A/N: I just wanted to say that all the conversations that Zahra has with Hathor and Isis will be written 'like this' where as the conversations between everyone else are "like this" so you, the reader does not become confused.
Chapter Eight
Larry Daley quietly thought about how things had changed in the past year. Kahmunrah, who at first had been intent on killing him, had gone down the same path that Akhmenrah had of truly coming back to life all those years ago, and was now married to his niece. A few familiar faces from the British museum had come to New York for a permanent display, including Akhmenrah's parents, who were thrilled at seeing both their sons with wives who loved them.
"Larry, are you alright? You seem distant." Larry turned to face Akhmenrah.
"Yeah, I was just thinking, that's all. I wish Zahra was here to see all this, she would have loved being able to see her uncle finally get married." Akhmenrah nodded.
"She certainly would have enjoyed that. Kahmunrah is very happy with Catherine, they make a lovely couple." The two men stood silently for a moment.
"Moping won't bring her back though. Nothing will." Another moment of silence. Akhmenrah then left to look over his tablet, still hopelessly wishing that there was a way that he could have his daughter back, unaware that he was being watched by the very person he missed more than anything in the world.
'I want to go home. I miss my family and my friends.' Hathor and Isis both stared sadly at the young Princess, who had found difficulty in having a peaceful after life because of her longing to see her loved ones again.
'You cannot go back. The only thing you can do now is cross over to the after life to find peace.' Hathor however, could see that there was no chance that the young girl would be able to move on.
'Isn't there anything that can be done?' The two goddesses sighed and looked at one another. Although they did not want to do so, they had called upon the god of the underworld, Anubis, for advice.
'There is nothing I can do. The child needs to move on.' Hathor felt frustrated. She truly pitied the child, who only wanted to be with her family.
'Are you unable to see how miserable the child is? Zahra will never be able to find peace because of that.'
'Then she should have never sacrificed her life.'
'Please Anubis, there has to be something that can be done for her. Look at how unhappy she is.' The jackal headed god stared at Zahra for a few moments. He could sense how unhappy, sad and miserable she was. Truth be told, something could be done.
'Well, there is one possibility. However, we must get our hands on that pendant of Bastet. As she and I are opposites, if we can bring our powers together, we could send the child back to the world of the living, but we would need Bastet to give her blessings first.'
'I can call upon Bastet. Isis, you can retrieve the pendant.' Staring back at Zahra, Hathor only hoped that the cat goddess, who was often rather fickle, would agree to this. It had not taken long for Isis to retrieve the pendant in question, and it took even less time for Hathor to summon Bastet. The cat goddess was a tad bit annoyed at having been disturbed from one of her many daily naps, but she had agreed to hear them out.
'We need your assistance. Zahra wants to go back to the world of the living. Is there any way you can help the poor child? She can never move on to the after life because she is unhappy and miserable in this world.' There was a brief moment of silence.
'Why does she want to return? Does she have unfinished business?'
'No, the child misses her family.' The feline goddess thought about it for a brief moment, before she gave her answer.
'I am willing to help. Come here, child.' Zahra got up and went over.
'So, am I being allowed to go home?' Isis nodded.
'Yes. Bastet has agreed to work with Anubis in order to send you back to the land of the living. However, you must understand this. When you die a second time, you will not have another chance to return home once you die. Is that understood?'
'I understand. What do I have to do?' Before Zahra could receive an answer, she shot straight up, and found herself in a hospital. Giving herself a chance to catch her breath, she looked around, realizing she was alone. Zahra got out of her bed, and took the IV lines out of her hand. Looking at herself in the mirror, she noticed she looked older. How much time had passed since her death she wondered? There was only one way to find out. Before she could leave however, a nurse appeared.
"I see you've done the job of taking out the IV lines. I just received a call from your mother, and she says to go to the museum of natural history. Would you like me to call a taxi for you?"
"No thank you, I can walk there. The fresh air will do me good." Zahra knew her mother couldn't have made that call. It must have been Hathor making it appear to the nurse that her mother had called. The nurse handed her back her bag and she left. Walking through Central Park, Zahra was beaming, she was grateful to be back. Stopping for a moment to look through her bag, everything was there. All her things; that were important to her. Pulling out her wallet, she looked at her ID card that had her date of birth on it. According to what this said, she was now almost eighteen years old, which told Zahra that it had been a little over three years since her death.
"Wow, three long years." Spotting a nearby clock, Zahra went over to it to check the time. The museum would be waking up soon, and she knew her whole family would be there, so she decided to go there first. However, Zahra took a few moments to enjoy the twinkling stars. Of course, her family was in the museum, and they had no idea she was alive and well.
"Hey Akhmenrah, how about you invite your father to try playing in the soccer game tonight? I think he'd have a blast." Akhmenrah nodded at Larry.
"I think that's a great idea. My father always enjoyed partaking in sporting events." Larry nodded as the now group of five headed for the lobby.
"Alright, so it's Akhmenrah's team against Nick's team tonight. We have a whole set of teams for this." Alexandria always enjoyed playing soccer. Zahra had been very good at it, and it was her way of retaining fond memories of her late daughter. However, when she got view of the front doors of the museum, she stopped.
"Alexandria, what's wrong?" For a moment, Akhmenrah could not figure out what had gotten into his wife when he heard a very familiar voice.
"MOMMY!" Zahra just ran to her mother, who scooped up her daughter, held her close and cried. Everyone in the museum was floored.
"How though?"
"It doesn't matter how she came back, what matters is that my little girl is back." Akhmenrah just gave his daughter the biggest, tightest hug he possibly could, afraid that if he let her go he would lose her again. Larry smiled at the happy family reunion.
"Where's my uncle?" Larry went over to tell her.
"Well Zahra, a lot has changed since you've been gone. Your grandparents are now on permanent display here. Also, your uncle is alive, just as your father is. He has since married my niece Catherine and Catherine went into labour early this morning, so we should be getting the call any minute now that your cousin has been born."
"So much has changed here, yet everything seems the same." There was a second happy reunion when Taylor arrived fifteen minutes later, and had to be pulled off her best friend so Zahra could breathe.
"It's great to have you back."
"Taylor, it's good to be back." Larry then stood up on the desk in the lobby.
"I need everyone's attention! I just got off the phone, and I am happy to say that Kahmunrah and Catherine have welcomed their third son!" Cheers erupted throughout the museum. Zahra was grateful to have a new cousin, and for Merenkahre, he was just thrilled at hearing he had another grandson. Once the cheering died down, the weekly soccer game went forward. Naturally, Zahra got right into the middle of the action, managing to show her grandfather what the rules were.
"That game is far too rough for my tastes, however Zahra, you are very good at it."
"Yeah, I am good at it. However, I don't want to play professionally. Too much work." As always, dawn approached and Larry had to get everyone back to their respective exhibits.
"Zahra, go check on the flight exhibit for me. I think Dexter is still in there." The teenager nodded.
"Alright, I'll be back in a bit." Heading up the stairs to the second floor and then going down the hall, past her grandparents' exhibit, Zahra found herself in the flight exhibit. She found Dexter.
"Hey Dexter, it's time to go back to your exhibit now. I'll play with you tomorrow, okay?" The little capuchin nodded and scurried off. Noticing someone standing by the window, Zahra went to say something.
"Hey, sunrise is coming pretty quick, you need to get back to your exhibit." The person turned to look at her.
"I thought you had died."
"Well, I guess I earned myself a second chance."
"Are you going to be back tomorrow night?"
"Yeah, I'll see you then." Zahra was of course happy to see Manfred again, even though she had only known him for a few short hours. Getting back to the lobby, Larry handed her the sweater she had left hanging on the chair.
"Here, it's a bit cold out so put this on. Do you want to go meet your cousins?"
"Heck yeah, I do!" Zahra was excited at getting to see the new members of her family. She waited outside the room whilst Larry was taking care of something. She heard the voices of her uncle and Larry.
"Yeah, it's just out here. Follow me." Kahmunrah thought he was going to faint when he saw his niece standing there. He hugged her tightly, not wanting to let her go.
"How did you come back though?"
"I guess the gods deemed me fit to have a second chance." To Kahmunrah, it didn't matter how she came back, all that mattered was that she was back. He brought her into the room, and introduced her to Catherine.
"It's a pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard so much about you."
"Yeah. Can I hold him?" Catherine nodded.
"Absolutely. He's quite a screamer, though." Zahra peeled apart the blankets to reveal the newborn baby boy that lay within them. She smiled.
"Hey there little guy. Welcome to the world." The newborn grabbed onto Zahra's finger with a firm grip.
"He's a strong little guy. Does he have a name yet?"
"Well, our first two sons are Akhmenrah and Hasani. Since this is such a special occasion with your return Zahra, I want you to name him." Zahra tried to think of a good, strong name for the newborn.
What about the name Ammon? I think it suits him." So the name for newborn baby was decided upon. Zahra had managed to settle back into her life pretty easily. However, during the time she was gone, Zahra had learned a few things about herself. She gained a new appreciation for her family and friends. Early on a Saturday morning, Akhmenrah and Alexandria were surprised when Zahra made them breakfast.
"You seem a bit nervous darling, is something wrong?" Alexandria would love her daughter no matter what.
"Actually, yeah, something's going on."
"If you want to tell us, you're more than welcome." Akhmenrah said, pouring himself a drink.
"Well...I'm actually bisexual." There was a moment of silence.
"What does that mean?" Akhmenrah had never heard the term before.
"Akh, it means that Zahra is attracted to both men and women." Akhmenrah responded by giving his daughter a hug.
"It doesn't matter who you marry, you're still you." That evening, when everyone was at the museum, Zahra watched them and thought about everything that had taken place.
A lot has changed at the museum since I've been gone, but I guess that's to be expected after three years.
Nicky Daley leaves the museum at least a few times a month to continue his training to become a great history teacher.
Zahra then beamed at her uncle, aunt and cousins.
My uncle and Catherine have a growing family, and that keeps them busier than working here at the museum ever has.
My own parents have taken on a greater role here at the museum, helping to resolve conflicts between exhibits and during the day, helping to make the museum interesting to anyone who comes here.
Although it took them a while, my grandparents have accepted my sexuality – they were a little surprised at first, but then again, this is not something they are used to.
Larry has also taken on bigger roles here at the museum, and has almost total control over what exhibits come here and which ones leave.
Thinking about, Zahra realized how lucky she really was, and that the best things in life were friends and family, and she could look forward to a bright future ahead of her at the Museum Of Natural History.