The House of Life

Chapter 3

The curtain has been raised and I was the star attraction. My role, to survive. "You need to act like nothing ever happened, just until we figure things out," Ardeth's words echoed in my head. Easy enough to say, then do. Especially when the late Terence Bey's niece is still out there, scheming for god knows what. After the events that transpired after Meela's attack, all I wanted was to return to my normal life, at least try to. But Ardeth had a completely different agenda in mind, he wanted me to act like nothing had changed since the attack. In order for me to keep up with the façade, every morning, Evelyn, Qasim and I would go to the museum and lock the doors. All the while, being watched by the Medjai. Ardeth ensured my safety, so long as I did my part and make sure I distract any of Meela's henchmen by acting as a decoy. I guess this is the price I have to pay in order to stay alive.

However, I didn't waste a second to try and get back home. Over the next few days, I had made plans for my trip back to the states. First it was a matter of arranging a flight for me to transport the three bodies of my friends from Cairo back to my hometown. Luckily Izzy was kind enough to help me find a pilot who would accommodate my situation. But that also meant there would be a price increase to what Izzy and I had agreed upon. When Evelyn and Rick heard about my financial situation, they were willing to help me pay for the pilot. Even though I declined their offer, they did not care. They said the money they had come upon was excessive and that I would not need to repay them. Seeing that they wouldn't take no for an answer, I took them up on their offer. They even asked if I needed more money, but I declined as they were already going out of their way to help me.

As for Qasim, I still did not know what to do with him. I'm tempted to take him with me back to the states, but I didn't want to expose him to the cruelty of individuals who view him as an outsider. Even though Evelyn and Rick offered to take him for the time being, I didn't think it was right for me to leave them with a child who I found during my endeavors. I didn't want to burden them more than what I have already done.

While making arranging my trip back to my home town, any moment I had to spare, I would either help Evelyn rearrange the museum or learn how to speak Arabic with Qasim. It wasn't so bad, especially when Qasim made understanding the language easy to understand. In return I would teaching him how to write and speak English.

" 'Ahlan" said Qasim.

" 'Ahlan... ummm.... Oh it's hello" I replied.

"Hello?" repeated Qasim.

"You got it!"

It definitely helped pass the time. Every night however, fearing that the group would return again, Ardeth suggested that we be escorted by one of his men back to Evelyn's house. I wasn't opposed to the idea, but it did remind me of the reality that I was facing. That this group would go through such lengths to kill me.

One night, while trying to pass time. I was wandering through the Egyptian Gods exhibit, hoping to clear my mind. Browsing through the statues, I was curious as to why these Egyptian gods were represented in some form of animal. I was familiar with some of these statues, thanks to my visit to Hamunaptra. Like Horus and Anubis, I felt like their statues were all over Hamunaptra, but it made sense since they both represent life and death. While walking through, there was one in particular that caught my eye. It was one that had the body of a man and what looked to be the head of some sort of bird, maybe a crane. I wandered through the area a little longer, when I heard the front door to the museum open. It must be the escort here to take us back, I thought.

As I exited the exhibit, I made my way to the entrance to meet up with my escort, just to be surprised by Ardeth, who was walking towards my direction. "Well this is a surprise." I announced. "What? I can't come by and visit?" he replied, as he opened his arms for me to hug him. I greeted him with a brief hug and I asked, "Any luck finding out Meela's plans?" Ardeth gave a big sigh as he was frustrated over the situation, "Nothing yet. This woman knows how to cover her tracks."