
'Oh. Of course,' said Alberta with a nod. 'It is better to tell them in person!'
Albert watched his granddaughter, how she looked as though she would burst in excitement for the trip. He and Blumbert would likely not find the Jewel of Power, at least not this time. But he was excited for the trip himself, if only to see adventuring through a child's eyes again.
Alberta Falls is half-Indian, so I had her speaking Telugu over Hindi - there's a lot of languages and regions in India, after all and her heritage is never specified beyond 'Indian'.
Albert Falls, her grandfather, runs the Jungle Cruise.
Though they are both characters that were introduced in Disney World's Jungle Cruise, I have no idea if they were included in the 2021 update in Disneyland. Either way, there is still a reference to Disneyland and its Indiana Jones ride in there.
