Part VIII: Echoes From The Past
„Chris! David's on the phone for you." It was eight o' clock in the morning. Gillian had spent the night at Chris' apartment like so often in this last two months. Although they had only been together for such a short amount of time, she felt as if they had been together forever and she could honestly say that she was deeply in love. Chris was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth, so she had to pick up the phone.
"dell, im I kal im back." Chris mumbled from the bathroom, still with toothpaste in his mouth.
"David, Chris can't come to the phone right now, he will call you back….DAVID! You're such a …. Gosh, I can't believe you just said that… He's just brushing his teeth and he will call you back in a minute, alright?…. I'll talk to you later. Bye." Gillian hung up the phone and shook her head – David had way too much fantasy.
"Did he tell you what he wanted?" Chris came out of the bathroom, rubbing his face dry with a towel. He was only wearing blue jeans and headed to the closet to pick out a shirt.
"No. I told him you'd call back. You can reach him at the museum. Do you really have to go to work?" Gillian sat down on the bed.
"Yes, Gillian. I'm sorry. I wish I could spend more time with you, but I can't. We'll meet tonight, how about that?" Chris had neglected his work already too much because of the relationship to Gillian. Many times he had asked himself if this was love, but never found an answer. He knew that he felt very comfortable around her and there was definitely an attraction towards her he couldn't resist – not even if he tried – yet some days, he still had to think about Rachel. There was just no way of getting her completely out of his mind.
When he was all dressed, he picked up the phone and dialled David's number.
"Hey, Dave it's me. What's up?….. You did?.… Are you sure? …. David, that's great! This will take us a huge step forward…. Listen, I'll be there soon, I just need to put on some shoes…. Ok. See ya. Bye." Chris hung up the phone and put his shoes on.
"Alright, Gillian. I have to go. Do you want to stay here for a while or are you going home?"
"I don't know. I think I'll go shopping. My roommate's left to go to Chicago for two months to visit some friends of hers, so I'm all alone…" She pushed out her lower lip and sniffed her nose and pretended as she was about to cry.
"Oh, hush you poor girl. I'm sure you'll find a nice dress that will make you happy again. I will see you tonight?" Chris softly stroked her cheek. He had never met Gillian's roommate before, actually he didn't even know her name. Not that it was very important to him, but he should at least know the girl Gillian was living with. Someday there should be an opportunity.
"Yes. Definitely! Maybe I'll buy some new underwear…" Gillian gave him this wicked smile again.
"Ah…. well… Yes. I'm sure I'll find out tonight. I…. I really need to go now." Chris quickly grabbed his jacket, gave Gillian a quick kiss and left the apartment.
Chris usually walked through the park, but today he decided to take a cap. A few minutes later he arrived at the museum. It wasn't open yet so there were only some security guards and employees who opened the stores and prepared everything for the visitors of the day. He chatted with one of the guards before he entered the hall with his exhibition. This time of day was his favourite- it was so peaceful. Chris entered his office where David was sitting at the desk.
"Morning. Let me see what you've got."
"Good Morning to you too, Christopher. I hope you slept well and feel prepared for today's work. I am doing very good, thank you so much for asking."
"Oh David, stop being a diva. You know I care about you, so tell me." Chris put his bag down and took off his jacket. He looked at the parchment on the desk, trying to see what David had found out.
"Well, as you know I looked everywhere for this name, just like you told me. I looked in every stupid chronicle and history book we have, I even got some from the library, without success…"
"Get to the point, David."
"Gosh, you are always so impatient – but as always, your wish is my command." He gave Chris an offended look. How could he not appreciate all the work he had had with this? He unfolded the parchment and began to read the hieroglyphs.
"Hear people of Egypt: We have swept to glory, Egypt's mastery expands. From the Nile's northern delta to the dry, dry southern sands. The more we find, the more we see, the more we come to learn. The more that we explore, the more we shall return."
"That's neat, David but what does it have to do with Radames?" So far Chris wasn't very impressed.
"I'm getting there, would you mind not being so pushy?"
"I'm sorry, please do continue."
"Good. Here it says that the captain of the Egyptian army had returned from a victorious battle against Nubia that morning. Than it goes on about the glory of Egypt and all that bla, bla. I just wanted to give up reading when it hit me. Here's an description about a feast that night, to celebrate the conquests and the captains return. Listen to what the Pharaoh said:
Captain Radames and my daughter have been betrothed for nine years now… Therefore, in nine days, Radames, son of Zoser, will wed the Princess Amneris. The Son of Isis has spoken.
Pretty cool, ey? The only question I've been asking myself is: If he was the captain of the Egyptian Army, which wasn't an easy duty, how come his name was never mentioned in any book or chronicle? It's like he never existed."
"Because he was a traitor and he paid for his treason with his death. He was buried in that tomb." Chris sat on his chair and stared with an empty look at the paper in front of him. His head pounded and he felt sick. He looked at his wounded hand that began to burn. Although it was healing nicely, he would keep a scar.
"Him and the Nubian princess: Aida." He continued, still staring at his hand.
"Oh no, Christopher that can't be. Ok, she was captured by the Egyptian captain, but that doesn't mean they died together. As far as I read she died in slavery. All the books say…"
"Than the books are wrong! I mean use your brain and think for a minute: We know for sure, that the two people who died in the tomb were lovers and we know that their death brought peace between the countries. Do you think this would have happened if they were two commoners? Aida was captured by the Egyptian captain – Radames – they fell in love, Amneris found out and sentenced them to death and for some reason let them die in one tomb."
"That could be, but you've got absolutely no proof for it. It's just your own theory."
"I know it's true, David. I just do! Don't ask me why. They died together in that tomb. I…. I can feel it, I can't explain it, but I'm certain in my heart that this is true!" Chris felt as if he had to throw up any minute. He needed to get some fresh air.
"Alright, but calm down, Christopher. Gee, you are getting way too much into all of this. I know you are devoted to your work, but you are going too far. You really need to step back. It's not like you are personally involved."
"I'm sorry, David. I'm feeling crappy. I need to get out of here." He stumbled outside and held himself up on a wall and began…. crying. Why was he so sad all of a sudden? What was happening with him? Why did he have those visions where the statue talked to him and those dreams where he was the captain of the Egyptian army, why did the statue call him Radames? What was the meaning of all that? Chris held his head.
"Get a grip at yourself!" He said, wiping of his tears with his sleeve. "This is only an ancient story, those people lived long before my time, they are dead and there's no need to cry about it now. Surely they found their peace."
He breathed out slowly. 'This is getting too ridiculous.' When he felt strong enough again, he returned to the office.
"You are right, David. I'm sorry. Lets just get back to work, I will find a way to deal with this."
To be continued
Authors note: I know there's not too much happening in this chapter, but I just wanted to finish that part about Radames. The next one will be more about the relationship between Chris and Rachel. So please hang in there.
„Chris! David's on the phone for you." It was eight o' clock in the morning. Gillian had spent the night at Chris' apartment like so often in this last two months. Although they had only been together for such a short amount of time, she felt as if they had been together forever and she could honestly say that she was deeply in love. Chris was in the bathroom, brushing his teeth, so she had to pick up the phone.
"dell, im I kal im back." Chris mumbled from the bathroom, still with toothpaste in his mouth.
"David, Chris can't come to the phone right now, he will call you back….DAVID! You're such a …. Gosh, I can't believe you just said that… He's just brushing his teeth and he will call you back in a minute, alright?…. I'll talk to you later. Bye." Gillian hung up the phone and shook her head – David had way too much fantasy.
"Did he tell you what he wanted?" Chris came out of the bathroom, rubbing his face dry with a towel. He was only wearing blue jeans and headed to the closet to pick out a shirt.
"No. I told him you'd call back. You can reach him at the museum. Do you really have to go to work?" Gillian sat down on the bed.
"Yes, Gillian. I'm sorry. I wish I could spend more time with you, but I can't. We'll meet tonight, how about that?" Chris had neglected his work already too much because of the relationship to Gillian. Many times he had asked himself if this was love, but never found an answer. He knew that he felt very comfortable around her and there was definitely an attraction towards her he couldn't resist – not even if he tried – yet some days, he still had to think about Rachel. There was just no way of getting her completely out of his mind.
When he was all dressed, he picked up the phone and dialled David's number.
"Hey, Dave it's me. What's up?….. You did?.… Are you sure? …. David, that's great! This will take us a huge step forward…. Listen, I'll be there soon, I just need to put on some shoes…. Ok. See ya. Bye." Chris hung up the phone and put his shoes on.
"Alright, Gillian. I have to go. Do you want to stay here for a while or are you going home?"
"I don't know. I think I'll go shopping. My roommate's left to go to Chicago for two months to visit some friends of hers, so I'm all alone…" She pushed out her lower lip and sniffed her nose and pretended as she was about to cry.
"Oh, hush you poor girl. I'm sure you'll find a nice dress that will make you happy again. I will see you tonight?" Chris softly stroked her cheek. He had never met Gillian's roommate before, actually he didn't even know her name. Not that it was very important to him, but he should at least know the girl Gillian was living with. Someday there should be an opportunity.
"Yes. Definitely! Maybe I'll buy some new underwear…" Gillian gave him this wicked smile again.
"Ah…. well… Yes. I'm sure I'll find out tonight. I…. I really need to go now." Chris quickly grabbed his jacket, gave Gillian a quick kiss and left the apartment.
Chris usually walked through the park, but today he decided to take a cap. A few minutes later he arrived at the museum. It wasn't open yet so there were only some security guards and employees who opened the stores and prepared everything for the visitors of the day. He chatted with one of the guards before he entered the hall with his exhibition. This time of day was his favourite- it was so peaceful. Chris entered his office where David was sitting at the desk.
"Morning. Let me see what you've got."
"Good Morning to you too, Christopher. I hope you slept well and feel prepared for today's work. I am doing very good, thank you so much for asking."
"Oh David, stop being a diva. You know I care about you, so tell me." Chris put his bag down and took off his jacket. He looked at the parchment on the desk, trying to see what David had found out.
"Well, as you know I looked everywhere for this name, just like you told me. I looked in every stupid chronicle and history book we have, I even got some from the library, without success…"
"Get to the point, David."
"Gosh, you are always so impatient – but as always, your wish is my command." He gave Chris an offended look. How could he not appreciate all the work he had had with this? He unfolded the parchment and began to read the hieroglyphs.
"Hear people of Egypt: We have swept to glory, Egypt's mastery expands. From the Nile's northern delta to the dry, dry southern sands. The more we find, the more we see, the more we come to learn. The more that we explore, the more we shall return."
"That's neat, David but what does it have to do with Radames?" So far Chris wasn't very impressed.
"I'm getting there, would you mind not being so pushy?"
"I'm sorry, please do continue."
"Good. Here it says that the captain of the Egyptian army had returned from a victorious battle against Nubia that morning. Than it goes on about the glory of Egypt and all that bla, bla. I just wanted to give up reading when it hit me. Here's an description about a feast that night, to celebrate the conquests and the captains return. Listen to what the Pharaoh said:
Captain Radames and my daughter have been betrothed for nine years now… Therefore, in nine days, Radames, son of Zoser, will wed the Princess Amneris. The Son of Isis has spoken.
Pretty cool, ey? The only question I've been asking myself is: If he was the captain of the Egyptian Army, which wasn't an easy duty, how come his name was never mentioned in any book or chronicle? It's like he never existed."
"Because he was a traitor and he paid for his treason with his death. He was buried in that tomb." Chris sat on his chair and stared with an empty look at the paper in front of him. His head pounded and he felt sick. He looked at his wounded hand that began to burn. Although it was healing nicely, he would keep a scar.
"Him and the Nubian princess: Aida." He continued, still staring at his hand.
"Oh no, Christopher that can't be. Ok, she was captured by the Egyptian captain, but that doesn't mean they died together. As far as I read she died in slavery. All the books say…"
"Than the books are wrong! I mean use your brain and think for a minute: We know for sure, that the two people who died in the tomb were lovers and we know that their death brought peace between the countries. Do you think this would have happened if they were two commoners? Aida was captured by the Egyptian captain – Radames – they fell in love, Amneris found out and sentenced them to death and for some reason let them die in one tomb."
"That could be, but you've got absolutely no proof for it. It's just your own theory."
"I know it's true, David. I just do! Don't ask me why. They died together in that tomb. I…. I can feel it, I can't explain it, but I'm certain in my heart that this is true!" Chris felt as if he had to throw up any minute. He needed to get some fresh air.
"Alright, but calm down, Christopher. Gee, you are getting way too much into all of this. I know you are devoted to your work, but you are going too far. You really need to step back. It's not like you are personally involved."
"I'm sorry, David. I'm feeling crappy. I need to get out of here." He stumbled outside and held himself up on a wall and began…. crying. Why was he so sad all of a sudden? What was happening with him? Why did he have those visions where the statue talked to him and those dreams where he was the captain of the Egyptian army, why did the statue call him Radames? What was the meaning of all that? Chris held his head.
"Get a grip at yourself!" He said, wiping of his tears with his sleeve. "This is only an ancient story, those people lived long before my time, they are dead and there's no need to cry about it now. Surely they found their peace."
He breathed out slowly. 'This is getting too ridiculous.' When he felt strong enough again, he returned to the office.
"You are right, David. I'm sorry. Lets just get back to work, I will find a way to deal with this."
To be continued
Authors note: I know there's not too much happening in this chapter, but I just wanted to finish that part about Radames. The next one will be more about the relationship between Chris and Rachel. So please hang in there.