Aunty Maya was famous. She was all over the news for her discovery, though they hadn't gone into much detail aside from the fact that, like Doctor Devarajah had suspected, the tomb had remained completely untouched.
I tried to stay away from the news channels and all those sort of things. I knew that actually hearing about what was going on might potential help me move on... I just couldn't do it.
I would find another way to move on properly.
But while she was making the discovery of a lifetime, I still had to deal with my mundane life.
The day after she opened to tomb, I spent a full day at work. I stayed in a little late to do some extra photocopying and then drove home. I was a little happy today... Aubrey had come to tell me that my advice had worked. Her boyfriend had agreed with what she said and things had worked perfectly fine for her.
That made me very happy. I wanted my students to be happy, after all.
When I got home, Neferkitti greeted me with more enthusiasm than usual. "Hey pretty lady," I grinned at her.
She meowed and meowed and rubbed against me, practically pushing me.
I chuckled, just thinking that she was more excited than usual but went on with my business. After filling her cat bowl, I went straight to the bathroom to take a nice, warm shower.
My uncle, Kiya and I were hanging out today... I'm assuming it was because he wanted to talk about all the crazy things I had told my aunty and Ro. But I wasn't too worried. I was just glad that I got some time to hang out with him. I missed him a lot, especially since I barely saw him these days.
After taking a shower, I walked out, dried my hair and my body and got into a comfortable dress. Once I was ready, I gave Uncle Ethan a call and headed and made my way to the door.
Neferkitti chased after me. She started to push her head against my legs again and meow.
"What is it, hun?" I asked, confused.
She refused to let me go.
She ran around my legs, almost tripping me.
"C'mon, Neferkitti, I'm going to be late!" I continued walking past her and once I opened the door, she dashed out as fast as she could.
I gasped, "Neferkitti!"
She ran all the way to the doors of the stairwell, scraping her claws against it.
I hesitated, but then locked the door of my apartment and followed her. "Do you want me to follow you?" I asked.
She meowed, continue to scratch the door.
When I opened it, she rushed into the stairwell and started to run up the stairs.
I followed behind her, and every time she was too far away, she waited for me to catch up.
We climbed and climbed until I felt exhausted. "Jeez Neferkitti, couldn't we have taken the elevator?"
Neferkitti ignored me and continued on her merry way.
I sighed, but followed her.
After what felt like forever and a heart attack, I was practically wheezing when we finally reached the very top floor.
Neferkitti sat at the door, scraping against it as she waited for me.
We were at the top floor. The top five floors of this building were filled with storage rooms. It was kind of like a garage. A small garage that tenants used to store extra stuff. Mine was at the very last floor and I used this storage room to store my Christmas Tree but that was about it.
Why was she bringing me here?
When I opened the door for her, she rushed in, stopping exactly where the door to my unit was. How she knew that, I had no idea. But I had already established that she was a magical cat, so I simply followed her.
When I got to the storage unit door, I unlocked it and pushed it open. As the door opened, the automatic lights flashed on, blinking a couple times before buzzing to life.
My heart stopped.
Neferkitti charged into the room in excitement as my mind went blank.
There was supposed to be just a Christmas tree in here, but there wasn't just a Christmas tree.
There was a lot more.
And I stared at it all in shock.
The room was a horrible mess, with tons and tons of things just thrown around. Kindergarten workbooks, photos, clothes, books, gifts, a sword and my bicycle. And those were only some of the stuff.
My legs turned into jelly, which subsequently caused me to collapse onto my knees. It hurting since the floor was hard and tiled but that was the last thing on my mind.
This had to have been a joke.
Was the wizard still alive? Was he messing with me? I knew for a fact that none of this stuff was there before. I had come up here every December for the last four years to get the Christmas tree and it was empty.
Where was this all coming from?
How was this possible?
Neferkitti was dragging a plastic bag towards me as I stared in shock, and when she reached me, she released the bag and charged back into the mess to hunt for more things.
After remaining frozen for a couple more moments, I couldn't hold back my curiosity. I needed answers. What did of this all mean?
I quickly unknotted the bag and when I opened it up I let out a breath. This was the plastic bag that I had kept under the bathroom sink for nearly a year.
In it, were all of Atem's Egypt stuff... the stuff he was wearing when I first met him.
I pulled out the bags contents one by one, examining them. Most of it was gold, gold bracelets, gold armbands, gold belt, gold everything. His blue and gold Nemes headdress was also in here, as was his kilt.
I let out a breath before trying to swallow back the lump in my throat. I held the headdress up, remembering how he looked in it. It had been so long since I had seen him but I could remember him so clearly. From what I could remember, he looked so handsome in all of this, he looked strong and so masculine. The fact that he was shirtless made it so easy to see his broad shoulders and well-defined muscles. He always, truly looked like a king, though now that I thought about it, back then I was scared and thought he was crazy.
Neferkitti wasted no time; she was dragging the next item towards me as I put the headdress back into the plastic bag. It was a notebook.
It took me a moment to recognize it, but after a short moment of staring at it I finally remembered. It was that gorgeous notebook I bought him to practice his writing in. I had the exact same one and I told him to use it like a diary.
I opened it up and flipped through it, realizing that this was exactly his writing. His writing was always neat... neat and slightly slanted. The first couple pages started off with simple things that made me smile through the tears that were forming in my eyes. He wrote his abc's a couple times as practice, followed by filling pages with random words. A couple pages in, however, was when he actually started to do as I said.
As I had started my dairy entries with "Dear Aunty Maya," he had started his with "My Dearest Father."
His first entry was short. All it said was "May has told me to practice my writing by writing letters to you. I believe this is silly. However, as she writes quite well herself, maybe I should give it a try. – Your son, Akhenatem."
The next couple pages were filled with more random words, but a couple pages in I found another letter.
My dear father,
I am thoroughly mesmerized by the colours in the trees of this land. May calls it AUTUMN or FALL. I believe fall is the more appropriate name, since the leaves do fall from the trees. Today I looked outside and saw red, yellow and orange. And brown. And still some green. The colours look beautiful together. However, when I look at the floor, it looks hideous. Once they fall to the ground the peasants step all over them and cause them to turn into mush. It is saddening, but there is not much I can do about it.
-Your son,
Akhenatem
[May has said to me that I must
sign my name at this side for it
to be in letter format.]
I let out a short laugh, remembering this. I flipped the page, only to see more random words and phrases. After reading the words written on the page, I realized that there was a theme. These were words from different books. The words on this page corresponded probably with Looking for Alaska by John Green. There were some last words mentioned in the book that I recognized, which Atem had written down. I never knew he did this, but maybe they were words and phrases that he didn't really understand.
The next entry was from another day I remembered.
Father,
It has snowed here. It is more beautiful than I ever imagined. I wish that you could have seen such a beautiful sight in your lifetime. The beauty of the snow makes the cold a little more bearable. I do not think you would have liked the cold. May seems completely accustomed to it. She has told me of a religious tradition which is called Christmas. Everyone is decorating everything. Even trees. I admit that it is quite beautiful, though I do not understand the purpose of the trees.
-Akhenatem
This time, the next page had another entry.
Dear Father (and maybe Mother too),
I have purchased a bicycle for May for Christmas. It is a strange machine used for traveling in her world. It is structured like a horse but has wheels like a chariot.
She better like it.
-Akhenatem
After I read that I felt the tears escape, I looked up at the bicycle, which just sat there, unused for four years. Getting that as a gift from him was one of the greatest things ever. I was so happy.
Right then, I felt my phone vibrate.
I pulled it out from my purse and saw that it was a text from Uncle Ethan.
May, where are you? I'm in my car downstairs.
I texted him back quickly, asking him to come upstairs to the storage room. He responded by asking me if I was okay. When I said I needed him to hurry, he responded by saying he was coming up now.
After I put aside my phone, I flipped quickly through the book, deciding to read it word for word that night. But as I flipped through I noticed a photo slip down from one in the book.
I turned the page back to where the photo was and when I picked it up and examined it, I gasped. I recognized the photo immediately. It was me, as a child, grinning a huge grin. This was one of my most favourite photos from my childhood. Not only was it adorable, but it was from a time when my dad and I got along well.
Though it was so long ago, I remember the photo being taken. My father was the one who took the photo and after snapping it, he scooped me up into his arms and told me that I had the world's most beautiful smile.
After kissing me on my cheek he made me promise that I would always smile like that no matter what happened.
I was crying now, bawling.
This memory was so long ago that I forgot that there was ever even a time that my dad treated me so well.
Why did Atem even have this picture?
I looked down at the page that I found the photo on and through the tears and sobs and hiccups I read what he wrote there.
Father and Mother,
I find that I am falling in love with May. I believe this is unacceptable but I do not know what to do.
Please, somehow, tell me what to do.
And I wish she would smile more like she smiles in this photo. I wonder now if I am part of the reason for why she no longer smiles like this.
-Akhenatem
My heart skipped a beat, and somehow his words made me force myself to stop the tears. I closed the book and hugged it tightly before using one of my arms to wipe my tears away.
"May," I suddenly heard Uncle Ethan call.
When I turned around, I saw him kneel down next to me. He had Kiya in his arms, who he put down on the floor before putting an arm on my shoulder.
"What's wrong, May?"
Kiya reached out and touched my wet cheeks. "May?"
I smiled at her before looking at Uncle Ethan.
He was looking at all the stuff before his eyes returned to me. "What is all of this?"
"All the stuff... from that other life."
His eyebrows rose in shock.
I reached out and pulled the plastic bag closer to him, letting him grab it and look through the stuff in amazement. He pulled the jewelry out one by one and left the headdress for last. When he was done with the examination, he looked at me. "Absolutely amazing," he said.
Kiya let go of my face before running of to rummage through the things and Neferkitti joined her.
Uncle Ethan crossed his legs before sitting down beside me. "When did all of this–"
"I don't know," I said. "Neferkitti just went crazy today and led me up here. It wasn't all here when I brought the Christmas tree back up in January." It was March now, so at some point in the last three months, all of this stuff appeared in here.
"Can you explain it all?"
I pointed at the bike. "Atem got me that for Christmas," I said. "Those small statues and books about Egypt? I got him those. The pile of clothes right there are all the winter gear I got him. And the Victoria Secret bag over there... there're pajamas in there, which he got me for my birthday. And all those books over there are books we read together."
"And the sword?"
"His," I said. "He pointed that at my neck on the day I met him."
"Look!" Kiya yelled as she ran back towards me. She slumped down onto my lap, holding a photo frame in her hands. My breathing hastened as I looked at the photo from Atem's birthday.
It was a picture of him and I.
I was grinning and he had his usual neutral expression... though something about it showed happiness. I liked this picture a lot, so I had it printed and framed back when he was here.
Her small chubby fingers pointed at my smiling face in the photograph. "May!" she said, happily.
Then she pointed at Atem before looking at me with her big eyes. "Who this?" She asked.
Uncle Ethan looked at the photo too, his eyes slowly widening even before I spoke.
"That's Atem," I said as I held back my tears and looked at the photo.
"Atem!" She said, copying me. Except she said Atem's name the right way. Ah-tem. Not A-tem.
Uncle Ethan reached out and gave me a tight hug.
"I don't understand," I whispered. "Why now?" Why now that I was trying to get over him?
"I wish I could give you some answers, May," he said, softly. "All of this is baffling me too. But is there any of this stuff you want to take downstairs? I can help you move some of it."
When he pulled away I smiled at him and nodded. "The bike... I'll get the books and photos."
"Right," he said. "Let's go downstairs and sit somewhere more comfortable and talk, alright?"
I nodded and let him help me up.
He walked over to the bike and lifted it up before turning to Kiya. "Come on, sweetheart," he said to the little girl who was standing in the middle of the room in a cute pink dress while looking around. She still held the photo in both her hands and looked at her dad when he called her but then back at the photo. After a moment, I saw her run after her father.
I walked over to one of the messy piles of clothes, his notebook still in my arms, and knelt down beside it. It was a pile of some of the many clothes Atem had worn over the year. I picked up one of the shirts and let out a breath. It was a white t-shirt the fit him perfectly... I remember liking it when he wore this one.
As I lifted it up and stretched it out to look at it properly, his scent from the shirt filled my nose. It was strange how so many years could pass and it still smelled like him. I loved his smell, and as I held it closer to my face, it got stronger.
My entire body suddenly ached in want for him. I missed him so much. I wanted so badly to hold him and kiss him but I knew it was impossible. So I put the shirt back down on the top of the pile and stood up.
I grabbed some more books and photos and left the room, walking pretty fast. I felt the need to get out of there since I felt that the longer I stayed there the harder it was going to be for me to move on.
~ ☥ ~
When we got back to my apartment, I sorted through the things quietly with Uncle Ethan's help. He looked kind of preoccupied on his phone and I figured it was because he was texting Aunty Maya, who was still busy in Egypt.
He must have been updating her with what had happened here. "May," Uncle Ethan called suddenly.
I looked up from the book I was flipping through. The Little Prince.
"Aunty Maya want's to talk to you. On Facetime. Are you okay with talking to her now?"
I nodded. To be honest, I feel like speaking to her would help me feel a lot better. "Let me get my laptop," I said as I walked from the living room and to my bedroom. When I returned, I had my laptop in my hands and I set it down on the coffee table. As soon as I opened it, I was already getting the call from Aunty Maya.
When I pressed the answer button, I was greeted by her warm smile. "Hey, princess!"
"Mama!" I heard Kiya squeal as she began to run towards us, but Uncle Ethan lifted her into his arms before she could get too far.
"Let's let May talk to mama first, okay?"
Kiya nodded, not arguing at all.
"Hey Aunty Maya, how's the dig going?"
"Excellent," she smiled. "I've found everything I've needed to find. But... I just wish–"
I knew what she was going to say, so I cut her off. "Don't feel bad for following your dreams, Aunty Maya. I'm so happy for you. Don't worry about me."
She smiled, and I could see the exhaustion in her eyes. "I love you, sweetheart."
"I love you too," I blew her a kiss, trying to show that I was fine.
She let out a sigh before continuing. "Your uncle has been keeping me updated... apparently the stuff from that other time are back?"
I nodded.
She hesitated. "If you don't mind, may I see a picture?"
I nodded again before picking up the picture frame with the photo that Kiya found. Holding it in front of the camera, I pointed at Atem. "That's him."
Her eyes widened and then she relaxed again. "Wow," she started. "He's very handsome."
"He is," I said, turning the photo around and looking at it myself. "He was proud about that too."
She laughed then rolled her eyes. "Men, right?"
"Yeah," I giggled.
"Anyways, May, I was going to save this for you for when I get home... but after your Uncle told me what was going on, I thought that it would be better for me to just tell you now."
"Is it about the dig?"
She nodded. "I think... whatever force is out there controlling all of this... I think what they want for you is to finally get a chance to accept all of this for as it is–"
"Accept that he's never coming back," I said.
"Well... that's not exactly what I meant. I meant..." she tried to find the right words but couldn't.
"Don't worry about it, Aunty Maya," I smiled reassuringly. "So what is it that you wanted to tell me?"
She hesitated and before she spoke she gave me the warmest of smiles she could conjure up... and for some reason, I knew she had to say something that may upset me. "I believe you, May," she said. "Without a doubt I believe everything you said to me about this other life. During the excavation... it kind of seemed like Akhenatem was trying to help me believe you completely."
"Really?"
She nodded. "And I found something," she started. "In his tomb... it was kind of a note. It was a note written to me... and I know this because he specifically refers to my name as having the meaning of 'illusion.' I'm assuming you told him that?"
I nodded, feeling that lump return in my throat. I couldn't believe he remembered that.
Anyhow, it's a note written to me, but it's about you."
My heart started to race right before I held my breath.
"Would you like me to read it to you?"
I hesitated, trying to think that through. Did I want her to read it to me? But I knew within seconds that there was no point in me trying to think that through. Of course I wanted to know what he said. There was no doubt about that. "Yes," I said, firmly.
Aunty Maya smiled before pulling a piece of paper out in front of her. She took a breath before starting to read. As she read, I couldn't hold back the tears. Uncle Ethan, who was standing in the kitchen with Kiya, was watching me carefully and when he saw the tears escape he walked over to me.
I tried to be strong and not cry in an attempt to prove to Aunty Maya and Uncle Ethan that I was fine... but it almost felt like these were his last words. And his last words were to me.
When she finished reading it, she looked at me.
"I never knew he could be so poetic," I said, letting out a chuckle.
Uncle Ethan put an arm around me. "Well, in his last couple years he must have spent a lot of time with his more poetic brother. It must have rubbed off onto him."
I laughed through my tears and let Uncle Ethan kiss my head.
"He really loved you, May. And he left the responsibility of keeping you happy in my hands," Aunty Maya said.
I nodded.
Aunty Maya then let out a breath. "You're such a magical person..." she suddenly said. "To think that all along, you were the one who saved him. May, you're truly amazing."
That made me happy, "thanks, Aunty Maya."
"There's one more thing... May," she continued. "There's one more thing he asked me to tell you."
I waited for her to continue.
"He asked me to tell you to remember the promise. He said not to cry."
I nodded, "yeah."
She blew me a kiss, "I'll be home soon, sweetheart. Until then, keep smiling. I'm working on making things right here... and you'll be happy soon, I promise."
I nodded once more, though I didn't really get what she meant by 'making things right,' and started to move the laptop towards Uncle Ethan and Kiya. "Kiya wants to say hi," I said. "She's been waiting so patiently."
Kiya grinned proudly before looking at her mom, "Mama!" She squealed.
"Hey little baby!" Aunty Maya squealed back.
I chuckled, before getting up and walking to my room. I could feel Uncle Ethan's worried glance but I decided to just let myself keep walking and close my bedroom door behind me.
I wasn't crying anymore, just feeling a little hopeless.
The book of his that I was reading earlier was sitting on my bed, untouched since I brought it down, but now I felt the need to finish reading it.
So I picked it up and sat in my room and read it all.
Most of the beginning was just rambling and reflections on things that happened here. They were, for the most part short comments on things in this world.
But after that one page with my picture, there were more serious notes. He wrote clear letters to his parents, obviously wanting some guidance, and I couldn't help but smile as I read them.
Dearest Mother and Father,
I cannot believe how soft hearted I have grown. If you had only heard how she spoke to me today... a year ago I would have had her blood on my hands within a matter of moments.
Every time she yells at me, I feel anger, but at the same time I don't. It is more so an annoyance now. Not rage. She annoys me. A lot. Yet I must also admit that I find myself forgetting that I am upset with her very quickly.
She is driving my crazy... which confuses me more since I feel an attraction to her.
I am still waiting for you to give me some guidance. How long will it take for you to send me some sort of sign?
Your foolish son,
- Akhenatem
I chuckled out loud as I read this one. Oh god did I know how much I annoyed him. I flipped the page, and read on.
Mother and Father,
You have failed to send me a sign but I will assume that it is because this world has no magic in it... unless however the sign that you sent me was that dream of her telling me that she 'liked' me again. Well, if that was the sign then... very humorous indeed. How thoughtful of you, making me more confused than ever.
But again, if that was your sign and if you are telling me to go ahead with this silly infatuation then fine, maybe you will be pleased with what I have to say next.
I kissed her.
Goodbye,
-Akhenatem
My smile grew, remembering that day. It was an important day for me and I remember being thrilled afterwards. Reading his words made my heart feel a little giddy. Giddy and happy.
Dearest Ra,
I am directing my letters to you as my mother and father refuse to grant me with any reasonable advice.
I am going crazy.
I have no one here to guide me aside from Blake, yet I do not have it in me to tell him anything. I am a Pharaoh. SHE IS A PEASANT.
Maybe she is not a peasant.
Why do I feel this way for her? She is annoying. Very, very annoying.
PLEASE send me some guidance, dear Lord.
Your loving descendant,
-Akhenatem
The next one was written right underneath the one before... and by the looks of things, he was starting to sound desperate, which made me chuckle.
Dear Khamenatem,
No one is helping me. And I have given up on trying to seek help.
In this world, the heart is an organ, which simply pumps blood. The brain is where one feels emotion.
Ridiculous, don't you agree?
How, with their 'technology' and their 'advances' could they believe in such a foolish thing? We feel in our hearts. Not our brains. Our hearts are what are weighed during judgment, not our brains. What foolishness.
May has a strange family. They care greatly about their image... so much that they care not about how the people within the family feel. It's destructive.
May's father is the worst. He is a serious piece of work... I think there is really something wrong with him. He is the strangest man I have ever met. You would not believe it unless you see it yourself but in his eyes, all I see is love for his daughter. He loves her. But every time he speaks, all that comes out of his mouth are hateful, angry words. It's the strangest thing ever.
Her grandfather however... well he is just an asshole, as May would say. I don't like him at all, and I think I made sure he knew it.
Like I said before, I have given up on trying to explain what I feel. I have come to understand that I love her. May, that is. I think I really accepted it when I saw her family... how poorly some of them treat her, like how some people in our family treated us... yet she still smiles. She is the kindest girl I have ever met despite the fact that she annoys the living daylight out of me. She looks at the world in a way that I wish I had looked when life was difficult for us. I understand that it is too late now, but realizing this strength of hers has made me unembarrassed about this love I feel for her.
She is a special girl, and I wish you could have met her. You would also found her to be beautiful. She has nice hair and happy eyes.
It is easier to write these letters to you, brother. I think I will continue to write to you.
-Akhenatem
I smiled before lifting the book to my lips and kissing it. I was about to flip the page again when Uncle Ethan knocked on the door. "May?"
"Yeah, come in."
He opened the door and smiled at me. "You okay, Princess?"
I nodded. "Fine," I smiled, closing the book and handing it to him when he sat next to me on my bed.
"What's this?"
"I bought it for him and told him to write in it like a diary, to practice writing."
He flipped through it and I saw him smile. "Writing letters to the dead was a thing in Ancient Egypt, you know?"
"Really?" I asked.
He nodded. "He must have really expected a response."
"He got frustrated when no one responded," I chuckled to myself.
He smiled and then after a moment of staying silent, he nudged me. "May–"
"I'm fine, Uncle Ethan," I said. "I swear, I am."
After watching me intently for a moment, he sighed. "Good," he said. "I'm glad."
I leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thanks for looking out for me, Uncle Ethan. I'm sure I'll be completely better soon. I'll figure it all out, I'm sure I will."
He messed up my hair a little before giving me his warm smile. "I know you will," he said. "You're a strong young woman."
I grinned at him, making him smile.
"That's the smile I like to see," he said. "I'll make you something to eat and we'll watch a movie? Kiya has wanted to watch Mulan since she saw that doll at the Disney Store."
I nodded. "Sounds good."
So I spent the rest of the day hanging out with Uncle Ethan, Neferkitti and Kiya. I had fun and surprisingly I did feel a lot better despite all that had happened.
I slept pretty well that night, practically hugging Atem's notebook and when I woke up, I took a shower and wanted to start the day off well.
I made myself a nice, filling breakfast and ate it alone on the island of the kitchen, reading a book while I ate, but just as I was finishing up my eggs, I heard a knock at my door.
Thinking it was Uncle Ethan, I rushed over to the door, but when I opened it, I was pleasantly surprised to see Blake. "Hey, lovely," he smiled warmly.
"Well, look who decided to drop by after so long," I smirked.
He rolled his eyes jokingly. "I was here last week."
I let out a laugh as I let him in. Even after all these years, Blake and I were still really close. He came to visit often, though I did think part of the reason was still for my brother, who was living in a different city. "What's up?" I asked.
"Want me to be honest?"
"Of course."
"Well, your brother's been extremely worried about you recently... apparently you've been upset about something?"
I rolled my eyes. "Trust me, Blake, I'm fine," I said, walking back to the kitchen. "Want anything to eat?"
"No thanks, May," he said, sitting at the chair in front of the island. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure," I said. "I just had a stressful week."
He let out a breath. "May..."
Despite him saying he didn't want anything, I poured him a glass of chocolate milk.
When I turned around his eyes widened. "May, are you okay?"
I felt my head start to ache as I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Blake. Trust me."
He stood up quickly. "No," he started. "Your nose is bleeding."
My eyes widened as I looked down, seeing a ton of red stains on my white shirt.
He reached out and pinched the bridge of my nose with one hand as he ripped a paper towel from the roll in his other. Then he held the paper towel at my nose.
When I took the paper towel for him, I dabbed my nose with it in surprise. "That's weird."
He walked around the island. "Have you been sleeping well?"
"Yeah..."
"You're clearly not taking care of yourself May," he scolded.
I rolled my eyes again. "Blake–"
He grabbed my hand and led me to the washroom. "You're going to ruin your shirt," he said when we reached the sink. "Press hard, May."
I nodded, leaning over the sink, but couldn't deny that I was starting to feel faint. "Blake, I think I'm going to faint," I said, suddenly worried.
"I've got you," he said as he held onto my arms from behind me. "Let's get the bleeding to stop."
I silently continued to dab the blood from my nose as Blake watched me.
"So you were saying? You're fine, huh?"
I was going to roll my eyes again but as I opened my mouth to argue, I felt the taste of blood on my tongue.
And suddenly I felt sick. "I think you should step outside for a second," I said.
"Why?"
And before I could explain myself, I dashed towards the toilet and puked.
"May!" Blake gawked as he grabbed a hold of my hair and pulled it away from my face, letting me puke.
~ ☥ ~
Surprisingly or unsurprisingly, I found myself sitting in Blake's car, driving towards the hospital. We picked up Ro too because Blake wanted a girl to be there because apparently "girls know what's going on with other girls more than boys do." I tried to protest, but neither of them would take it.
Once we got to the hospital, we waited for a long time and when I was finally in the nurses did a bunch of tests. Apparently having a headache, a nosebleed, dizziness and puking all at the same time was weird.
Okay fine... it was a little weird.
I was sitting on the examination table while Ro sat across from me in a chair. She was anxiously shaking her leg and had her arms crossed, not looking too pleased.
When the middle aged male doctor with blonde hair walked in, he looked at me with a smile. "Miss. Khan," he said.
"Hi."
"So, I've looked through the test results and your blood test results will be sent to your family doctor once they're in."
I nodded.
"I'd like to ask you a couple questions first," he said.
"Sure."
"Aside from the headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and nosebleeds, how are you feeling today?"
Ro rolled her eyes at the question.
"Fine, I guess. I was perfectly fine before it all happened."
He nodded, checking something off of his clipboard. "And are you on any antibiotics or any medications for infections?"
"Nope."
"Have you travelled outside the country within the last eight weeks?"
"No."
"Have you ever been in Africa?"
I hesitated. "Yeah," I said, making Ro arch an eyebrow. I had updated her completely with everything that had happened up till now, so I assumed she just still found it hard to believe.
"When, Miss. Khan?"
"Four years ago."
"Have you had any sexual contact with anyone who was born or lived in Africa?"
"Yeah, four years ago." Atem was born in Africa and he lived there. Even if it was thousands of years ago.
Now both of Ro's eyebrows were raised.
I know these questions about Africa had to do with HIV/AIDS. And I knew for a fact that I didn't have either HIV or AIDS, but now the doctor might be suspicious of that.
"Well, I can assure you that you don't have either HIV or AIDS, but I'm sure you understand that these questions are mandatory."
I nodded. "Yeah, I understand."
"When was the last time you had any sexual contact?" He continued.
"Four years ago."
The doctor looked up at me from his clipboard. "Are you sure?"
I chuckled awkwardly, "yes, I'm sure."
He raised an eyebrow before lifting up the paper he was looking at and glancing at the papers underneath. "Miss. Khan... you're almost one month pregnant."
I blinked.
And almost immediately my mind went blank.
Even Ro was in shock.
I stared at the doctor for a good couple minutes before gathering up the words to speak again. "W-what?"
"Your nausea and dizziness are pregnancy symptoms. As are the headaches. The nosebleed is probably a result of the sudden changes in your body which you have not grown accustomed to just yet, but nonetheless it too is a pregnancy symptom," he said. "And to be certain, we checked your urine test and you are, in fact, pregnant."
"That's impossible!" It came out as a whisper. "I haven't had sex in four years."
The doctor hesitated. "Is there any chance that maybe you were unaware that someone–"
"No," I said quickly. "No, that's impossible."
"How certain are you?" Ro asked, standing up.
"Near to a hundred percent. Her urine had hCG in it, or human chorionic gonadotropin. It is present in urine after an egg has been fertilized," he looked back at me. "You're pregnant, Miss. Khan."
I shook my head.
"That can't be... I swear, doctor! I haven't had sex... there's no way..."
"Well, if you come in next week then we can do another test to be more sure. By five weeks, it's highly unlikely that the test will be wrong."
"We'll definitely be coming back," Ro said as she grabbed my arm. "Thanks Doc."
The doctor nodded, "I will see you soon."
I smiled at the doctor as Ro pulled me out of the office.
We walked down the hall silently, both of us in shock for a moment before Ro suddenly stopped walking. "How the hell is this happening?" Ro asked as she started pacing.
I shook my head, not knowing the answer.
"You've never had sex before–" Ro suddenly stopped pacing, as if she realized something. She looked at me, looked away, but then looked back. "You had sex with Atem four years ago?"
I nodded. It happened pretty much every night during that one week on the boat in Egypt.
"Did you use protection?"
I hesitated, but shook my head.
"Did he come inside you?"
I was taken aback by the blunt question but I knew she was serious and wanted my answer. So I nodded, rather gingerly.
Ro scoffed. "How many times?"
"A lot..."
"May, how could you not think you'd get pregnant?" She exploded.
"That was four years ago, Ro! And at the time I was married to him and frankly I thought I was never coming home! I didn't think it was a big deal," I yelled back. "And besides, I've never had sex since. Atem couldn't have gotten me pregnant." Though, I had to admit that Ro was right to yell at me. In all honesty, I don't remember worrying or thinking of pregnancy at all at the time. I just wanted to be with him.
Ro shook her head. "No... what if..." She shook her head again, "Oh god I'm going crazy."
"What?" I asked. "What if what?"
She hesitated and looked at me. "You said the day you came back... all the things that had to do with him were taken away from you, right?"
I nodded, remembering that day.
"Then what if all that was his includes his kid?" She asked. "You said that all of a sudden all of the things that were his came back yesterday. So what if that includes his kid?"
My shoulders dropped.
Was that possible?
No.
But if time travel was possible then...
"Why..." I whispered. "Why is this happening now?" All I could think of was that Atem never ended up killing the wizard. He was still alive and he was messing with me.
What else could explain this?
I was pregnant.
Four years after I had sex. Four. Freaking. Years.
"What a fucking asshole," Ro cursed as she began to walk off.
"Ro," I said. "He's not–"
I stop talking when she abruptly stopped walking. She then turned around and walked back towards me. "Listen May, I'm sorry if I sound cold, but this guy, whether he's an ancient Egyptian Pharaoh or not, came into your life, got you to fall in love with him, had sex with you and possibly got you pregnant... and then disappears! Leaving you behind to pick up all the shattered pieces of your heart on your own," she yelled. "And now this. A baby? You're pregnant and where is he?"
There was a lump in my throat and I tried to swallow it back.
"In my book, this puts him at the level of a goddamn mother fucking asshole."
I knew she was just worried about me. I knew she was saying this because she was stressed out for me. But nonetheless, her words hurt.
She bit her lip when she realized that she hurt me. "May," she whispered as she stepped forward and hugged me.
I hugged her back.
"May... you're twenty-three. You're so young. I know you love kids but pregnancy is a big deal. You know that," she pulled away and held my face in her hands. "If you are pregnant, you have a big decision to make... are you going to keep the child or not?"
"You mean adoption?"
Ro hesitated.
"Abortion," I whispered the frightening word.
She blinked but didn't let go of my face. "May, you're young and beautiful and have so much going for you–"
"If I am pregnant, Ro, I'm not going to kill the baby."
She let out a breath. "I knew you wouldn't," she let her hands fall to her sides. "But remember May, if you decide to keep this baby, your entire life will change."
I nodded.
She turned around and started to walk off.
When we reached Blake in the waiting room, I could tell that he immediately sensed the tension. So he didn't ask any questions.
I wasn't mad at Ro. Not at all. I loved her to death and I knew she would have my back till the day I die. And so I also knew that she was very worried.
When we dropped her off, she told me that she'd come to my place tomorrow and after I agreed, Blake and I drove off.
We stayed quiet for the rest of the drive, and Blake only really spoke up once we got back to my apartment.
"So... what happened?"
I poured both him and myself a glass of water, letting out a breath after I took a big gulp.
Neferkitti, who had jumped onto the counter, looked carefully at me as Blake walked over to the couch.
"May–"
"I might be pregnant," I blurted out.
His eyes widened before he let out a breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "What?"
I sighed.
"May," he called, softly. "How?" I gave him a silly look as he shook his head in disbelief and sat on the couch. "Are you sure?"
I shook my head too, walking over to him. "They told me to come back next week to do another test."
"Oh god," Blake dropped his head back. "Your brother is going to kill me."
"You?" I scoffed.
"I'm supposed to watch over you, not let you get yourself pregnant."
I rolled my eyes. "If he's going to kill you then what's he going to do to me?"
Blake looked at me carefully. "With who? Who's the father?"
I bit my lip as I looked at him, and then I got up and walked to my room. When I returned, I had a photo album in my arms. This was one of the things I found in the storage unit. An album filled with pictures from my year with Atem. I started putting it together when I realized I had a crush on him.
I opened up to a picture of Atem and handed it to Blake.
"Who is this?" He asked, though his face looked oddly confused. I had a feeling that deep down he recognized him.
"Atem," I answered.
Blake looked up for a moment before looking at me. "The person you were looking for that one day? The one who ended up making you call me after we hadn't talked for a while?"
I nodded.
"I thought you said that was a dream?"
"It... wasn't..."
Blake looked confused, but when he looked back down at the album and flipped the page, I saw his eyes widened. "What..."
I looked down at the picture he was looking at. It was a picture from Christmas. It was the grinning Blake with his arm around a uniquely not annoyed looking Atem.
"When..."
I let out a breath, deciding to finally explain it all to Blake.
I tried to be clearer about it than I was with Aunty Maya and Ro... but I think the fact that I had pictures this time to prove his existence helped.
And when I was done explaining, all Blake could really do was gawk. "But if what you're saying is true, this guy was here four years ago."
I nodded.
"Then how could you be pregnant with his kid?"
"I've never had sex with anyone else, Blake."
He shook his head in disbelief. "This is crazy,"
"I know."
Blake looked at me and then back at the photo and then back at me. He then sighed. "Okay, so if you are pregnant and he is the father... then that means he's not here anymore."
I nodded.
"Oh jeeze, I think I'm going to have to sleep this one out."
I let out a short laugh.
"You're going to keep the baby?"
"If I even am pregnant, then yeah. I am."
"May–"
"Actually, let's not talk about it anymore," I said. "For all I know, the doctor might be wrong. We'll wait a week to be sure... then we'll figure it all out."
"May... this is not–"
"Seriously, Blake."
He watched me for a moment before putting an arm around me and pulling me close to him. "This is the last thing I'll say about it, I swear... If you do end up keeping the baby, I'd be honored to be its godfather."
I started to laugh, but nodded, feeling a little better now. "I'll keep that in mind."
~ ☥ ~
Like the doctor had suggested, I came back to check again the next week. Ro came with me once more and this time, the doctor looked unbelievably baffled.
He had no idea what happened, but one week later, all the symptoms of pregnancy were gone.
He was so baffled that he asked me if by any chance I had a miscarriage in that week since he'd last seen me.
And of course, I hadn't.
The doctor made sure that I knew that something like this has never happened in the twenty-something years he's being practicing medicine... and while he spoke, I just smiled and nodded.
To my surprise... I wasn't as relieved as I thought I would be.
I mean, without a doubt, I knew that I was nowhere near ready to raise a baby... but maybe... maybe I actually wanted the baby after all.
There was nothing to do about it now, so Ro and I left the hospital while Ro blabbered away about how relieved she was that I wouldn't have to deal with being a single mother.
And as she spoke, I held my belly and sighed to myself.
Blake was the one who drove us to the hospital again, and when Ro and I got into his car, Ro shared the great news with Blake.
Blake looked at me with a smile and I smiled back.
And then we drove home.
Of course, I was the only one with the slightly heavy heart. I would never say this out loud, but I was definitely, undoubtedly disappointed with the fact that I wasn't going to be the mother of Akhenatem's child.
Weird.
I know.
~ ☥ ~