“You like it?” I whisper, placing a kiss on her nape. She doesn’t respond. She just looks at the view blankly, probably gazing at the pyramids. Or maybe thinking about Jibran. I’m quite sure that asshole didn’t bring her to the same hotel room; he was always after her money. At least this room won’t bring her any memories of him. But the city, yes, it will torture her. That’s why I’ve brought her here, to bury this torture once and for all.
“I know you must be wondering, of all the places in the world, why did I bring you here?” She still stays quiet. “This is the same place where your life ended, isn’t it?” I guess. She turns around and looks at me, perplexed.
“Your ride of passion stopped here, somewhere, and you never rode off after that.” I cup her face in my hands. “So if you have faith in me, I will turn on the wheels of your life from this same place. I just want you to trust me and don’t freak out.” I kiss her warm sensuous lips. God! She tastes like Heaven.
“Come on, let’s take a shower and then sleep for a whole day. We have the night to celebrate.” I take her to the en-suite with me.
***
Around two in the afternoon, I hear the room phone ringing at my side. Rania is sleeping peacefully on my shoulder. It’s such a wonderful feeling, sleeping with the most beautiful woman in this world. And best of all, she is mine forever. Watching her sleep like this is truly a novelty.
“Gibson here,” I say in my heavy sleepy voice.
A man speaks with a coarse Egyptian accent. “Mr. Gibson, this is Hanbal Badawi, the president of Egyptian tourism.”
“Hello, Mr. Badawi,” I move up and rest my head against the headboard. I speak quietly, trying not to wake her up.
“Welcome to our beautiful city, Mr. Gibson. I got a phone call from your hotel’s manager that you are interested in investing money in our tourism department. I would like to see the proposal.”
I slip out of the bed cautiously and walk toward the window. I turn around to see if she’s still sleeping, making sure she doesn’t hear me. She stirs, but her breathing quickly falls back into the quiet pattern of slumber.
“I would like to meet you in half an hour, Mr. Badawi. Trust me, it’s a great investment—I’m sure you will be very satisfied.” I keep looking toward Rania, making sure she doesn’t wake up.
I hear the man tapping his fingers, thinking something. I guess he’s checking his calendar.
“You have many investments in Canada, Mr. Gibson,” he says after a while. So he was probably checking my profile over the Internet. “I would like to know why you would be interested in investing money in dead ruins. What profit would you get? Apart from your name? The government here doesn’t share the profit with outsiders.” Seriously? He really wants me to tell him the reason?
“I would like to meet and talk about it, Mr. Badawi,” I reply.
“All right, I will see you in half an hour. Can we meet in the lobby where you are staying?”
“Sure.” I see some hope. I know this is going to be one of the biggest gambles of my life.
***
I change my clothes and sneak quietly out of the suite. But before leaving, I leave a message for Rania that I will be back in an hour, maybe less. If my plans go through, she’ll have a lot to deal with tonight, and I want her to have a peaceful sleep before she gets bombarded.
“Greetings, Mr. Gibson.” A man of around fifty, medium height, completely bald with hazel eyes, finds me at the corner-most couches in the lobby.
“Thank you, Mr. Badawi, for meeting on such a short notice. I really appreciate it.” I shake hands with him and we both settle on the black leather couches, facing each other. A dark woman appears, placing coffee on our table, and leaves as quietly as she came.
“What can I do for you, Mr. Gibson?” Badawi takes a sip of his coffee.
“Yes, the investment.” I speak over the rim of my mug, as I savor the bitter taste of coffee beans. “I would like to invest in the structural maintenance of the Great Pyramid in Giza. I don’t want my name anywhere. This is just going to remain between us.”
He observes me quietly with his shrewd eyes. “A man like you, what interest do you have in the pyramid?”
I smile at his curiosity. “That I may not be able to tell you, Mr. Badawi.” I shake my head with humor. “You want money in your archeological and tourism department. Although I am quite sure your government is making a lot of money every year, on a place which is actually nothing but pieces of large stones. Still, people from around the world come to see it, to witness the truth that no matter how powerful you are, you are still going to die.”
“True.” He shrugs his shoulders. “And what brings you here, Mr. Gibson?”
“I want the Great Pyramid of Khufu for one night.” I put my coffee mug down on the table and wait for his response.
He looks flabbergasted. “Are you kidding me, Mr. Gibson?”
“I don’t think we have a humorous relationship, Mr. Badawi. I need that place for a night.”
“You mean you want to book it just for yourself, with no visitors coming at that time?”
“You heard me wrong, Mr. Badawi. I am talking about the night. When there are no visitors. After your visiting hours are over. After sunset.”
“Ha!” He chuckles. “Why, Mr. Gibson? Do you have a problem staying in this five-star hotel?” He laughs hideously at me. I give him a grave look, which changes his expression. “Are you serious?”
“Make me a proposition, Badawi.” I look at him. “State your price.” He looks everywhere but at me. I’m not sure if he is getting me or not. He looks to be a very sharp man.
“You don’t understand, Mr. Gibson. It’s not safe to stay there after dark. No one does. Not even our archaeologists.” He is gritting his teeth.
“Why? You have terrorist activity going on?”
“Ah! For God’s sake! Who would go to the cursed place? Even the terrorists would freak out.”
I ignore him. “I am waiting for you to quote the price, Mr. Badawi.”
“You don’t understand, Mr. Gibson. It’s not about the damn price. That place is cursed. Why do you want to go in the middle of the night?”
“I’m looking for someone,” I say, matter-of-fact.
“You won’t find a single man there after sunset. Besides, what do you plan to do? You have a date with Cleopatra?”
I give him my poker face. I assume he can see how serious I am, but he’s still acting like a formidable opponent. “State your price, Badawi.”
He starts tapping his feet in perturbation, and rubs his cheek. “Do you know what you are doing? Hundreds of slaves died while building that place. They call it cursed. It is not about the price—”
“Five million dollars for one night.” I look at him with gravity. I’m sure the price is enough to pull him in. “I don’t want my name on the investment at all. I just want that damn place for one night with no security cameras. I need complete privacy.”
“Are you serious, Mr. Gibson? If you want to explore that place on your own, then we need to keep an eye on you, to make sure you stay safe.”
“I’ll be the one to worry about my safety. I have unfinished business with someone and I don’t want fucking cameras recording it. Is that clear?”
“Unfinished business? You don’t understand, Mr. Gibson. I’ve heard the spirits come after sunset. It’s not—”
“I know. Do you agree with my price? You are getting five million for free.”
“I will risk my reputation.”
“Six million dollars. Keep one to save your ass.” I smirk at him.
He laughs like a beast. “Fair enough, Mr. Gibson. If you are brave enough to walk over the dead, go ahead.”
“There is no contract.” I pull a checkbook from my pocket and write the price on a check. “Write the name of wherever you want to deposit it. I just want the security cameras off while I’m there.”
He holds the slip with trembling hands and smiles. “You forgot to
write a way of saving my ass.”
“Right.” I chuckle. “You are a very smart man.”
***
“Here we are,” Badawi says, stopping the car at some distance from the Great Pyramid. “I am not going beyond this point, Mr. Gibson. The sun is going to set in ten minutes.”
“Do you have lights in there?”
“Lights are on twenty-four hours a day. Inside, it’s the same, day and night. It’s closed off from everywhere. There is no window to cry for help. It’s a tomb, for heaven’s sake.” He sighs.
I open the passenger door and step out of the car. I pull the back door open and grab Rania’s hand to help her out of the back seat. She’s remained quiet all the way. She is blindfolded, so she has no idea where we are. The feeling that she has given me today, having utter faith in me—I am falling more and more in love with her.
Badawi steps out of the driver’s seat to give his farewell. “You have a beautiful wife, Mr. Gibson.” He takes a deep breath. “You are taking a risk, bringing her with you.”
“I will call you, when we’re done with our exploration.” I shake hands with him. Even if he’s scared, he can’t stop drooling at my beautiful wife. “Good night, Mr. Badawi. It was a pleasure doing business with you.”
“The pleasure is all mine.”
As soon as he turns on the ignition, I take Rania’s hand and walk toward the entrance.
“Adam, where are we going?”
“Surprise, baby.” I drop a soft kiss on her knuckles. She remains silent after that.
The pyramid is structured in quite an interesting way. If you rewind time to four thousand years ago, you would wonder how humans could build such a perfect structure when there were no pulleys, wheels or iron tools. No doubt it is considered as one of the wonders of the world; it’s amazing to see that this pyramid has both ascending and descending passages. It is believed that it took around twenty years to build this structure, and if I evaluate it as an architect, keeping in mind that there was no modern technology at that time, I can easily say it should have taken more than twenty. The studies say that it consists of an estimated 2.3 million limestone blocks, with most believed to have been transported from nearby quarries.
All I can think of is how hard it must have been to make them, how much devotion it took when there were no cranes or earthmovers or power tools. There is so much stone mass in the pyramid that the interior temperature is constant and equals the average temperature of the earth—twenty degrees Celsius. I believe it is one of the cruelest examples of slavery in any time of history.
I walk with Rania through the entrance toward the Grand Gallery, which is an ascending passageway. I stand here for a while, and I can hear nothing but Rania breathing hard. She is afraid.
“Where are we, Adam?” Her grip tightens on my hand.
“When I take off your blindfold, I just want you to believe that whatever I’m doing is for us and no one else. I never forget a gesture, Rania, either good or bad. It’s in my nature and I can’t help it. When you fed me the first time, by offering me your breakfast, I was completely awed. I never thought such a minor gesture of yours would make such a big place in my heart.” I see her smiling, and her grip on my hand relaxes. “When I saw you for the first time, dancing with them, I never thought my fantasy would turn into reality, holding my hand with trust.” I snake my arms around her waist. “I wanted to make love to you for such a long time, and when the right time came, a fucking Jinni came out of nowhere to ruin our most treasured moment.” She holds her breath. “I have seen you crying in pain. You always deserved love in your life and because of Khaldun, you were unable to feel any pleasure. I can never forget what damage he has done to you, so I am here to fix that damage.” I remove the blindfold from her eyes.
She flutters her eyes for a moment and turns her head, taking in her surroundings. Her face suddenly pales when she realizes where we are. “Adam—”
“Don’t be scared. I know what you’re feeling, baby.” I hold her tight. “Come, sit down.”
Badawi followed my instructions exactly, and has placed a thick Egyptian rug in the middle of the floor, with pillows so we can relax. She starts trembling with fear when I lay her down on the pillow. She still looks around, as if she expects Khaldun to appear any moment.
“Adam, you don’t understand. We shouldn’t be here.”
“I know you’re scared, Rania.” I try to reassure her. “But I think confronting him is the only way. When you were here before, was Jibran with you?”
She shakes her head. “No,” she says. “He went to meet his wife, and sent me here with a guide.” She takes a deep breath.
“And where did you meet Khaldun?”
“Right here, where we are lying.” She touches the rug. “I was reading the brochure about the internal structure of the pyramid, when he came out of nowhere. Suddenly I realized there were no tourists around me. I didn’t know where everyone had gone, even my guide. Whether he made them disappear or if they actually left, I still don’t know.”
“What did he look like?”
“Tall, clear skin, black eyes, black hair…”
“Basically, someone like you, in a male version.”
“Not like me, like Kiya.” She gives me a strange look. “First I thought I was imagining him, but then he started telling me the history of this place. He acted as my guide that evening, showing me parts of the pyramid that are closed to the public. Even some that I think have not been discovered yet. They were really deep, under the shafts, but the walls opened on his command. I thought maybe the walls had been motorized using modern technology, but I was wrong. He was operating everything.” She steals a glance at me and then looks toward the ceiling. “He took me to the king and queen chambers, showing me the small openings out to the sky, facing north and south. He told me when the king built this place, he wanted his soul to travel through that opening. Then he smiled at me and said: You know, you don’t need an opening for your soul to travel from one place to another. I felt alarmed at the way he looked at me, but I didn’t have a clue that he might not be human. When we came out, it was dark.”
“Then?” I listen to her intently.
“He offered to drop me at my hotel.” She looks toward the ceiling again. “Since I was lost, and concerned that Jibran would be worried about me, I accepted his favor.” She gasps. “Jibran saw me thanking him for his help.” She looks at me. “Things were never right after that.”
“When did you realize he was not human?”
“The same night. When Jibran tried to make love to me, I saw Khaldun in front of me. I asked Jibran what he was doing—couldn’t he see someone glaring at us? He looked everywhere, and obviously found no one. That was when Khaldun told me only I can see him. Jibran never believed that there was a Jinni there, because he couldn’t see him.” Oh! Just like me. She closes her eyes and shakes her head. “That was the worst night of my life.” She gulps. “I was raped for the very first time, with a spectator in my room to watch my pain…my husband never believing me…and then…it was the beginning…”
I place my lips on hers. I can’t stand to hear all this. I don’t know how she managed to get through it.
“As long as I’m alive, I will never let it happen again.” I entwine my hands with hers. “You are my life, my pride, my honor—and I will never let anyone ruin it.” I start with a soft kiss, which turns into a passionate lip-locking session.
Suddenly I feel the change, and embrace her tightly.
“I know he’s here,” I whisper. “Don’t be afraid. He can’t hurt us.” I pull away and look at her. Her eyes are tightly shut. “Open your eyes, Rania.”
As soon as she opens her eyes, she screams in fear. I totally guessed the asshole was standing somewhere very close to her, which freaked her out. I take her hand in mine and stand up.
“Shall I welcome him to his own house?” I grin at Rania. She still looks grave. “You know, baby, he’s scared of me. He confronts thos
e where he thinks his power will work. He knows you and all the other women were vulnerable; that’s why he has only attacked women.” I circle around Rania.
“Adam, why you are risking—”
“Well…well…look who’s here,” I say, seeing a man walking toward us, behind Rania. “Welcome, Khaldun. I welcome you in your own chamber.”
“Adam Gibson.” His voice floats among the stone walls of the pyramid. “A man much liked by God. Or perhaps I should say, a man who knows how to bribe God.” He shakes his head in disgust. “You know how to make use of your damn money, don’t you, Gibson?”
I smile. “My money is a blessing to me. And God gave me enough wisdom to use it properly. It’s the only currency you need if the goal is to pull the strings of humanity.” I look at my wife, whose skin is flushed.
“How did you know it was me?” he asks curiously.
“Black eyes, black hair, immaculate appearance…just like my beautiful wife.” I gesture toward Rania. “The only attribute that separates her from you is her purity. She is quite poor at committing sins.” I look at him. “Whereas you are a magnet for sin.”
He glares at me; it seems like he wants to burn me with his eyes. He then looks at Rania. “She is my wife.”
“Well…well…that’s quite a debatable topic, isn’t it?” I chuckle. Seriously, he is out of his mind. “You married a woman based on trickery. You obliterated her with your own fire.” I shake my head. “How many lives do you intend to take?”
“Let go of her hand, Gibson. I don’t like the way you touch her.”
“Oh yeah? You don’t like my way of touching her, or you don’t like the way she responds to my touch?”
“Adam, please,” Rania puts her hand on my chest. “Please, don’t provoke him.”
A Prayer Heeded Page 22
