Tag: Published

Author’s note: This is second installment of a short story from my latest book: The Bracelet and the other short stories. You can find the previous parts here: The Museum: Part 1 and The Museum: Part 2.

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When begging for an entry got me nowhere, I decided to change tactics.

I had noticed a small hole in the wall on the backside of the museum on my walks with Cleo around the place. It can serve as a foothold to jump inside the courtyard. There was also an emergency exit of the main building, which was always open. So, I walked around the wall and used the foothold. It was too small, and I could only get a toe in, so I left my shoes behind and jumped in barefoot. The emergency exit was open. With all the staff out, I was free to explore.

The place felt weird and darker, probably because of the lack of the usual staff. And once the adrenaline wore off, I was slightly scared to be alone in the huge, dark place. I could smell incense in the air along with many other smells I could not understand. A different sense of dread clutched my heart—I shouldn’t be here! I should have waited outside along with the guard!

I wished Cleo was here alongside me to fill the silence with his chatter.

As I walked down the darkened stairs to the Egyptian display room, I could feel my feet shaking slightly. With every step, I wondered if I should go back and wait outside. But even though everything in me screamed to run, I couldn’t give up now. Cleo was so close, I could almost smell him, or was it the aroma of an incense stick? The fragrance was stronger closer to the Egyptian display and so was the sense of dread.

*****

I opened the door to the Egyptian display hall just a sliver and peeped in. The room had a pile of large moving boxes packed on one side. The two Egyptian caskets lay open. A fire burned in the middle of the room. On one side of the fire, a man in an ancient robe was reading a book aloud. Several people wearing ancient Egyptian dresses were sitting on one knee with their heads down, listening. Cleo was there too, not hiding like me but out front in the ancient dress. His face was just as desolate as the last time.

My heart constricted at the sight. All I wanted to do was fling the door open and rush to Cleo’s side. As if he knew I was there, he suddenly looked at me and gave a wan smile.

A book closed with a low thump and my eyes moved to the reading man. He was now walking to the other side with a crown in his hands. I shifted a little to see clearly.

Cleo’s friend was sitting on the Egyptian throne in a regal dress. Once the crown was placed on his head, everyone bowed with their noses on the floor. Cleo did too.

Nothing made sense.

The man with the book spoke a few versus again and looked expectantly at the “king”.

He nodded regally.

Suddenly, his face and hands started to shrivel. Horrified, I wanted to tear my eyes off him, but fear held me still. Before my very eyes, the handsome face turned into a mask of death and bandages replaced his royal garb. He went limp. One of the men in the congregation picked him up gingerly and laid him in his casket.

Unable to comprehend, I looked at Cleo for some kind of explanation, but someone had picked him up too and placed him in the casket next to the king.

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END

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

If you would rather get the book, The Bracelet and other short stories is available for free download here: Link

Author’s note: This is second installment of a short story from my latest book: The Bracelet and the other short stories. You can find the previous part here: The Museum: Part 1

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I knew nothing about him, his job, his life back in Egypt or his family, but I knew it wasn’t just a holiday romance. We had barely touched each-other and yet, I could feel my heart breaking over the news.

That day, the love in his eyes had said everything even if he wouldn’t put it in words. Even as he spoke of the different layers in the society, of commoners, of priests, of nobles, of princes and kings of divine origin and of slaves who worked under them and were buried alongside their master to serve them in afterlife, I saw in his eyes something akin of a desperation—a burning question, as if he was seeking permission to say something.

I had asked him what it was, but he had simply shrugged. I could see he was still holding back.

I couldn’t bear his silence now because we were running out of time. He would leave for Egypt, and I would never see him again. I wondered if I should propose him instead, but so far I had only guessed his intentions. I had no clarity. What if I was wrong and I didn’t mean as much to him as he did to me?

What if he had a wife waiting on the other side of the sea?

He still wouldn’t talk about his family and friends or what he thought of our future together. I suggested a short walk outside the museum but he declined even that little request with an apology that he couldn’t leave the place! Angry, I had walked out that day. He had stood at the gate looking at me with desolate eyes, but he hadn’t stopped me.

*****

It had been a difficult fortnight. I couldn’t eat or drink. Sleep defied me, no matter what I did. I even went on a date to take my mind off the matter. But it felt like cheating even though we had never been together—just a few friendly meetings at the museum.

But all I could think of was of Cleo’s fingers wrapped around mine; and how I was about to lose him forever.

*****

The eve of the day of movement arrived with the announcement of the big news on television and newspapers. They had called it an act of international goodwill; an Egyptian king and his treasure being returned to his people.

It would bring a lot of tourism and, in turn, employment to the cities around the tomb where he will be placed back. Cleo will probably play the tour guide there or whatever he did for a living. The thought alleviated the ache in my heart so much that I could scarcely breath.

He was leaving…

Without me…

My manager sent me home that day, stating that being mentally absent at work was dangerous. So, I sat huddled in my bed all day—not eating, not sleeping, not responding when my roommate asked if I wanted to go out and grab lunch. I just wanted to be left alone, so she complied. But the loneliness pricked more than ever. He didn’t have a phone, but he had my number. He could have called.

He chose not to.

He was leaving…

Without me…

Maybe it is better this way. I wouldn’t be able to afford the tickets, passport and visa to Egypt. God knows whether Cleo has enough money for the two of us. May be that’s why he…

He was leaving…

Without me…

*****

I am not sure how I reached the museum. I don’t remember deciding where to go. But my feet ached as if I had walked all the way. I only realised I was there when the guard at the main gate stopped me. Apparently, the museum was closed earlier than usual because there were certain Egyptian rites to re-coronate the mummified king before the big movement the next day. The coronation in our country was obviously a marketing strategy to raise the excitement and, in turn, tourism to the tomb in Egypt.

The museum staff has been given the day off and only a select few Egyptians were allowed inside. A dread settled in my gut along with hope—dread that I wouldn’t be able to meet Cleo. Hope that he must be here. There is no way he would miss such a rare Egyptian event. He must have found a way to get in.

I was completely awake now. I had to get in too, somehow.

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Author’s note: To be continued…

If you would rather read it all together in the book, The Bracelet and other short stories is available for free download here: Link

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash