The Queen's Sandcastles

Wake-up-call (edited)

After a too long farewell at the village's gates ,including Nala und Aya's crying, the good wishes from every adult and child in the village and Stephen and Hamir's hopeless attempts to make her stay or bring them with her, she and Asnee at last made their way towards Babari.

Three canicular days and two ice-cold nights took them to reach Babari.

With every glance and every step she made, her heartbeat increased dangerously.

It wasn't at all how she expected an underdeveloped Egyptian city would look like through her experience.

A crowded assembly of unequally build boxes out of earth and mud was overshadowed by a big construction.

The air was thick. The atmosphere pressuring.

The construct and the little moving things around it amplified the confusion and fear that crept in her heart.

It was a real pyramid. But no ordinary pyramid. A pyramid in construction.

Masses of people burned by the sun and gigantic elephants caried raw blocks of stone to the unfinished top.

Cleo swallowed nervously. What she feared most came to be true. There was no way that in the modern days they'd build a mausoleum using slaves. So, still shook, she spoke:

" Asnee........I' ll " she gulped again " look around for a bit. Could you go ahead ?"

Sensing that she needed time alone he decided to let her alone after a simple "Sure " and a short description of where his house was.

Haunting the streets and pubs, she tried to get information on his colleague who could also have landed in the same time as her. There were so many possible scenarios that her brain was on the edge of exploding. John could have landed somewhere in Sahara in the same time as her or was still in the time she came from or in a whole another age. Maybe he jumped and survived or perished in the falling jet or even worse: he was somewhere injured in the middle of nowhere without any chances of survival.

Sadly, after hours of collecting data she had nothing that could help her. The streets were now empty. The rain poured down her shivering figure drowning the growing sorrow in her heart.

What should she do now that she wasn't in her time anymore? What about her job, her friends, her responsibilities? Could she ever go back? Her plans to go back and find help crumbled in tiny pieces, but her wish came true. She was as free as the sand dunes she saw in the jet,but felt defeated for the first time in her life.

With the goal to think of what to do next when she calmed down, she climbed the unequal steps to the front door and knocked.

Asnee's wife, a tiny woman in her fourties, opened the door and let her in. As soon as she stepped inside, a bunch of children surrounded her clinging to her like monkeys and the woman put a blanket around her shoulders.

"We were waiting for you. Look just how wet you are. You are cold to the bones, poor thing. Sit near the chimney fire to dry a bit. Asnee dear, could you bring some tea please?"

"Right away, dear."

Trying to muster a polite smile, Cleo thanked her. " My name is Cassandra Leonard, but I go by the name Cleo right now. Thank you for your care!"

As a result, the woman's warm hands clamped around hers. " Oh ,we know everything about you already. I made sure to squeeze everything out of my husband. So, we should be the ones to thank you!"

"Yes, madam. Thank you, very much! " added one boy who seemed to be the eldest and the others just joined in.

"Just Cleo is fine and you are very polite for your age. You mother taught you well." She patted their heads in approvement and nodded as a thank you for the cup of tea Asnee put before her.

"Can I see the sign on your arm , Cleo , pleaseeeee?" asked the youngest girl, trying to crawl on her legs.

" Sallia!" exclaimed Asnee from the door " don't be rude to mada.....I mean Cleo"

" No, it's okay " she reassured him ."Of course you can" she helped the child on her legs and let her sleeve loose for the kids to admire her tatoo.

Asnee sat on the other side of the table near his wife. " They know everything now."

She nodded " That's good. There shouldn't be any secrets in a family."

"Indeed." The couple before her smiled to one another.

The eldest: "Have you found what you were looking for, Cleo?"

The second of silence before her answer seemed like an eternity. She looked out the tiny window and saw a magnificent all-colored rainbow claim the sky. Her hand kept gently patting the little girl in her arms.

" It's a complicated situation, but I have a vague idea of what to do next...." Even 3000 years back in the past, she could do what she always did: protect people and deliver justice and order. And maybe in the process she could find a way to get back and find out what happened to her comrade. It wasn't like her to cry over spilled milk. " ....And I want to ask you all: would you accompany me back to the village ?"