Okay folks, here it is! My first attempt at a story that is technically not comedy! No indeed, but it is adventurous! And romantic! And…maybe a little funny? :) Anyway, I kind of know where I'm going with this, but suggestions and critical criticism are still much loved. I'm also trying to make this as historically accurate as possible. So…on with the show!
Egypt, 1936 – Somewhere in the desert
The sun was at its apex by the time the group of men and camels stopped in the center of a valley surrounded by the sloping sand dunes. The sun beat down on the heads of man and beast alike, filling heads with dreams of water, hopes of rest, thoughts of desertion. A man broke away from the group, walking quickly forward before stopping and turning to the two men who scurried after him.
"Ist dies der Ort? Sind Sie sicher dies ist der richtige Ort?" he demanded of them.
The cleaner of the two (relatively speaking, as they had been traveling through the desert for a week) faced the other. "He asks 'Is this the place? Are you sure this is the place?'"
The man he addressed wiped the sweat from his thin mustache before managing to stammer back his reply. "Y-y-yes, Herr Abendroth, Herr Ulrich, this is the place."
Captain Leon Abendroth consulted with his commanding officer, Colonel Jaeger Ulrich, in German. The third man, alienated from the conversation, continued to twitch and sweat profusely. Within the matter of a minute or two, Captain Abendroth spoke to him.
"Colonel Ulrich wants to know how you can be so sure," he stated. When the thin, weasel-like man failed to answer, the captain took a step closer to him, light-blue eyes searching muddy-brown ones. "You are sure, aren't you?"
The thin man snapped out of his nervous stupor. "Yes Herr Abendroth, I hear his voice in my head so loud now! My bones shake, my heart beats so hard. We are here! He is here!"
He flinched as the captain brought his face next to his, so close that their noses touched. When the captain spoke, it came as a soft whisper: "For your sake, Mr. Gabor, I hope so. I certainly hope so." He then straightened up, looking at the staring men surrounding them. "What are you waiting for, men?" he shouted, "Start digging!"
Egypt, 1936 – Somewhere in Cairo
The young woman sat in the shade of the doorway, watching people scurry this way and that through the bustling marketplace. Even in the shade, the heat managed to permeate every inch of her person. She longed to be rid of her heavy black headscarf and robe, but she dared not remove them. As Mama Manam always liked to say, save the veils for the eyes of the customers. Men like to pay for what they can't see, she'd always say.
The young woman snorted in disgust. Judging from the height of the sun in the sky, she had three more hours of freedom until preparing for the night's "business."
Might as well take a walk, she decided mentally.
Walking through the marketplaces of Cairo was always interesting. So many sights and smells and sounds. She flipped a coin to a grimy little boy selling papers. "English or Arabic?" he asked.
"English, please."
He tossed her the newspaper. The front page headlines were perfectly normal: news about the new King Farouk, blah blah blah, the English troops were being pulled out of Egypt, blah blah, some new archeological finds…
Her thoughts were interrupted when a man walked into her. Her paper fell to the dusty ground, and he promptly bent to pick it up.
"Dreadfully sorry, old mum. Here's your paper, a tad filthy, but aren't we all, living in this city," he said with a British accent and a smile. Brown hair, blue eyes, and a cream-colored linen suit completed the picture.
A typical English gent, probably down in Egypt on a honeymoon or something of the sort. The young woman gave him a smile, realizing almost immediately that he couldn't see it through her headscarf. It didn't matter, though. All men were the same, married or single, British or Egyptian. They were all pigs with one thing on their minds. She turned abruptly and walked away quickly, leaving the man standing in the dust.
He must have been rather stunned, because by the time he called out to her she was already at least fifty meters away. "Wait, old mum, come back! You've forgotten your paper…oh drat, do you have a name? Can I send it to you?"
She smiled to herself this time, and turned. "Go to Mama Manam's!" she called back to him. Whether he heard or not, she didn't really care. It was just a paper.
And it's a wrap! I hope you enjoyed this first chapter. Umm…please review…it's good for me, it's good for you! (and I rhymed) Well, this chapter was going to be longer, but I have to go to bed. Last words: review, please! Or don't. It's up to you. :)