Egyptian Timewave

Chapter 11

Abayomi groans, languidly stretching in bed. She yawns, feeling the covers slide over her body. She slept well, enough so that rather than the feeling of wanting to drift back to sleep that comes with rising early to head to the dig site, she wants to stay in bed only because of how comfortable it is.

Still, she pushes out of bed and drifts over to the small balcony of their hotel room. Abayomi blinks as she pushes back the blackout curtain to look out. The sun is already up over the horizon, which means it has been several hours since the time when she normally wakes. Quickly, she turns around to look at the clock on the table between the two beds and her eyes widen.

Ignoring the fact that she should be at the dig site by now, she missed Fajr! By over two hours, too. Quickly, Abayomi prepares to make it up, covering her hair with the same dusky brown hijab as she had used the first day at the dig site. Once she is adequately covered, Abayomi begins her prayer.

When she's done, she removes the hijab and sets it aside for later, using her hand to smooth down her shoulder-length hair rather than an unneeded brush. She frowns at the scrap of white paper that flutters to the floor as she closes the drawer she had placed the hijab in, the air pushed out likely stirring it up from wherever it had been. It's a note from her father. Abayomi picks it up from where it had settled to the floor and perches on the bed to read it.

Aya,

Fahim and I agreed to give you a free day from the dig site, as today won't be particularly busy, just cataloging the items from the main room, and you would have been translating if you were present. But regardless of what today entails, you've perhaps been the busiest out of all of us, translating and identifying artifacts left and right without pause. You need a break, and you haven't yet taken one. So rest today, perhaps revisit the market. I'll see you when I get back from the dig site, and yes, we will set aside anything that we need you to look at.

Baba.

Abayomi sighs, shaking her head in amusement. That's just like Baba, to keep her from complaining about not working. She likes being at the dig site, it feels like echoes of her own memory are settled there. But it's not like she can get there on her own, they only had the one vehicle.

So, resigned to just relaxing here for the day, she walks back over to the balcony and steps out to look at the sunlight shining in the reflection from the Nile. The glimmer of it reminds her of the dream she had. It felt similar to the one she had the first night, and several of the nights since. But she remembers it this time, or at least she remembers flashes.

Snippets of what she imagines ancient Egypt would be like, people bustling through the market, loud and joyful. Images of a grand complex, perhaps the nearby Malkata palace. Seeing her own face, perhaps in a mirror. Abayomi also remembers the lilting sound of an instrument that she easily identifies as a nai, despite the minimal exposure she has had to it.

If only she could remember more of that dream, if she could keep the possibilities of ancient life that were unfolding within her head. Shaking her head, Abayomi turns her back to the bright sun and makes herself a cup of coffee, tossing a generous amount of sugar in there. As she drinks the coffee, Abayomi ponders on what she should do with her sudden free time. When the strains of nai music drift through her head once more, her mind is made up.

She'll be going back to the market it seems, and to that stand with instruments on it. Sure, she might get some looks at home for it, as many members of the Muslim community in her area are of the belief that any music is haram. But her family, and a few others they're familiar with, believe that traditional, instrumental music is permissible. Besides, no one outside her house would be hearing it if she played the nai, and she will be learning to play it.

But maybe she should do a bit of work first, before heading to the market. Abayomi would feel bad about not doing anything, she came here to help with the dig, after all. She has some pictures of the seal ring saved, along with her scratch paper copy of the inscribed name. She has the name on the first door too, she could work on either, or crossreference them to piece together the name.

There's no real reason for her to not do any work, even if it's just a little bit. Abayomi flips open her laptop to pull the photos up, frowning. When she finally closes the laptop, several hours have passed and she's only identified one additional hieroglyph, and it's from the door rather than the seal ring.

She glances over at the clock. It's about noon, she should prepare for her Dhuhr prayer. The market can wait until after, and so can getting an actual meal in her beyond coffee. Abayomi pads over to where she had left the cloth for her hijab, covering her hair up again with the long scarf.

She's a lot more meticulous now about the hijab's placement than she was a few hours ago, settling it to make sure that it isn't too bulky on one side of her neck or the other, and checking in the mirror to ensure that it covers her neck as well as her hair. Earlier, she didn't need to have it on for very long, but she'll be wearing it out in the market today as well, so she might as well be comfortable.

Why not try out her new set of clothes too, they look comfortable, and they aren't well suited to a day at the dig site. At least not like her other clothes are. Pairing her brown scarf and the creamy white of the clothing set works well, perhaps even better than the dusky brown works with the rest of the clothes she has with her.

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What do you think she'll find at the market? Will she get the nai? What about anything else that is there? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out