Qena
The arrival in Qena was for Arthur the conquest of freedom; Soraya and the rest of the group had already left for a few days, but the only thing he was interested in was being alone to find his own space. Gamal was waiting for him at the archaeology faculty to discuss the findings in the desert; as he waited for the cab he had booked to pick him up, he heard on the radio of the person sitting next to him about an expedition to Luxor that had ended in bloodshed. The facts were not known, but it was believed to be the fault of the usual grave robbers in search of gold or ancient artifacts, which had been found massacred. It was a Khonshu temple maintenance worker who had found the bodies. And he had called the local police after finding the bodies of the desecrators lifeless; the police had said that the strange wounds on the bodies were to be ascertained and that they were not sure what kind of weapon had been used. Arthur froze; it was the discussion he had heard on board the plane; he had not misunderstood and was not going crazy as he had begun to think. A cab stopped in front of where he said he was staying, he got up from his seat and the man motioned for him to get in; once seated Arthur told the man to get to the Qena faculty and the man, after a brief nod, touched the dashboard and started the meter.
- How far is the faculty from here?
- It is not very far, sir, we will be there very soon I apologize for the delay, but I got a flat tire and....
- Don't worry, I'm quite early and took the opportunity to pick up a few things at the bazaar.
- You did well. I assure you that you will be at the faculty in no time. I am shaken by the news of the temple, have you heard it?
- Yes, terrible news.
- Oh, that temple, Khonshu, I always thought it was cursed. It's not the first time it's happened, and it's not the first time they've tried to desecrate it.
Khonshu, him again, but this time he seemed to have come out for a real reason. A double murder in his temple, with many issues still to be ascertained. Arriving in Qena, Arthur paid the fare and breathed a sigh of relief that he had not encountered Luxor's irreverent taxi driver; in fact, he was glad for the distance between Qena and Luxor not to encounter him again.
Arthur entered the faculty and asked for information on where to find Professor Oshara Gamal, a girl explained where he had his study and with a brief greeting took his leave.
He walked down the corridor indicated by the woman, put his bag back on his shoulder and opened it to get the cotton handkerchief to wipe his face.
Where are you going Arthur? < /i>
He froze suddenly, it was that voice again and this time he was neither tired nor tipsy.
Try once to listen to me Art.... < /i>
He froze when one of the corridor doors opened and out of it came the figure of Gamal who raised his hand and said:
- Harrow! I was warned that you had arrived, I have recently changed the studio every now and then there are renovations in the faculty.
Once near, Gamal patted Arthur's shoulder who had a relaxed posture and looking at him saw a strange look and said:
- You look dazed, didn't the trip go well? Would you like some fresh karkade?
- The trip went well, I am glad to see you. I will gladly accept something fresh.
- Well, let's go to my study. I have read your articles and I must say that even for your young age, you are really the best in this field. All that painstaking research and now this unexpected discovery.... Too bad about what happened down at the temple, a real shame.
- It's not the first time this has happened, is it?
-No, unfortunately we don't know what they are looking for there specifically, but more importantly why Khonshu Temple interests those people so much.
- Lately Khonshu seems to revolve around me. My pseudo-girlfriend seems to be very interested in the subject, days ago I met a taxi driver in Luxor who was convinced that Osiris and the other gods had formed a council and repudiated Khonshu without realizing that he was just a child with little experience-he had seen Gamal smiling as if he was witnessing a comedy skit-and meanwhile the discovery and this morning those desecrators killed. Strange, isn't it?
- It's just a series of coincidences Arthur don't let it affect you. The taxi driver might just be a fanatic about ancient Egypt.
- Maybe he was a fanatic, but really it's too many coincidences, strange to say, but I feel like going home. Now that I'm here I want to show you the pictures of the artifacts, the ones I found talk about Khonshu from his exile, that's why I found it strange that that taxi driver was talking about it.
Arthur opened his bag and took out the photos Soraya had taken that day, showing the larger frames of the inscriptions, he pointed his finger at one of the photos pointing to the hieroglyphs:
- See Oshara- Arthur picked up the map where he had drawn all the straight and parallel lines on the day of the find- looking carefully at the location of the find, it points straight to the Khonshu temple, it may have been moved so we don't have a certainty, but it is strange that there is talk of an exile and there is talk of Osiris. - Oshara looked at him and when Arthur sensed that in his gaze was his own puzzlement he said, "I know, I thought back to the taxi driver. How did he know that? I mean, it's a new discovery, even the reporters don't know anything except about the find, no details, but doesn't it seem rather strange that he is so well informed.
- A taxi driver in Luxor who knew how Khonshu had been disowned is...but that's not possible Harrow, maybe he will have expressed his opinion and it's a coincidence
- What are the chances that this statement reflects reality? And then he spoke as if he was saying something about himself.
- Like he was unconsciously someone else?
Arthur hadn't thought about it, but he shook his head at the idea that the man was in an altered or possessed state.
- I don't think so. He was trying to point out that Khonshu had been a victim of the other gods, telling me that he was just a child. So far no one has said that he was removed at the hands of a council of gods, rather we know that he has a temple specifically to be worshipped as a prominent figure in Egyptian history.
- He said he was a child.
- Did he say anything else?
- Yes, he told me that I was an Egyptologist without praise. At first he was very interested in my studies and my work, but as soon as I started to tell him what I thought he started to rail. He also frightened my colleague, my pseudo-girlfriend, and because of that I had to take a few days off.
- You are an excellent Egyptologist Arthur, don't listen to what that lunatic said about you.
- How crazy can he be? So far everything he had assumed has a kernel of truth.
- He is a lucky fool! I want to show you a picture of an artifact I was telling you about, I don't want to destabilize you but it is the opposite of yours - took the picture under a book handing it to Arthur - Osiris and other deities arranged in the position of the cardinal points inside one of the pyramids.
- Here in the center what is it?
Oshara shrugged his shoulders, Arthur continued to stare at the picture and then looked up:
- Can I get a printout of this? I want to take it to the faculty, maybe it is related to ours
- No problem, I'll get you the whole folder as soon as they finish cleaning well.
- Thank you Oshara.
When he left the room, Arthur headed for the exit and phoned the airline for the return trip, booking the trip for the next morning. He was really tired, more and more, waiting outside the faculty for the cab Oshara had booked to take him back to the hotel, when he saw the man he stepped back.
- Her again? But why her?
- Egyptologist, are you in a good mood today? Where did you leave your little girlfriend? You'd better get on board, Arthur I need to talk to you.
- Do you know my name? I never told you...
- Get on board, don't be afraid, I'll explain everything. I recommend the seat next to mine, I can talk to you better without me having to scream like last time.
Every time he met that man Arthur heard the voice or heard it every time before he saw him.
- I'm sorry, but I decline the offer.
- Tell me Arthur, do you prefer threats?