"It always surrounds me
even before I sleep..
Yet it seems very real today
Every time it crosses my mind,
It sets my emotions ablaze"
- Arabic translations of Anastasia's Once Upon A December
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It was late at night when the dark figure arrived at the hotel.
The man turned off his motorcycle engine and let out a sigh. Being in Cairo was suffocating him, both physically & mentally. He got off his motorcycle, leaned back on it & lit a cigarette. He rubbed his forehead, repressing those awful memories hidden in the back of his mind.
"Cairo- of all the places and Egypt," he murmured to himself, pushing his hair back.
Before he could taste the sweet tobacco, he noticed the parked taxi in front of the hotel's entrance. He saw the doorman taking a leather luggage inside the lobby. The man paid close attention to the luggage before his eyes widened.
Only one person used those old fashioned luggages.
Throwing his cigarette on the ground, he crushed it with his shoe before grabbing his own small duffle bag and sprinting towards the hotel.
He entered the lobby and another doorman approached him. Leaving his lugage with them, the man moved his attention to the front desk.
He squinted his eyes.
The man was there, checking in.
His ash gray hair was visible even by the dim reception lights.
"Well if it isn't Indiana Jones' son."
The man froze for a moment before he turned around.
"We meet again, old friend." he smiled, ignoring the clerk offering him his room keys.
The man smiled, "It appears we do."
Perhaps this trip back to Egypt wouldn't be so bad after all.
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10 Years Ago
Tokyo, Japan
Meiji University Museum
The girl sneaked away from her class group, disappearing behind a group of senior citizens. Watching her class's tour guide lead her friends and teacher to a different exhibition room, she took this as an opportunity to dash off to the other room level.
Pressing the elevator button frankly, she received stares from adults. She blushes embarrassingly, lowering her hand down.
The doors opened and she dashed inside, quick before a chaperone caught her.
Once the doors had closed she pressed her desired floor level nonstop, almost breaking the button in the process.
"What's got you this excited?"
The girl yelped, turning around to see the man.
He was formally dressed, a suitcase on hand, and a fancy name tag. However he wasn't Japanese. He wore a weird folded towel on his head. His eyes were a soft hue orange, and his skin color-
Was just like hers!
"I'm visiting the Egyptian exhibition." the girl replied in awe, gazing at the man in disbelief.
"I heard that exhibition is closed off to the public. Only the University has access to it." he replied calmly. A soft aura surrounded him, making the girl ease and safe.
"I'm aware."
The corner of his lips curled up, but he didn't say no more.
"I'm Mana" she began, trying to start up a conversation. "Where are you from?"
The man smiled.
"Do I not seem like a local?" he asked jokingly.
"No, it's not that!" Mana cheered. "It's just you're the first person I see with the same skin color as I."
The man stared at her.
"Is it alright if I ask where you're from?" he asked her.
The girl rubbed her arm nervously, her smile fading.
"I'm an orphan actually."
The man frowned.
"You haven't been adopted yet?" he wanted to ask.
As if sensing his question, Mana shook her head.
"My last interview was last week. I was rejected."
Mana leaned on the wall with a grim look.
"They say if you're not adopted by the age of fourteen, your chances are extremely slim. No one wants teenagers."
"You seem like a nice child." he reassured her.
However his comment didn't seem to have much effect on her since she frowned.
"If I may ask, what does the exhibition have that is intriguing to you?" he asked, changing the subject.
"Oh lots of things!" she began, "See I'm quite fascinated in ancient Egypt and learning about it makes me happy."
"Huh, that's an interesting hobby for a child," he pointed out curiously, "Any specific aspect or subject on ancient Egypt?"
"One of my favorite subjects about ancient Egypt is their perspective on the afterlife," Mana revealed shyly.
The man took a deep breath, his heart sinking.
"Oh? What got you interested in ancient Egypt? I assume you're not the only one in your class with this hobby." he spoke, trying to hide his shaking voice.
She slouched in despond.
"I am. All the other children mock and tease me about it."
"Odd." he hummed to himself, unaware she heard him.
She stopped before hesitatingly asking, "I'm odd? "
"Huh? No, I meant how other children in your orphanage didn't follow the same interests as you."
Mana looked away, unconvinced of his reasoning.
"What did you think I meant?" he asked in concern.
"Maybe my weird hobby is the main reason why I never get adopted," she sniffled.
"Why would you think that?" the man asked, offering a tissue to Mana.
"I seem creepy to the other kids. My hobbies are strange and spooky, they tell me."
"But they're just hobbies Mana, pay no attention to their harsh words."
Mana closed her eyes, making it known that those weren't the only things that they found odd about her.
They both were silent before she broke the silence again.
"I- I find that studying ancient Egypt afterlife keeps me happy because-" she hesitates, a worry look washes over her before she says, "it reminds me of my dreams."
"Dreams?" the man asked, his eyes widening for a second.
"Yes," she affirms, "I dream of faraway places and they seem of stuff I learn about ancient Egypt. Like temples and although these are dreams, they seem like a forgotten memory. You get me? At first I wouldn't make a big deal of but these last few years, my dreams have become more realistic. Sorta like actual vivid experiences."
"So lucid dreams?"
"Yes but no," she reasons, "I'm aware that I'm dreaming but I can't control the setting I'm in."
"I've had those too," he reveals.
"Really?" Mana gasped.
"Sometimes I feel like I'm back home in those dreams."
"So do I! I've been seeing people that I never spoke nor met before, yet I have the gut feeling that I do know them." Mana said, her eyes widening in happiness.
He shook his head before he slowly offered his hand to her.
"I find that quite fascinating of you, Mana. Apologies for the late introduction, I'm Shadi."
Mana smiled, accepting his hand.
"It's nice to meet you." she accepted.
"What do you say if I give you a tour of the exhibition?" Shadi offered.
Mana nodded happily, "That'd be great."
Finally the elevator door's opened and both stepped out into the isolated floor level.
Walking away from the elevator, Mana turned to Shadi.
"Thank you for listening to me."
Shadi smiled.
"Is it me, or do you think that elevator ride was a bit long?" Mana asked, eyeing suspiciously the elevator doors.
"You do say?" Shadi replied, his sparking eyes twinkling for a second.
"Now tell me Mana," he asked curiously as he led her to the scriptures and scrolls section. "What have you learned about Ancient Egypt?"
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Present Time
"Excuse me?" Mana asked with a blank face.
"Please," Yami replied looking uncomfortable, "it sounds weird saying it the first time."
There was a pause.
"I'm inside some stranger's mind?" Mana questioned herself.
"Yeah, I've officially gone mad." Mana groaned.
Yami narrowed his eyes.
"Please stop saying that."
She scoffed at him.
"Oh shush, you can hardly tell me what to say." she said before crossing her arms.
"I worry for you." he spoke genuinely before she cut him off by grumbling, "It's not like we know each other."
For a second, Yami looked at her, as if he was angry.
"What do you want?" Mana asked him, shrugging off his agitated expression.
"I want to warn you about the millennium items."
"The millennium items?" Mana repeated.
"They hold a great danger Mana and-"
"This again? I told you already, they're just fake myths!" she said, frustrated.
She was kidnapped over some stupid myth?
"There's more to them and if you just let me explain-"
Getting up from the bed she pointed an accusing finger at him.
"No! I've had it with you. Just leave me alone!"
"Mana please!" Yami pleaded.
"No!" she yelled back again. "Leave me alone you creep! There's nothing wrong with the artifacts!"
"Okay, what about the excavation site?" Yami counter backed. "Don't you feel something is off Mana? Something, like a greater source is messing with you?"
"NO!"
"Then how can you explain that familiar feeling you felt when you entered the palace. Almost as if you've been there?" Yami pressed.
"I don't know deja vu!" Mana replied, throwing nearby ceramic plates and cups at him as she tried to make an escape.
"What about all those supposed dreams you've had since the age of fourteen?"
"How do you know about my dreams?" she yelled angrily.
"You-you told me that night we met." Yami replied instantly.
Mana gritted her teeth. "Yeah well- they were just silly dreams I had growing up!"
"They aren't dreams. They're flashbacks."
Mana snorted at his comment.
"Please, I've heard better lies."
Scurrying past him, she yanked the door and let out a deep gasp.
She found herself in a strange dark empty labyrinth, a madhouse indeed. The hallways twisted, never showing a straight path. There was hardly any light either.
Yami appeared beside her, calm and collected, as if this was an ordinary house.
"If you could just let me explain Mana I-"
"I don't know where the heck I am or who the hell you are-" Mana began with a hard look. "But as soon as I get out of here I'm calling the cops or going to therapy. Either works."
Without another thought she dashed off quickly, leaving a blank looking Yami.
"Two rights- one left- let's make another right!" Mana thought to herself as she ran down some twisted hallways and up some stairs.
"Okay, there's gotta be an exit somewhere. Quick, look for a restroom. The exit will be near it!"
Mana's plan didn't last long. To her disadvantage all the creepy dark hallways looked the same. She wasn't sure if she was running circles or not.
"Yeah, I think therapy after this sounds good." she muttered.
Pausing from her run, she opted to walk around the labyrinth to catch her breath. Only the sound of her steps echoed in the silence for a while before she heard his heels approaching.
"You're going to get lost." Yami called out, a few steps back.
"Beats me." Mana replied, now going up a stairway.
Once on top, to her horror everything looked the same. It was as if she was back to where she had started.
And it was!
The only opened door was the bedchamber she had woken up in.
"Oh come on!" she yelled, kicking a nearby door.
The door slammed open and to her awe, and shock, the room was a throne room. It was filled with many gold objects and gems.
"You steal stuff too?" Mana asked Yami, who had been lurking behind her.
"No, I do not," he replied with an offended expression. "They were all gifts."
"Oh? You don't say? You're a collector now?" Mana asked sarcastically.
Yami was silent.
"I suppose you could say that." is all he muttered.
The door slammed itself shut causing Mana to yelp and jump back.
Glaring daggers at him, she told him, "You know, instead of following me around you can tell me the way out of here."
"There is no way out." he answered with a straight face.
Mana completely lost it.
"What do you mean? Is this a prison? Get me out of here!"
Yami shook his head.
"Not unless you hear me first."
"Why would I believe a liar like you?" Mana confronted him. "Because of you I almost got fired! I was made a fool! I scared my poor friend Yugi!"
Yami's eyes darkened for a moment.
"I'm sorry you had to go through all that. Truly, I am. That's why I brought you here to my domain so I can tell you everything regarding the artifacts and your flashbacks-"
"This again? Look, those dreams were just silly fantasies!" Mana angrily replied.
"Then how do you explain understanding hieroglyphics at the age of four?"
Mana stiffened.
No, he had a point there. But how did he know? Unless she told him the night they met.
"You had to tell him!" she cursed at herself.
"How can you explain that only you could only see me that night at the site?"
He walked closer towards her.
"What about that strange sensation you felt when you touched the wand in the tunnel? You felt your heart itself ripped apart before fainting? How can you explain that?"
She looked at him, eyes widening with fear.
"How-how do you know that? I never told anyone-" Mana gasped, feeling a dark aurora cloud around him for a slight second before it vanished.
She felt goosebumps all over her.
Both stared at one another for a silent minute before she let out a shaken sight.
"If I listen to you, can I go?" she nervously asked.
"You have my promise," Yami replied, offering his hand for Mana to grab.
Reluctantly, she accepted it, ignoring the shivers running down her spine.
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10 Years Ago, Tokyo Japan
Meiji University Museum
Shadi held a stoic expression as he studied the young girl. She read perfectly the hieroglyphs and proved she knew extremely the culture, magic, and law systems of Ancient Egypt.
She was also extremely knowledgeable in the afterlife of the civilization.
A little too good.
It was terrorizing to him that she knew stuff that hadn't been discovered yet- like the main palace of Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen and the palace garden.
After their first encounter a few weeks ago, she would visit him every week after school. However after two months, their hangouts had to come to an end. Today she had brought sponge cake, as a farewell present since the exhibition was leaving tomorrow for Cambridge University then to Oxford.
He was leaving with it.
"Sometimes," Mana began, her hand slowly tracing over the thick history book. "It feels as if I know his name."
His eyes widened, his heart thumped harder.
"Who's name?" he asked.
"The unnamed Pharaoh's." she answered calmly.
Slowly but surely, Mana had remembered each of the people's names in her dream. Shada, Karim, Aknadin, Isis, Seto, and Mahad. Each time she remembered their names, she would joyfully tell Shadi how their faces weren't silhouettes no more. She could clearly see them now.
"In my dreams, I know the Pharaoh I see is Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen since the garden I'm in is the one in the main palace. Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen built that palace out of respect to his wife. Meaning the prince I dream about is his only recorded son."
She tightened her fists.
"Meaning when his father died, he took the throne⦠and the people I dream of, they're the six sacred guardians. Mahad, he was like an older brother to me. Proving my theory that the prince I dream of, the prince, is the unnamed Pharaoh."
A tear escaped from Shadi's eye before he composed himself, not allowing Mana to see.
Mana groaned in anger.
"His name, his name is at the tip of my tongue. I know it, I just know I do. One of these days I'll remember."
Shadi sighed sadly before he stood up from his spot on the chair and walked towards her.
"Mana," he began softly as she turned around to look at him. "Can you close your eyes for a moment."
Eagerly she did.
Crouching down to her, he took out from his sleeve a long old glowing key. Carefully he pointed it at her chest and a glowing light emitted from the room.
Soon he was inside her mind.
The man was stunned at the inside of Mana's mind. It was the same palace Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen once lived in. Where all those people she dreamed of once lived.
Where she had once lived.
Where he had once lived.
His home that he never planned to see again.
Holding back tears as he walked down the familiar hallways, he finally saw the door he needed to shut again.
Its lock was almost broken off- as if that part of Mana's memories was trying to desperately reach out to her.
"Forgive me," he whispered as he began to lock the door tightly.
It was too soon for all of this.
Too soon for her to remember.
She was still so young- so so young.
Unknowing to both of them, Mana had tears streaming down her face as Shadi worked his task.
When Mana opened her eyes, Shadi was holding a chocolate bar for her.
"A farewell gift." he said with a gentle smile. However he looked as if he had been crying.
Mana happily accepted his gift before she departed. As the elevator doors began to close, Shadi spoke one last thing.
"Till we meet again."
Once the elevator had closed its doors tears escaped down his face.
"Forgive me." he whispered.
That night Mana did not dream of anything. No vivid dreams of a prince or faraway land.
Slowly her childhood vivid dreams and the names of the people disappeared from her mind.
Once again they became shadows and silhouettes.
Strangers once again.
Note(s):
Meiji University Museum is a real place in Japan.
Atem's father is known as Pharaoh Akhenamkhanen in the Japanese version while in the English version his name is spelled as Aknamkanon. Apologies if I switch between these two.
Author's Note:
What? It's been close to a year since the last update? Thank you so much for waiting. Thank you truly. I will never abandon my work, no matter how long I'm gone. They are all so dear to me. Furthermore, I sincerely apologize for the delay. I had the chapter written down months ago but it wasn't appealing to me. I kept rewriting it until it finally became acceptable to publish. In addition to that, I am graduating University in a few months. What does this mean? Sadly I have stacks of homework and project assignments daily. I hardly have time for myself but fear not, I will work on a way to update a bit more frequently.
With the addition of new characters, the story has finally begun to pick up pace. Hope you stick for the ride. Thank you and until next time. :)
P.S.
This account has turned & the story has officially turned two years old on (March 3 & 4 respectively). Thank you for all the support and I look forward to what the future holds. ^^