The beginning
From childhood, Arthur was passionate about Egyptian mythology. His bedroom in his parents' home was filled with papyrus paintings depicting famous religious rituals and miniatures of Egyptian statues. His passion for Egypt, however, did not fade as he grew older and led him to study Egyptology at university. It seemed that his knowledge was never enough and he never tired of re-reading the same topic over and over again.
When he traveled to Egypt for his studies he would explore deserts and pyramids in the morning, then relax in the evening walking the city streets and drinking karkadè to cool off from the heat he had accumulated. Arthur could say he lived a solitary life, but one that satisfied him, even if he missed someone on his travels. He was never a boy who liked to be the center of attention, but was almost always isolated lost in his studies that took him away from his affections for quite some time.
He had moved in again, his previous apartment was so small that he could barely move, but in the area where he was, it seemed that that was the standard square footage. Now in his new apartment he felt comfortable, he had his own studio where he could conduct his research in peace, not that there was much chaos in living alone, but he needed adequate space for everything. Arthur bent down to pick up the last pile of tomes on ancient Egypt that he had set aside on his desk, his back was stretched by effort, he took them to the library by putting them on the first available shelf. He had many things to do, soon he would be leaving for Egypt on an expedition and this time he would not be alone, he would be going with his colleague Soraya. Soraya was very kind and reserved, she was the kind of woman he liked because she respected his space and he knew that he was also very reserved. His other colleagues, on the other hand, often did nothing but take advantage to learn more about the digs he was working on to write a few articles in turn with their theories. Soraya had recently arrived on the faculty and was doing an internship on a temple dedicated to the god Khonshu, on which she had been studying for some time, Arthur had already read about that deity but had put it aside for other research. His new colleague was four years younger than him and when he saw her the first time completely immersed in his studies he found her fascinating. He could tell that he saw every detail of her always careful not to be caught looking at her. She had long auburn hair that she always held tightly in a braid that swung over her back with every movement.
Finished arranging the bookcase he sat down in the chair, finally the house was slowly becoming cozy. It remained for him to sort out his clothes and hang a few pictures, meanwhile he waited for the couch and furniture for the living room and kitchen to arrive. Surely eating Chinese or pizza all the time would not have been good for his health.
When he arrived late at the faculty the next morning he found Soraya already at work. She looked up from the maps and said:
- It's strange to see you arrive late. Usually I find you already here.
Soraya had big brown eyes and some freckles on her face that gave her a nice look.
- It's the bus's fault, it was late today and without a car I couldn't do anything else.
- You could have told me, damn! I could have picked you up without any problem.
- That's very nice of you, but I don't want to bother you and then by Friday I'll get the car back, otherwise I can't even do the last shopping before I leave.
- I assure you that you do not disturb me, in fact I wanted to ask you if you wanted to have dinner together before leaving... can you discuss on excavations.
Arthur was interdicted, that was an excellent opportunity that she was offering him to get to know her better, he remained silent for a few seconds before answering her:
- Of course. Shall we do Thursday?
Soraya nodded with a smile on her face then with a slight movement she moved closer kissing him on the cheek.
Soraya approached the table taking the bag and walked out of the room looking at Arthur one last time he was still standing still after the kiss.