OF PYRAMIDS AND RIVERS

Chapter I

Egypt just arrived home after the world conference ended a few hours ago. Wanting to get things over with, the country immediately made his way home only to realize he still didn't have an era in mind, which is how he found himself, standing in the centre of his living room with absolutely no idea what to do. Pressing two fingers on the bridge of his nose to stop an oncoming headache, the African nation sighed.

'Guess I'll just have to ask Greece about it.' With that in mind, the Egyptian took out his phone that he only used for business and called his friend.

"Hello?" came the sleepy voice from the receiver. Egypt was quite sure the Greek had yet to decide but he asked, anyways.

"Greece? I just wanted to ask if you've decided on the era you wanted to revive."

"Not yet." Was the almost immediate answer. The African nation's eye twitched.

'I should have known'

"But I am digging through my basement right now for inspiration. My cats led me here." He noted the fond tone his Greek friend took on as he talked about the cats but decided to focus on the basement statement. "Oh, an ostrakon, I didn't know I still had one. I wonder whose name is written here, it's quite faded" Greece commented distractedly.

"Hmmm… That's not a bad idea. I guess I'll go through my attic, then. Thanks. I'm going now."

"Okay." Egypt hung up and made his way up to his attic only to be greeted by a cloud of dust when he opened the door. Coughing, the Egyptian slammed the door shut. He forgot exactly how long it has been since he has been in that room. He went to the kitchen to get a mask then came back immediately. This time, he opened the door more carefully.

He went inside, his steps careful and calculated so as not to step on anything that might have been on the floor. Having made it in the centre of the room, Egypt looked around, trying to decide which box among the many choices to open first. Finding it hard to decide, he went on walking around the room until he bumped into something. The African nation lifted his head to look in front of him to see the broad chest of a human. Tilting his head back to look up, his eyes were met by the head of a bird. He stepped back to get a full view of the statue and felt a huge wave of nostalgia hit him. It was a statue of Thoth, the one his ancient children thought of as the scribe of gods. Majority of his children are now Muslims and it has been so long since he has heard of the gods he once knew as a child nation. Osiris and his wife Isis, the sun, and even the Nile River itself which he can still feel flowing through his body, these were some of the gods he once worshipped with his children. Revelling in his childhood a bit more, he decided going ancient wasn't such a bad idea.

He straightened up and started looking for the box that contained his childhood memorabilia and proceeded to his living room after finding it. There, he took out things long forgotten by time. Most of them were random things the Egyptian collected as a child, just like most of us keep what caught our eyes only to forget about them later. He was already losing hope when something caught his eyes, a double crown. It was Menes'. Right then and there, the nation found himself lost in the memories the crown brought and a soft, fond smile flitted across his tan features.

The villages of Egypt were finally united into two kingdoms – Upper Egypt and Lower Egypt. The personification was happy with the union of his country but although both kingdoms flourished all the same, they still were separate and he felt as if he was the personification of two countries. That was until Menes, a ruler of Upper Egypt, came along. Menes was the first person to know about his real identity and his first friend. Little Egypt shared his distress to his newly acquired friend and Menes just patted his head and told him not to worry anymore. The young country didn't know – or maybe he did, but just forgot – how his friend did it but he does remember how happy he felt at the complete union of his country. He couldn't thank Menes enough and his gratitude was only amplified when his friend – already starting to become his father figure – built the city of Memphis, his home where the two kingdoms met, as his capital. It was because of Menes that his existence was made important and he was given a place as an official.

He was happy to see his children's loyalty to their ruler which they later called pharaoh. The Egyptian chuckled at the memory of his young counterpart pronouncing the word as 'faraw'. He was also proud with his children's leader as their hearts were pure and devoid of any evil intentions.

He opened his eyes which he didn't remember closing and recited the words told by a pharaoh that has become his mantra for more than a thousand years already.

"Do right so long as thou abides on the earth. Calm the weeper, oppress no widow, expel no man from the possessions of his father… Take heed lest thou punish wrongfully…"

Come to think of it, he once wrote a list of his favourite lines that were said by various people during ancient times. They were the lines that cut really deep into his heart.

'I'm quite sure it's around here…' the Egyptian thought to himself as he pulled out several papyrus scrolls. Opening some of them, he was left with the realization that he didn't understand most of them anymore. 'Hieroglyphics…' he thought with a sigh. It's been so long he has already forgotten; sure he remembers the owl sounding as an 'm' and some other ideas, but they were awfully scattered. With a dread, he realized he had to ask for help in understanding his own writing. 'But who?' After a few moments, he remembered it wasn't him who named his own system of writing. 'Greece.' The nation groaned at the thought, already, grudgingly, taking out his phone. It's not that he didn't like talking to his Greek friend; he was just the type who wasn't used to asking for help, much less twice in one day.

"Hello, Greece?"

"Egypt? It's unusual for you to call me twice." the Egyptian's eye twitched.

"Don't remind me. I just wanted to ask-"

"More unusual for you to ask twice." Veins were popping out of his temple.

"Well, yeah, I need help-"

"It is very unusual for you to ask for –" that was it…

"Will you just listen?!" that seem to have effectively shut the Greek's mouth. "Anyways, I was wondering if you can decipher hieroglyphics?" it was silent for a moment.

"Yes. It means 'sacred carving'-"

"That's not what I meant!" Egypt cut him off.

"Then what?"

"I meant could you understand hieroglyphic writing?"

"No. Isn't that supposed to be your forte? It is your system of writing."

"Yes, a long, long, long time ago."

"Oh, so you forgot." The Egyptian could have sworn he heard the sadistic mirth in his friend's voice on account of his distress. "Anyway, why don't you use the Rosetta Stone? You have a copy of it, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Why not read it? I'm sure memories will resurface." He chuckled. "We've lived for a very long time already, haven't we?"

"We have. All this stuff about going 'back in time' is making me feel old. I'm going now. Bye."

"Bye." Beep…

Sighing, Egypt started opening each papyrus scroll, looking for his copy of the Rosetta Stone. Seriously, it was supposed to be his, why did it have to be in the hands of that man, England? He thought as he finally found the right scroll. He read each of the scripts and read the hieroglyphics last. While reading, he started recognizing some of the sounds and ideas each character represents and he found himself enjoying his ancient records, pride filling him at every mention of his children's wise new ways. He was already feeling like a very proud father when he read more of his children's contributions, how they made the best calendar in ancient times, how they understood the human body, their knowledge on medicines, how they used geometry to map lands, plan buildings and develop irrigation works. His proud mood, however, was cut short when he read about the pyramids made as tombs for the pharaohs. He was proud of the pyramids' beauty only for a few seconds as the memory of his poor children's fatigue hit him. The construction of these pyramids was very painful for him as he felt all the fatigue of his sons combined. Most especially when Khufu's tomb was under construction, it was pure torture! He used more than two million stone blocks weighing about two and a half tons each. The Egyptian actually lost count of the times he fainted from the burden of his citizen's fatigue that time. He never really liked that pharaoh, too self-centred in the nation's opinion. His mood spoiled, he moved on to the other antiques he had.

His mood was further dampened when he finally found the list of quotes he was looking for in the first place. The very first entry greeting him was the poem one of his ancient sons wrote during the 200-year civil war. His heart clenched at the words and the memories they brought.

"The wrongdoer is everywhere…

Plunderers are everywhere…

Nile is in flood, yet none ploweth…

Laughter hath perished and is no longer made.

It is grief that walketh through the land…

The storehouse is bare."

This happened when royalty became too powerful and some who governed the distant parts of his country challenged the supreme rule of the pharaoh. He felt his suffering as if it was still happening to this very day, the moment he was fading with nothing but his children's pain engraved into his very soul. It was painful to remember the fall of the noble pharaohs against selfish intents. Desperate for a distraction, Egypt went through what was left and was not disappointed when he saw a painting of Hatshepsut, one of his favourite daughters and his frown transformed into a fond smile. Hatshepsut was the first great woman ruler in history and he was proud to state that he was one of the few countries who were not gender-biased. This girl, as he recalls, was indeed someone worthy of pride. When she sat on the throne, it was not military victories that she sought; instead, she built temples that are among the outstanding achievements of Egyptian architecture. Looking down at the box to look for more memorabilia, he found it was empty.

'Oh, well.' He thought, smile never leaving his face as he stood up, heading for the door. 'I remember enough for the era revival to be presentable. Now, for the preparations…'


Hi guys! To the readers of my other fanfictions, I am sooooooooooooooooo sorry for not having my updates! Please don't hate me! I'm been really busy this summer and I swear I'll do the best I can to update.

This one has long been finished and was just waiting to be published. Please tell me what you guys think. ^_^