The Eye of Ankh (part 1)

Abu Amarna sat on a big stone when pupils were preparing all the things for that night’s ceremony—when it was full moon above the land of sands. The old man started to make a fire in the circle of them. As it gave a warm and lights around them, Abu Amarna started the ceremony. He started to pray to the Lord. Many vegetables, fruits, and meat put near him.

One by one of them taken to the fire as one pray done.

As they stepped to the top of the ceremony, a boy ran from far away.

“STOP!! NO, STOP!! STOP IT NOW!!! PLEASE, STOP THAT!!” he screamed while running.

Abu Amarna turned around and found that the boy was talking to him. So they stopped the ceremony and everyone looked at Abu.

“Why you run like that, Nebula? What happened?” Abu asked the boy.

“Please stop the ceremony, Dad. If we still, the Queen will angry to us. The Ankh—” Nebula stopped telling.

“The Ankh? What happened to her?”

“It was lost… When I came here, I brought a basket filled with it. But on my way here, sand storm came. As it clear, I checked the basket. And it was empty since I left house! I don’t know how it could happen,” Nebula explained.

Everyone looked at each other. They were confused of what to do.

Suddenly a big wind came.

It shut down the fire. Everyone turned around. Then something horrible happened—the Sphinx opened his eyes. As the moon lighted up the eyes, there it was, the Queen, Cleopatra’s eyes.

“You have lost my precious thing. You do the ceremony without it. Now you have to pay!!” said a mysterious voice which known as the Queen’s voices. Every of them getting scared. One of them shocked and warned the others.

“Everyone run!!! Run now!!! It is everywhere now!! RUUUUNNNN!!!!!”

Abu turned around, and there it was. Many snakes sneak out from inside the sands.

Everyone ran as fast as they could.

Then scarily, one by one of them involved into inside the sand and couldn’t be saved. Abu tried to help them but the eyes of Sphinx—showed anger—forced his step. He felt scared to himself, and so, he ran to his house with a scream sound follow his footstep on sands.

When he tried to reach a tree, the big wind turned to sand storm. He fastened his step and fell behind a big stone near the tree. Poor old man, he was unconscious. His head hurt and blood floating his sorb.

While everybody missing, Nebula saved himself.

He instantly hides inside a big cave, far away from his house. No one realized it, even until the sun rises. “Where do I have to go now?” Nebula sighs when he was woken up. And he just walked away through the sands and winds blowing around him.

Meanwhile in a small village, all wives confused. They didn’t know where their husbands were. They just know that their husband had gone to hold a ceremony since last night. Every wife was panic. And scared. And worry. They did not have any idea what they supposed to do. But then a man offered himself to go outside and found them. After talk, people let him go. With hope all of them safe, absolutely.

And hour rode his camel, the man tired. He and his camel stopped to have rest. When he opened his drink bottle, he heard a sad voice. He surprised and looked out to found that mysterious voice. He almost screams—behind the rock he rest in, there he found, Abu Amarna’s body.

  

*****

TTTEEEEETTTT…

TTTTTEEEEEEETTTTTTT………

“Mm… Ugh… What time is it??” asked Grace opened her eyes.

The clock showed 6.30 in the morning.

“Honey, wake up!! School’s time! C’mon, two days more and we’ll have holiday!” said her Mom from downstairs. Grace jumped and ran to the bathroom. View minutes later, she was ready to school.  “Have fun, dear. And don’t forget to complete and finish all school projects or any homework. I don’t want—”

“I don’t want our holiday trip being disturbed by any reason,” Grace continued her Mom’s words. The lady smiled to her daughter and then kissed her cheek. As fast as she could, Grace ran through the door. Outside, Eldy was waiting.

“How long I have to stay waiting for you?” asked her.

Grace smiled. “I just need another minutes to wake up. You know…”

“Know what?”

“My alarm worked perfectly to waking me up, but I’m too lazy to got up…”

“You never not lazy, Grace…”

“No, I’m just kidding,” said Grace smiled.

“Oh, come on!”

School today is not really boring. Teachers usually came to class, give a short explain, told students their holiday homework(s). This morning, Eldy had different class, so Grace went alone to her extraordinary-extra-class: Egypt Archeology. Well, actually it’s one of favorite class after P.E.. Mr. Peter came very early, he was different from the others. He didn’t explain, but only showed a short movie of Pyramid of Giza.

The movie going well. Grace enjoy it. She really likes everything close to historical. In the middle of the movie, she caught something. She couldn’t understood, but she sure she was right. There was a wall, only from a sand, not stone like the others, giving a shine of something colored gold. Grace took more attention, and that was right. On the wall, written words “Help us” and “What is really hidden, is under the water. The deepest of them all, the greatest Nile”.

After then, the projector exploded.

 “How long does it take trip to Egypt? Feels like it was so long,” comment Eldy. “In this brochure, wrote only two hours from the nearest airport. But, what time is it now?” asked Grace to her sister. “Almost 12 o’clock, Grace. Still far away I think, I bet sleep again. Wake me up when we arrived, please?”

“Okay, Eldy. Have a nice dream,”

“Oh, I will if this trip gets me feel better,” she smiled and closed her eyes.

Grace shocked her head and she got asleep in back row. A few hours next, they arrived at Egypt. “Welcome to Egypt. In our left—further—there is the Pyramid. One of the world’s mysterious places. But calm down, we were not gonna went there. Our destination is…” the travel guide stopped spoke. Grace looked out and she realized she was closer to the Sphinx’s body.

“Whoa…” she gasped to herself.

“Yes, Young Lady, next to you is the Sphinx—the giant stone building with half lion’s body,”

“…and human’s head. Added, the nose was broken. Am I right?” Grace continued the tour guide’s words. “Exactly, Smart Lady. I like you very well. Now let’s go out take some fresh air and enjoy the Sphinx’s journey!” she said and all of the tourists out from the bus. But honestly, suddenly comes sandstorm towards them, so they back to the bus and close the door. They stayed till the storm goes down. Afraid of another disaster, the tour guide decide to took them to Pyramid. Eldy looked happy saw the Nile River. She ran quickly to the river and washed her hands with the cold water.

“Wait… don’t run!!!” screamed the tour guide. “Please, don’t run!” she screamed with taking long steps. Unfortunately, Eldy was already jumped into the river, and the worse is, the parents and also the tour guide accidently ran too. All of them suddenly slipped into the river. Then a big wind came from the north. A woman walked invisibly towards the bus. Grace frozen knowing before she could walked trough, her parents, her younger sister, and also the tour guide’s body was no more alive.

“This river isn’t Nile, right?” asked Grace still in shocked. “No, Lady. But this usually called The Head of Cobra. In this river, some of our people died, by freezing.”

“No way! I have to…”

Grace was too late. Those frozen body broken like an ice break. They disappear.

“What have I done?” she gasped and looked at her hands. She back looked up and she caught the bus and other people already gone. She was really upset and panic. She wanted to mad, scream, blame, but she realized she was alone. Only the old man left.

“How can you stay alive when my family and the tour guide freezing? Who are you? Did you just spelled them?! How dare you, old man!” she began screaming and put her anger to the man. “No, my Lady. I didn’t do anything. It was their fault. They must not running! This place has been cursed. I’m not freezing because I’m the guide of this area. I have put my promise to the Queen not to wake her anger worse, but to keep this place quiet.”

“What did you mean of quiet? Don’t you see my people gone?”

“I keep people outside not break the rules! If say some words you may don’t know, you are going to die! Everyone here is already gone, my Lady! Even I, I lost my son. I was on my way back home with my wife when I saw the purple sky and red light on the Sphinx turned on, I was hiding behind that big stone to find out who has been cursed too. We saw your family and the woman. But then when we tried to help, a huge sandstorm came. That’s why we couldn’t do anything.” Abu explain.

“Can we know your name, my dear, please?” said a woman walk towards Grace. She thought she was the wife of the old man. First she felt scared. But when the woman gave her hands to hold for her, her trust grow slow down. “Grace, Ma’am. My name is Grace. And may I know your name too? Both of you?” she asked back. “I’m Abu Amarna, but you can call me Abah and my wife, Leliah,” Abu answered. “Just call me Ubuh, Grace. Come with us, we’ll keep you safe until the day of a young warrior coming to break the curse.”

“Can I trust you?”

“It’s up to you. But you can count on us, Grace,” they smiled.

So Grace saw the sky is getting better that it was, so she decided to come with them.