| 5 Tutankhamun! Suddenly, Sayeed felt he knew everything about the pharaoh whose golden face looked back at him. How sad it appeared, as though the futility of existence was captured in the portrait for all time. What comfort, after all, was there in gold—even so much of it—when one knew that death was approaching before life had really even begun? Sayeed heard himself say, without knowing why “It is too heavy, this gold; I cannot breathe.” Staring so intently at the mask of Tutankhamun, Sayeed heard the footsteps approaching and saw the light. He turned around slowly, hardly knowing what to expect. But there was no afreet, no ghost. It was only Dr. Rubin. Sayeed gave a weak little chuckle of relief. “Not the best job for someone your age,” Dr. Rubin remarked in a passable Arabic. “No moon tonight. Let us turn on the light and have a proper look.” The American found a switch and a bulb went on somewhere. Sayeed immediately felt better. He wanted to ask Dr. Rubin if he had felt or heard anything, but thought better of it. No doubt the man would think him nothing but a superstitious peasant. “I really don’t mind it,” the young man said, quickly. “When I walk among so many marvels of art, I can’t help but feel proud. The people who made them lived long ago, but they must have been very intelligent and clever. I hate Cairo, yet here I am proud to be an Egyptian, to be the descendant of those who are here.” Sayeed had no idea what had prompted this speech or what had made him suddenly so eloquent even though his tongue felt dry and his legs more than a little weak. Dr. Rubin, the man with the key to Room 52, smiled at Said in a way that gave the Egyptian the idea he was pleased with his words. Why does he look so familiar, Said wondered. What is it about him? “I think you would like Cairo better,” suggested the American, “if you had the time to enjoy it. Don’t you know any young people—any amusing places?” “No,” admitted Sayeed. “All I have is what is here—although, of course, it isn’t mine.” “Then whose is it, if not yours?” replied Dr. Rubin. Sayeed, momentarily speechless at this revelation, had no response. Then, Dr. Rubin said “What do they call you?” The Egyptian told the American his name. NEXT PAGE |