Egyptian Timewave

Chapter 14

When she eventually stops staring at the ceiling and rises from the bed, she picks up the bag from the chair by the window and pulls out the box containing the collar. Abayomi stares at it for a long moment, her fingertips hovering over the smooth wood of the box's lid. It looks so innocuous for what occurred to put it in her possession.

She takes a breath and flips open the lid. The glass beads of the collar glint harmlessly at her and she sighs. What is she doing, being afraid of a necklace? It's just jewelry. Abayomi slips a fingertip beneath the collar and lifts it out of the box, pinching the two ends between her fingers. It is gorgeous, she can admit that.

But what she can't understand is why that strange woman at the market thought it was so important for her to have it. What importance could a piece of jewelry have, no matter how lovely it is? If it was historical, then yes, it would be important. But this piece looks far too new for that to be the case. It may be designed similarly to more ancient pieces, but it can't be more than a replica.

So why is it important? She sighs. She won't be finding out anytime soon, not when the woman refused to tell her anything. Abayomi carries the collar over to the bathroom and stands in front of the mirror, holding the necklace up to her neck. It doesn't take long for her to fasten it behind her neck.

The cream of her outfit causes the collar to pop out all the more, the bright colors accentuated by the neutral shade of the cloth. The glass beads are warm when she touches a finger to them, already soaking up heat in the sun. After another glance at her reflection, Abayomi adjusts the necklace slightly and turns from the room.

She pauses at the foot of the bed, debating things for a moment, before she picks up the collar's box and carries it over to the nightstand to tuck it away. Abayomi is in the process of shutting the drawer when something rolls into view behind the box and she pauses, sticking her fingers inside to pull the thing out.

It's a scroll, the same one she found at the dig site. She had been planning to look at it, hadn't she? Taking a seat on the bed, Abayomi unrolls the scroll, resting it on her knee. A frown follows. She had thought it was too new to be something that actually belonged with the tomb, but the hieroglyphic writing says otherwise.

But even so, the hieroglyphs are too crisp to be very old, so the scroll is still a conundrum. Abayomi taps a finger on the first of the hieroglyphs, still frowning. She might as well translate it, perhaps that will help shed some light on the matter. She makes a humming sound as she mentally translates, the task all too easy with the work she's been doing recently.

Abayomi also sounds out the hieroglyphs as she goes, occasionally dismissing one sound or another when it doesn't feel quite right. As she recites the entire phrase, she leans back with a smile of satisfaction on her face. A frown starts to form when she realises that instead of the English she had been intending to speak in was replaced instead by the sounds of Ancient Egyptian. A white light flashes, almost appearing to have come from the lapis stone of the collar, but she can't say for sure. Before a startled sound can rise from her throat in a cry at the flash, she is falling backwards.

She hits the ground with a slightly confused "Oomph."

Abayomi blinks a couple times, squinting at the sudden bright light around her. Where did the hotel room go? For that matter, where did the hotel go? Is she experiencing some form of amnesia or something right now? Something very strange and concerning is certainly happening.

Shuddering at the thought, Abayomi mutters, "La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah."

She pushes herself to her feet and moves to touch her hijab, frowning when she feels hair instead. Okay, so she either didn't want to go out again with the hijab right now or she never got the chance to put it on. She certainly doesn't remember coming outside, but that could just be the amnesia.

She mutters again, "Okay Aya, breathe. Figure out where you are right now."

Abayomi turns around, scanning for landmarks as she tucks the scroll into a pocket. Nothing, nothing, nothing, something blue, nothing, wait. Was that water? Abayomi turns back to the spot of blue and hurries toward it, squeezing through small clumps of people. She has to hold in a gasp when she reaches the spot she saw.

Is that supposed to be the Nile? It's nowhere near that clean! She has to be dreaming, there is no way this could be real. Abayomi lifts a hand to her forearm and pinches, hard. She hisses in pain and grimaces. Okay, not a dream. But not real either. It can't be. It doesn't make sense.

Maybe she's just ended up in a part of Luxor they haven't visited, somewhere where the river is cleaner? Yes, that must be it. If she sticks to the river, she should find her way back to somewhere familiar. So Abayomi follows the line of the Nile through Luxor, always keeping it in sight even as she weaves through people.

After about half an hour of walking, she catches sight of something familiar and grins, rushing towards it. But it doesn't take her long to stop in her tracks, confused. She had thought she saw the Luxor temple. But this isn't it. This place is in the middle of construction, and the temple has long since started to erode.

But . . . some of those pillars look familiar, and she could have sworn this was where the temple was. It's at the exact same angle when compared to the river. If a few more buildings were on the other side too, it would look the same as she remembers it being before. Abayomi jumps when someone grabs her arm, whirling around with a familiar refrain rising to her lips.

"Please don't touch me."

The man steps back, releasing her arm. "What are you doing out in the city, my lady? Shouldn't you be at the palace?"

Abayomi blinks. "I- what?" Is she missing something?

"Let me escort you back, my lady. I won't touch you again if you allow me to escort you."

Abayomi hesitates, before finally acquiescing. Perhaps going with him will help her find answers. "Alright."

He leads her through Luxor, Abayomi remaining silent throughout the journey.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you think is going on? Was the man confusing Abayomi with someone else? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out