Reflections in the Nile Read Online Free PDF Page A

Also like the Goldilocks tale, the third room seemed to fit, why I couldn't say. Wisps of peace, acceptance, and desire wrapped around me. I grabbed the ankh around my throat and rubbed it across my chin. As I looked out the broken window, I realized some amazing pictures could be taken from here.
A beautiful sunrise
, my mind whispered. One of the many turbaned guards stepped in and told me to leave, but I was determined to return and get those shots.
    Still burning inwardly from the feeling of the third room, I left the temple grounds in search of lunch. I saw a small boat restaurant offering the “bestest food in ancient Lucqsur” and ordered the specialty of the house, fish stuffed with figs and pomegranates, my favorite fruits. It seemed fitting to celebrate with an expensive meal. After all, a girl turned twenty-four years old only once. I savored a honey-coated pastry and heavy coffee for dessert as I watched boats race from shore to shore, the whole world bleached by the power of the sun. No wonder the ancient Egyptians had worshipped it as Amun-Ra.
    After eating, I sat on one of the many benches that lined the Nile and watched the procession of tour boats, tourists, and Egyptians. Idly I sketched, capturing on paper the sparse waterfowl and the hands of the sailors.
    I heard steps behind me.
    “Chloe?” he said. “How are you today? Feeling better, I hope?”
    “Hello, Anton,” I said with a smile. “I'm much better, thanks. Where are you off to?”
    “Nowhere, I think. I am tired,” he said, wiping sweat from his brow. He stepped out of his Birkenstocks and laughed. “So much sand.” He shook his head ruefully. “I think I will go swimming this afternoon and then to the Son et Lumière tonight.”
    “Oh?” I said, curious. Cammy had recommended going, but not alone, under any circumstances. “The Sound and Light show? I've heard it's supposed to be wonderful, but what exactly is it?” I gestured for him to join me.
    He sat gracefully, stretching his leanly muscled tanned legs before him and laying his backpack on the ground. “It is in Karnak. After dark they lead one through the temple, while describing what it was like to be an ancient Egyptian worshiper, yes? Then it ends by the Sacred Lake about half after ten.”
    I grinned inwardly. It was tonight, huh? Maybe my wish to explore that third room was not quite so impossible. Or the sunrise photos… ? Hmmm … did I have the right lenses?
    He continued, “It is quite expensive, very crowded, and gets cold, but it is also amazing and should not be missed. It is not Christmas church services, but it promises to be memorable.”
    “It sounds great,” I mused. “I think I'll go, too.”
    Anton looked at me through his dark sunglasses. “And your sister? Maybe you will both go with me and after we could get a coffee?”
    I smiled. I was actually surprised he would give me a second thought since I had been such a doorknob yesterday, but it was a great opportunity. I hedged, since I'd told him Cammy was in town. It wasn't smart to travel alone, being female. “Cammy has been before. It would probably bore her. If the invitation is open to just me, I'd really like to go.”
    Anton smiled widely. “I am very pleased.” He looked over my shoulder at my pencil sketches. “You are quite talented,”
    One of the curses of being a redhead is that when I blush, the whole world knows it. “Thank you,” I said with wildly rosy cheeks.
    He held out his lean hand for the sketchbook. “May I see?” After a second's hesitation I handed him the book. He flipped through exacting renderings of buildings, trees, flowers, and hands, then gave it back. “You have a very strong hand,” he said. “You are obviously an artist.”
    I nodded “Advertising. I created the TacoLitos spokes-iguana.” This obviously meant nothing to him. If one didn't live in the southwest part of the United States, my spokes-iguana was unknown.
    “Why are there no people in your