Egyptian Timewave

Chapter 51

Abayomi is staring down at the fragments of a necklace, strings of beads that all belong to the same whole. It's a puzzle, which she would normally enjoy solving, but it just looks like a mess right now. She sighs and pushes back from her desk to exit the tent.

It's too short of a walk to get to the cooler, or at least that's what it feels like. Still, she fishes around in it for her water and takes a few sips before putting it back inside. As she turns back towards the tent, someone steps into her path. It's Fahim. He frowns at something on her face.

"Are you alright, Abayomi?"

"Yes of course. Why?"

He motions back towards the table. "Come sit down with me." When Abayomi is settled, Fahim leans forward, placing his hands on the table. "Abayomi, you were so excited to participate only a few days ago, and now you seem to be out of it. Is everything alright?"

With a huff, Abayomi shrugs. "Yes. No." A sigh. "I don't really know."

Fahim's frown deepens. "Did something happen yesterday? Was it a bad day for you?"

"Yes, to both questions."

"Would you share what happened? You don't have to if you're not comfortable, but perhaps it would help you to share."

Abayomi shrugs, hugging herself. "I went to the market yesterday, like Baba recommended. There was a weird lady there, she grabbed me. I was also assaulted later on."

Technically not all of this happened the same day, since she spent weeks in the past, but from the point of view of everyone here she supposes it would be over the course of the day. She also can't deny that Prince Amenhotep's attempt to kill her did mess her up a bit, along with the fact that she is stressed over not knowing if Anippe is okay.

Well not exactly, she knows that by this point in time Anippe will be long dead, but she doesn't know if Amenhotep did something to her or not. Abayomi doesn't realise that she'd become lost in her train of thought until she feels someone nudging her shoulder. She instinctively flinches back, so used to being grabbed by the guards.

The only other physical contact had been from Anippe, who is no longer here. Following the nudge, a hand wraps around her arm and squeezes, only exacerbating the rising panic. She jerks away at that, but it somehow manages to snap her out of her head. She blinks a couple times, trembling, and realises that her dad is holding her arm, crouched awkwardly to the side of the bench.

Both he and Fahim are giving her concerned looks. The concern mixes with relief when they notice her attention is back on them. Abayomi's dad sags slightly before he turns to his cousin.

"What happened? What set this off?"

Abayomi blinks in confusion. "What set what off?"

The concern bleeds back into Fahim's expression. "Abayomi, you had a panic attack, or something similar. I called your dad to help snap you out of it."

She did? "I did?"

"Yes, you did."

Her dad nudges her again, the touch barely lighter than a breath of air. "Aya, what happened? You freaked out when I touched you at first."

Fahim frowns. "Is this because I asked you what happened yesterday?"

Her dad frowns. "What happened yesterday? Abayomi, I thought you were just grumpy because I kept you from coming back to the dig site for the day."

"She told me she was assaulted yesterday."

Abayomi's dad whips his head around to look at her. "You were assaulted? Why didn't you tell me!"

Abayomi can feel the whiplash from looking back and forth between her two relatives. She quickly holds her hand up. "Baba, I didn't say anything because I had thought it didn't matter before, I thought I was fine."

"What. Happened."

"Someone tried to kill me, okay!"

She touches her neck, hidden beneath the fabric of her hijab. Unlike the wound on her hand, this one hadn't healed, but it was barely more than a scratch so she wasn't too concerned. Her dad pales slightly.

"Did someone hold a knife to your neck?"

"Yes, but Baba, I'm fine! I promise, it's not deep, and the guy was stopped."

Her dad points at her. "I'm telling your mother and I'm looking at that wound when we get home."

"Baba!"

"No buts. Is there anything else you're hiding from me?"

Oh, nothing but having spent several weeks in the past and the several other things that happened there, but she can't really tell him that. She doesn't exactly want to either, that's a private thing. One between her, Allah, and those from the past.

"I don't think so? The only other thing bothering me is that I'm just frustrated at this one artifact."

Her dad seems to be a bit suspicious of her change of subject but he lets it slide. "Why are you frustrated?"

She shrugs. "I'm working on translating the hieroglyphs on it, but I've been trying for days and it's been fighting me."

"Why don't you show us? Maybe the act of showing someone else will help you figure it out."

Abayomi shrugs again. "Why not? It wouldn't hurt, I don't think."
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Was the discussion about the wound and panic attack too short? If it was, sorry, but they're going to talk about it more later.

How do you think it will go when she shows them the artifact? How will her mother react upon finding out what happened? Tell me your thoughts!

Happy reading and I'll see you next chapter!

~ Goddess of Fate, signing out