Curse Of The Pharaoh

By Keertana Saji

Calling my day interesting would be an understatement. 

Archaeology intrigued me more than anything, no number of books were enough, so I sat in a small open restaurant reading to my heart’s content without any interruptions. 

And of course, just because I thought that, I was interrupted. 

Correction, rudely interrupted. 

When you see a woman sitting reading her book and casually minding her own business, normal people come and say ‘Hi’, what I heard from the person in front of me was ‘I guess it has to be you so you’ll do’. 

I wasn’t usually a person who demanded respect or anything since I barely give anyone that; but ‘you’ll do’ just sounded too straightforward and weird. 

It was tough for me to keep my temper. I finally managed to say, all the while looking into my book, “‘I’ll do’? Can’t you see I'm trying to read here? I have no interest in whatever you want, I'm sorry, please try someone else.” 

“Please. You. Have. To. Listen.” He said pausing between every word. 

That definitely got my curiosity; his voice was filled with pain.  

I looked up from my book to see a young man sitting opposite me, probably 18 or 19. 

“You study the past right?” he asked 

“Yes… what is your name? If you have any questions related to history, I'm giving a lecture on Egypt tomorrow, I can add your name to the list”, I suggested. 

“Never mind all that, who are you? You don’t sound like you are from around here.”

“Meera, I'm here for the lecture, it seemed right that I should be in Egypt for Egypt history lecture. Now who are you?”.

“Do you know about the curse of the pharaohs?”

“A curse alleged to be cast upon anyone who disturbs ancient Egyptian pharaoh to cause death? That one?”

“That’s not what actually happens. Anyone to disturb the tomb of a pharaoh stays there forever. Their body lives in the normal world like an empty shell while their real self stays back because they get trapped much like the pharaoh in there. The power it takes for the pharaoh to escape, to only have power to talk to one person. The curse affects both the pharaoh and the people who try to connect with us.” 

“None of that is true.” I said, shocked at how wild one’s imagination could be. 

He looked defeated like I had just extinguished every flame of hope from his life. 

“Who are you?”, I asked sighing. 

“Tutankhamun” 

In that moment he looked lonely, his eyes directed at me but looking at something else. 

“Tutankhamun? Like the pharaoh? Oh! by the way, my name is Queen Elizabeth”, my voice oozed sarcasm.  

“You’ve been looking for me, haven’t you?” 

“Yeah I'm done with this.” I got up to leave when he caught my hand. 

His hands were icy cold out in the hot rays of the sun. 

His image flickered right in front of my eyes. For a split second I saw a man dressed in something other than the usual jeans and shirt he wore a second ago. Before I could comprehend what I had just seen, he pulled me close to him. 

We were at a normal distance from each other but our faces were close. Close enough for me to hear him breathing. 

“Please believe me. I have no one else. I chose you this time.” He whispered 

“I don’t understand anything you are saying right now.” I replied. 

I felt like I should have called out for help since nothing happening was normal. I couldn’t. Something about him made me want to forget logic and just stay. Stay. Stay. 

Why would I want to stay with him?

“Because I can show you.” He said. He either read my mind or I said all that aloud by mistake because I'm a genius at making myself seem like an idiot. 

“I can show you”, he continued, “I know you’ve been looking for me, I found you instead. I can take you”

His eyes. They were golden with a ring of blue and grey colour. I was enchanted, I was lost in them. So much that it took me a few minutes to realize he had spoken to me. 

“I- I have my lecture”, I replied. 

“Nile's west bank, the valley of the kings. Find me.” 

“What? What do you-”

Before I could finish my sentence, he raised his hand and kept them on my cheeks. 

He held my face as he whispered, “I’ve been lonely for so long, very few have tried to find before… thank you”

Slowly his touch left my skin as I saw him dissolve into the air.

I noticed I wasn’t in the restaurant anymore. I stood in unknown ground. I didn’t stay confused for long. I didn’t know how I knew, but I knew I was where he was. 

Deep within where I stood, after digging for a while I saw a gold box and, in that moment, I knew, I found him. 

I remembered our conversation about the curse but I didn’t seem to mind as I felt a pull toward the tomb. I opened the tomb, waiting to be greeted with a skeleton. I was half right. 

There was a skeleton, yes. 

There was also a man made of blue mist sitting next to the tomb the moment I opened the lids. I recognized him immediately. I wanted nothing more than to join him. I remembered the pain and loneliness in his eyes, I would stay. I knew it. 

He smiled. His smile warm yet cold. I understood, if I acknowledged him, I would become part of the curse. 

So,

I reached out to him and he held my hand in his. His cold grip suddenly warm. 

I looked behind me; I saw dust swirling making images, I saw myself walking into the lecture hall and giving the speech with no emotions.

Their body lives in the normal world like an empty shell while their real self stays back because they get trapped much like the pharaoh in there… that’s what he had told me.

“Why me?”, I asked him. 

The loneliness that once danced in his eyes were replaced with playful joy. He held my hand tighter as he made me sit next to him, both of us facing the sand mirror showing my body without its soul. 

“For us, the cursed dead, to communicate with anyone, they must look for us first… thank you”

I smiled. I didn’t know why, but being with him was right. My body too turned to mist mirroring his. 

He smiled in return and said, “Tell me stories of the world… Are you sure you made the right choice taking on this curse?”

I laughed and said, “It’s a lot different now, the world, there is a lot more technology then there was when you were alive...”

His question was answered yet left unanswered. 

I didn’t mind. I knew I would be here in this warm presence forever, I chose this, whether I regretted it or not.

By Keertana Saji