Perfectly Timed

by Jamie Campbell

  “You’ll look beautiful, don’t worry about it,” he says, through a little chuckle. He already has his top off. I look away just before he changes his shorts. He obviously doesn’t have the same concerns as me.

  I peek over to see whether he’s dressed again. He is, if you could call it that. He’s wearing barely more than a skirt, his chest exposed for all to see. It’s a good view, but I don’t want other girls getting to see him. Plus, his gnarly cut does not look welcoming.

  “Come on, Ella, we have to fit in,” he sighs when I don’t move. “I won’t look, I promise. Just change.”

  I know I have to but I wonder if I delay it long enough, we’ll be pulled away and I can avoid it all together. Maybe I should put our lives in peril to force it to happen? There’s an idea.

  “I’m covering my eyes.” Noah places his hand over his face, I can see all the muscles in his arm tighten with the movement. It almost makes me forget what I’m supposed to be doing.

  I succumb to the inevitable. I take off my petticoat and decide to leave my underwear on. Surely nobody will notice the few extra items of clothing. Slipping on the dress—and I use that term loosely—I secure it in place by tying the ends together.

  “You can look now, I’m done.”

  Noah takes his hand away and I just stand there feeling naked. Why couldn’t we have bounced to the arctic or somewhere where we had to wear masses of clothes? I can’t believe people actually dress like this here. I know it’s because of the heat and everything, but seriously, put some clothes on.

  “You look hot.”

  “At least I’ll be cooler in this dress.”

  Noah grins and takes my hands, threading his fingers through mine. “No, I mean hot.”

  The penny drops, he wasn’t talking about the weather at all. I blush, my face burning with embarrassment. I can’t believe I just said that. I change the subject, trying to play it cool. “We should find a place to stay.”

  His response is to just kiss me, a deep and passionate meeting of our lips. Suddenly my clothes feel like they’re too much. I pull back, fearing my thoughts are going to get me into trouble. I playfully push him away, hoping he didn’t notice. “We seriously need to find somewhere, this isn’t helping.”

  “I know,” Noah sighs. “We’ll go for a walk around and see if there is anything empty. I don’t like our chances here though, it seems pretty crowded.”

  If Noah is worried about finding something, then I definitely am too. We start our search anyway, needing to beat the sun as it wavers on the horizon. Once it goes down, it’s going to get very dark quickly. It’s not like they have streetlights here.

  As frustrating as it is to try to find somewhere to stay, I actually enjoy spending the time with Noah. He’s funny, I haven’t laughed this much in ages. He always sees the amusement in the situation. I really hope we get to stay together, I don’t think I could do this alone anymore. Not now that I know how great it is to share it with someone else.

  Everywhere we go, I expect to see the bearded man following us. I have to check twice several times because I think I’ve seen him. It always turns out to be someone else, but my heart races anyway. I hope I’m just being paranoid.

  It soon starts to get dark, we might just have to find an alley or sleep in the desert. One night won’t kill us. It’s not like we can ever get a good night’s sleep anyway. Not when we are always expecting someone to burst in and find us.

  We return to the market, hoping to perhaps find some food at least. It might help to make the situation a little better. The square is still a hive of activity. Tall torches of fire are staked into the floor, creating not only ambient light but also some warmth as the temperature plummets.

  We take a seat at the side, hoping nobody will notice or remember us from before. It wouldn’t take a genius to put two and two together and work out we were the ones who stole the bread. Hopefully it’s something that isn’t punishable by a horrible death. I don’t want to test our invincibility.

  A young couple take the seat opposite us, eating and talking. I can’t help but watch them. They are probably around my age and totally wrapped up in each other. It’s nice to see two people in love. I look over at Noah, he’s watching them too.

  The couple look our way and I quickly avert my eyes. I didn’t intend to be caught staring, I just couldn’t help my curiosity. Suddenly, a little girl runs over and the woman picks her up, placing the child on her lap. She’s followed by a little boy, probably no older than two years. It’s the guy who picks him up.

  “They’re very cute,” I say, nodding toward the kids. I’m curious now, surely they can’t be theirs, they’re far too young.

  “Thank you. They’re a handful too,” the man replies.

  I really want to ask more questions but I don’t know what is polite here. I wouldn’t want to offend them, it might cause a scene. Thankfully, the woman starts speaking before I have to.

  “Are you visiting? I haven’t seen you around before.”

  “We just arrived,” Noah responds for the both of us. “I take it you live here?”

  “We have, all our lives. I’m Amena and he’s Orasis, and you are?” She looks at us intently.

  “I’m Ella and this is Noah.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” They both nod with friendly smiles. “Do you have any children?”

  I want to laugh at the idea but I don’t. I guess the kids are theirs and I’m also guessing they get married young here. I can’t imagine having that kind of responsibility. I can barely look after myself, let alone an entire family. I’ve suddenly got a whole lot of respect for Amena.

  “No, no children,” I reply. “I take it these two cuties are yours?”

  “Yes. How long have you been married?”

  Noah and I exchange a glance. I suppress another round of laughter. Noah and I, married? We have our whole lives ahead of us for that kind of serious business.

  But will they think it’s strange that we’re so close if we’re not married? Should we have a chaperone or something? I know any kind of contact between a man and woman was frowned upon outside of marriage in some cultures but I’m not sure if that applies here. Just how liberal were the Egyptians?

  We need to play it safe. “Just over a year,” I say, ignoring the squeeze of my hand from Noah. If he didn’t want us to pretend to be married, he should have spoken up sooner.

  “And no children?” Amena looks scandalized. Apparently I should be pumping them out after one year of supposed marriage. I am so grateful I don’t belong in this time.

  “We’re taking our time,” I reply. She gives me a look of sympathy, like there is probably a reason why I haven’t had any children. I have to remember I’m just pretending before I get really offended by the implication. If I was married here, then I’m sure I would have plenty of adorable children. They would all be running around with ink black hair and crystal blue eyes like their father.

  “What brings you to the village?” The question comes from Orasis. He directs it at Noah.

  “Work,” he answers without skipping a beat. “I heard the king is hiring builders?”

  Orasis nods with a mixture of eagerness and sadness on his face. “He is, but it’s hard work. It will break your back if you aren’t careful.”

  “Do you work for him?”

  “No, but my brothers do. I haven’t seen them in some time. They all stay in the camp so they can get up early to begin, before it gets too hot.”

  “Not that the king cares,” Amena adds. Orasis shoots her a threatening look, like she’s said too much. “I’m just saying, a lot of men have lost their lives. It’s a tragedy just as much as a triumph.”

  “The king’s mission is larger than any single man’s life.”

  I completely don’t agree but I’m not going to start an argument. Not when I really don’t have any idea what I’m talking about. My mouth would only get me into trouble.

  Noah, in all his wisdom, decides to change t
he subject. At the very least it will stop an argument between the couple. “Do you know if there is anywhere we could stay tonight?”

  “You don’t have a home yet?” Amena asks, shocked. Apparently they don’t have many homeless people here.

  “We only just arrived today,” Noah explains. “We haven’t had a chance to find somewhere.”

  Amena seems to be satisfied with the answer. “I would invite you back with us, but our home is full. I’m sorry I can’t help.”

  “It’s fine, really,” I reassure her. “We will find somewhere to sleep tonight.”

  The couple exchange a look, one I can’t entirely read. “We should probably get these kids to bed, it’s after their bedtime.” They start to stand.

  “It was nice meeting you,” I say as they nod and leave. I turn to Noah. “Did we say something wrong?”

  He just shrugs. “Who knows? Do you want to get out of here?”

  I nod in agreement, I really do. Suddenly I don’t want to be around all these people. I just want to be able to be myself and I can’t do that when I’m supposed to be someone else.

  Chapter 18

  We give up our search and take a lit torch into the desert. Noah holds it high, leading the way for us. The only other light is from the twinkling stars overhead. They really are beautiful, far brighter than the ones back home. I can even make out some of the constellations I know, like Scorpio and the archer of Sagittarius.

  There is absolutely nothing in this desert except sand. It feels like we could walk forever in one direction and never come to an end. It’s like we’re lost in space or something.

  “They don’t have wild animals out here, do they?” I ask, gripping Noah’s arm tight. If I lose him out here, I’m sure I’ll never find him again. I’ll be wandering about forever by myself. Or at least until I’m pulled away again, anyway.

  “There might be snakes,” he replies with possibly the four scariest words I can hear. “But they’re probably more frightened of us than we are of them.”

  “Yeah, sure they are,” I say, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I try not to think of all the millions of snakes circling us. Perhaps the fire will keep them away, I’ll try my best to believe that.

  “We may as well just stop here.” Noah stands in place and plants the torch in the ground with a decided thump. It’s as good a place as any.

  I shiver, suddenly wishing I had kept a hold of my dress. I never thought it would be this cold in the desert. But without the sun beating down on us, there is nothing but the sand underfoot to warm us. At least it has held onto some of the heat.

  “You’re shivering,” Noah says. “Come and snuggle up so you can get warm again.”

  He sits on the ground and then lies down. It’s an offer too good to refuse. I cuddle up to his side, cradled in his arm. Between him and the sand, all the goose pimples are smoothed out on my skin.

  “It’s so quiet out here,” I comment, staring up at the sky. There is no sound beside our gentle breathing. We could very well be the only two people in the world that exist right now. It’s hard to imagine anyone or anything else.

  “I don’t get this kind of view back home.”

  “Neither do I, not living in the city, anyway.” The time passes in silence but my mind is whirling with thoughts. I can’t get Amena and Orasis out of my head. They had to be our age and yet their whole lives were already planned.

  It only makes me think of my own future. Will I get a chance to get married? Have children? If I’m constantly being pulled through time, how could I possibly believe I will be able to? My time with Noah could be temporary, I can’t even take his presence for granted.

  “What are you thinking about?” Noah asks. I wish he didn’t, I don’t want to lie to him. I guess all I can do is be honest, I trust him entirely to listen.

  “I was wondering if I will get a future like Amena and Orasis.” I wait for the obligatory reassurances, the ones people just say instead of really meaning. But they don’t come. Once again, Noah surprises me.

  “I hope you do, but I don’t know. I guess nobody’s future is guaranteed.”

  “Do you think we’ll ever stop time travelling?”

  Noah sighs, letting his breath out slowly. “I don’t know. There used to be a time when we were both normal, I’d like to think it’s possible to go back to that.”

  “Me too.” I cuddle in closer, wishing that time could be now. There is nothing I’m certain about anymore—except Noah. He’s real but it seems like there is nothing else that is. There certainly isn’t anything else I can hold onto.

  I close my eyes and try to sleep, listening to Noah’s slow, rhythmic, breathing. It’s comforting even if nothing else is. Especially thoughts about snakes, that’s definitely anything but comforting.

  I drift off into a dreamless sleep, the nightmares leaving me alone for a few hours. The respite is both sweet and welcome.

  “Get up! Get up!” A male voice is suddenly yelling at me. At first I think it’s part of a dream but he doesn’t stop. Suddenly, he’s tapping my leg, nudging me with his foot. It’s not a dream, it’s really happening.

  I sit up and I’m suddenly wide awake. I shake Noah. It takes him a moment to join me in my panic. We are surrounded by five men, all glaring at us and pointing daggers in our direction. They pace around, like they might attack at any moment. Our skin is as white as theirs is dark.

  “On your feet,” they demand. I instinctively raise my arms above my head, making sure they can see I’m holding no weapons of my own or showing no resistance. I don’t think these guys would have a problem stabbing me if they were threatened. I hope Noah is thinking the same thing.

  “Who are you?” It’s the one man speaking every time, probably the leader of the pack. I guess they are some kind of guard or police. They look official with their gold bands on their arms.

  “My name is Noah and this is my wife Ella,” Noah starts, speaking slowly and clearly. It’s wrong that my heart skips a beat when he says wife, right? I shouldn’t be even thinking about that, it’s supposed to be about our survival.

  But, then again, surely we’ll get pulled away if our lives are really in danger. I wait for the pull, hoping it happens before anything bad happens. I still don’t entirely trust our theory, even if it has saved us twice now.

  “What are you doing here?”

  “Sleeping. We’re new in town.”

  The men look at each other, silently working out whether they should believe us or not. I don’t think they do. “Get on the ground!” he screams at us.

  I follow Noah’s lead as he lays face down in the sand. I lie beside him, wondering if they are intending to cut off our heads or something worse. I hate not seeing what they are doing. It feels wrong turning my back to angry men with daggers.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll get pulled away,” Noah whispers, seeing the concern across my face. I hope he’s right, I don’t want these men to have a chance to do anything to us.

  One of the men tugs my arms together and binds my wrists with heavy rope. I sneak a glance over my shoulder and see they’ve done the same to Noah. We are now completely at their mercy. This isn’t good.

  “Stand!” The orders are barked at us, giving us no room to talk back to them. We stand obediently and face the leader again. “You are criminals. We will lock you up for the king to deal with. Now walk.”

  I want to feel the pull but it’s just not happening. Why does it have to leave me when I don’t want it to and take me when I want to stay? It’s so frustrating. Noah and I were stupid to think we had any kind of say over the travelling. Clearly, we don’t.

  We’re walked through the desert until we reach a larger group of men. In amongst them is a human-sized cage made out of thick wood. It’s barely more than a box on wheels yet we are both shoved inside and the door firmly secured with a golden lock. We’re trapped, caged like a rabid animal.

  “This isn’t good,” I mutter, needing to hear some reassurance from Noa
h. I need him to tell me everything will be okay and we’re not about to be thrown into a den of lions. I may not be an expert on ancient Egypt, but I know they used to torture people until death was a sweet relief. I can’t go through that, I couldn’t take it.

  “We’ll get pulled,” Noah repeats. “Just go along with it and don’t say anything. We’re going to get through this.”

  I want to believe him so badly but I really don’t see a way out of this. If we aren’t pulled away, we’re going to be mincemeat, I just know it.

  The cage starts to move as a dozen men pull on a rope. They drag us onward. We’re headed straight for the town we left last night. Ironically, we actually were criminals yesterday when we stole food and clothes. However, we were arrested for just sleeping in the sand. If I thought we were going to be caught, it would have happened last night.

  People start to gather as we delve deeper and deeper into the village streets. They stare at us as we pass by, gawking and yelling at us. They really think we’ve done something wrong and they hate us. I’ve never been more embarrassed and humiliated in my life. I’m not a criminal, I never wanted to be. I just want to go home.

  I suddenly recognize two of the faces in the crowd. Amena and Orasis are with everyone else, looking at us with shame on their faces. They probably think we tried to trick them or something, but we didn’t, we just wanted to be polite. As I lock eyes with Amena, she shakes her head in disappointment. I hate that they’re judging us, they don’t even know what we’ve been locked up for. If they did, they wouldn’t look at us like that, they’d feel sorry for us. All we were doing was sleeping.

  I tear my eyes away from the couple, I can’t bear to see them any longer. I try not to look at anyone in the crowd, it’s only upsetting me even more. Yet when I turn, I see one face that sends a chill up my spine.

  “Noah, it’s him,” I frantically say, tugging his arm to make sure he knows the urgency.

  “Who?” He looks around, trying to see what I do. I point him out, he’s difficult to miss amongst all the locals. He’s doing nothing to try to blend in. With his thick dark beard and stocky physique, I would recognize him anywhere as the man that wants to harm us. And now we’re just sitting ducks, ready for him to do as he pleases while we can’t defend ourselves.