Egyptian Timewave

Chapter 12

Abayomi munches on the ta'ameya, a satisfied smile on her face. She could eat this forever, that's how tasty it is. She's almost tempted to get another after she finishes this one, though she doesn't really need more food. Maybe she should find a recipe, and make it at home. With a final bite, Abayomi crumples up the wrapping of the ta'ameya and chucks it into a trash can before turning back towards the market.

She'd wanted to eat outside of it, but now that she's done she can go back and peruse the stalls for things that aren't food. The moment she steps inside the market from the relative silence of the area outside of it, she has to cringe at the level of sound. It's all well and good on its own, or when she's expecting it, but the leap in volume between the two places is still a shock.

Abayomi takes a moment to settle herself, breathing deeply, and strides into the throng. It's easier to weave amongst people by herself, rather than with her father. When they had come together, they had moved more at a leisurely stroll rather than the pace with which she is walking now, but then, she has a specific stall in mind this time. She's moving with intent. The vendors immediately take notice of her, their exuberant voices rising the best they can over the sounds of people bustling about.

"Are you interested in some kohl, ya aanesa? It's only twenty-three pounds!"

With a hint of amusement, she notes the change in price from the last time she passed by this stall. The vendor must be thinking he can get more money off of her than he thought he would get off her father. If she was actually interested in kohl today, she would perhaps have pointed that out to him.

"Instruments for sale! As little as five pounds!"

Abayomi turns towards that call, following it to the stand full of instruments. The man standing behind the table beams at her approach.

"Are you looking for anything in particular, ya aanesa?"

"A nai."

The vendor shifts to the far side of the table, where a number of the arabic flutes are laid out over a cloth. The wood gleams enough for her to know that it is carefully polished, and some of the pieces have metal mouthpieces, for a better sound. Some of them have five holes in the front and some have six, with a final hole in the back for each.

Abayomi gravitates towards the ones with six holes in the front, particularly the ones that also have the metal mouthpieces. She picks up one that looks similar to the one they found in the tomb. Abayomi turns it over in her hands, running her fingers over the smooth wood. The vendor's dark eyes are glittering when she looks up, already eager in anticipation of a purchase.

"How much is this nai?"

He ponders for a moment. "Hmm, forty-six pounds."

She gives him a sharp look. "When I was here the other day, you were claiming your nai's were forty-five, not forty-six."

The vendor grimaces. "Forty-five, then."

"Thirty-five."

"Forty-three."

"Thirty-eight."

"Ya aanesa, I really can't sell for less than forty."

With a slight nod, Abayomi reaches into her purse to pull out forty pounds, passing them over to him. With a pleasant smile, the vendor hands Abayomi the nai, along with a linen tote to put it in.

"Pleasure doing business with you, ya aanesa."

"You as well."

Abayomi takes the items from him and steps away from the stall, slipping the nai into the bag as she does. She places her purse inside the tote as well, before she slings it over her shoulder and rests her hand on the opening. She could have turned back and left the market now that she's gotten what she wanted, but why not explore the market again?

There were so many interesting things the last time that she didn't pay much attention to. Abayomi wanders over to one of the nearby jewelry stalls to examine the pieces. Most of them are simple, but a few of them are almost gaudily elaborate, particularly the necklaces. She lifts up one of the simpler ones, a lapis lazuli pendant with a name carved on it in hieroglyphs.

She grazes her fingertips along the writing, smiling at the perfection of combining this name with this stone. The name written here means Daughter of the Nile, and it is written into a stone the same blue as deep water. Abayomi lowers the pendant and picks up a bracelet sitting beside it.

It's a gold band, with chunks of lapis lazuli braided onto it with thin golden threads. She fingers it before lifting it up and turning to the seller. After a quick exchange, she leaves the stall several pounds poorer and with a lapis lazuli and gold bracelet on her wrist. She continues wandering through the market, perusing the wares of the stalls that catch her eye.

She barely notices when the shadows creep above her to darken the space, too enthralled by the various stalls and their wares. But she does notice when a woman calls out to her in a familiar voice, there was no possibility of not noticing, with the strangeness of what the woman says.

"Back at last, are you child?"

Abayomi whirls to see the woman smiling from the shadows of a stall's canopy, her eyes shining in eerie satisfaction. Carefully, Abayomi steps closer, but she still stays at least a yard back from the stall.

"Pardon?"

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What do you think the woman at the stall wants? What will happen next? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out