Chapter 8: Chapter 7

The next day started beautifully with a very filling and delicious breakfast. Poppy and her uncle got to enjoy the famous Ful Medammes, the most common traditional Egyptian breakfast made of fava beans and cooked with oil and salt.

Poppy looked at her uncle with pride and admiration. One evening, that's all it took for the others hotel to realised that uncle Joe knows almost as much about Egypt as the guides. Look at them, hanging onto his every word; yes, he is really bright, and he is my uncle.

She loved how knowledgeable he was about foreign culture, and she always noticed how impressed their fellow travellers were when he was teaching them something new.

Not wanting to be left aside, she added to the other hotel guests sharing their table, "This is Ful, a dish eaten with eggs, cheese and pita bread."

Her uncle tapped her hand gently and said proudly, "Excellent, Poppy!"

All the guests were now in the dining room having their breakfasts.

Where is he, she thought, realising that her new friend was missing.

Maybe he is just late. I'll catch up with him on the bus, she concluded.

After breakfast was over, she hastily made her way to the bus—no sign of Ius anywhere.

Ali the doorman was directing the hotel guests toward the transport buses.

Joe caught up to her, "Shall we?"

They all boarded the bus, followed by the other travellers and the guides.

First on the list was a visit to the pyramids. After an hour's journey, they finally arrived in front of the world's oldest of seven wonders, the Three Pyramids, including the legendary Great Pyramid of Giza or Pyramid of Khufu.

At first sight of such magnificence, Poppy started to feel better, letting go of her previous disappointment.

Joe stood next to her and put a hand on her shoulder, "Fabulous, isn't it?"

She turned toward him and smiled, "Yes, Uncle, absolutely fabulous."

"I'll see you later, darling! The adults are going in first. Our tour is a bit more detailed than yours. Have fun!" he walked away, waving at her.

She waved back with a poor smile on her face, and just like that I am alone again.

Selma gathered all the teenagers around her and started giving details about The Great Pyramid. They went in as soon as she was done.

"Blimey, it is not even half as big as I expected" she whispered to herself.

Right from the entrance, they seemed to be ascending and descending tunnels.

I am petite but I feel like I am Gulliver in a Lilliputian home. How on earth do adults manage to walk these tunnels? Not to mention a little scary.

She felt a tap on her right shoulder, jumped and screamed. A mad echoed throughout the corridor and she turned red, "Ius" she said while gently hitting him.

Ius was still in stitches, trying to compose himself.

He finally calmed down and said, "I am sorry, I did not expect you to scream so loudly."

"I am glad you had a jolly good time; you almost gave me a heart attack," said Poppy with half a smile

"I am sorry," he said while still giggling

She shook her head, her face lit up, and she threw her arms around him, "I am so glad to see you."

She let go of him, hit him on the arm and said "where have you been? I have been looking for you everywhere."

"My uncle and I got up early and went for a stroll in the centre. He insisted on showing me the bazaar and the souq," he explained. "Sorry I am late."

"That's okay. Did you like it?" Asked Poppy with a smile

He shrugged, "it was nice, but I wish you were there with me. You would have loved it."

She stopped and placed her hand on his shoulder "by the way, how the devil did you manage to catch up with us?"

A grin appeared on his face, and he moved his brows, "we caught a cab, dummy!"

She laughed and pushed him with her shoulder

They heard some footsteps coming toward them and they froze. Their eyes doubled in size, and they exchange a frightened look. They heard a growl and turned around; it was Selma.

She said in an angry tone, "This is not a relaxation booth. Please re-join the others immediately and keep up."

She then realised that Ius was standing next to Poppy "and you," she said pointing at Ius

"Where the hell did you come from?"

Poppy and Ius looked at each other, wow, could you be any more hostile? Thought Poppy.

Ius frowned, his eyes widened, and he said to Selma in a shaky tone, "My uncle and I were late, so we came by cab. I'm sorry."

Selma made a face, grumbled something, then said, "the next time you are late, you will be sent back to the hotel, understood?"

Ius, who still had a frozen look on his face, just nodded.

Selma gave him a nasty look, grumbled something else under her breath and walked away.

"Ouch! Someone is about to get a one-star for their tour guiding service! "Whispered Ius to Poppy.

Poppy burst out laughing and said, "she is furious; I wonder why? It is not like you interrupted the tour or something. Anyway, ignore her. If she tries to send you away, I'll go too."

Ius smiled at her, and they made their way to the rest of the group.

The Pyramid was getting creepier by the minute. Poppy took a deep breath and murmured, "This place is spookier than I thought."

Ius nodded, "Don't worry, stay close to me, and you'll be fine!"

The group went through another narrow corridor. The descending tunnels lead them to an underground chamber where the pharaohs were typically laid to rest.

Khufu's Sarcophagus was in another section called the King's Chamber. After going up against some confined corridors, they arrived in a bare room, not a single hieroglyph on-site. Just a big rectangular hollow stone in the middle used to house the Pharaoh's mummy.

Ius came closer to her and whispered, "Hey, Poppy, I think I've dropped something. I'll be right back. Just wait for me here!"

"No" whispered back Poppy. She grabbed his forearm and asked, "what could you possibly have dropped?"

Ius smiled "I found a beautiful scarabaei pin in the Souq, but I can't find it anymore"

Poppy gasped "a pin? Unless that pin is made of precious stones it is not worth angering Selma again"

Ius rolled his eyes "Poppy, it was the last one they had, and I really want it back. Just cover for me, I won't be long. Thanks"

Poppy threw her arms in the air and shook her head "Okay but hurry up."

Poppy moved behind a group of teenagers much taller than her, hopefully, she won't see me from there.

Selma finished her pitch and started to lead the group away, but Ius was not back yet.

I am not staying here alone, thought Poppy.

She took a few steps back, making sure that she stood at the back of the group and waited for the last teenager to follow Selma then made her way to the corridor they both were earlier.

She let out a sigh of relief when she recognised the way, but it was short-lived, she stood facing two corridors. In their haste, they had failed to notice it.

She clenched her fists and bit her lips, IUSSSSS, I am going to kill you.

A cold chill brushed up against her, and she jumped. Her heart started pounding really fast, and goosebumps appeared on her skin.

Great, with my luck, I am probably about to be a mummy's next meal. I should have stayed with the others, what was I thinking?

It did not take long for her to start hearing some scratching noises. She screamed and ran back to the chamber where she found herself alone. Tears started filling up her eyes; she started looking around frantically and crossed her arms on her chest.

Come on, Ius, where are you? Please come back, but her pleas went unanswered

"Ius, please come back, I am scared, please come back," she said while pacing around the empty room, tears slowly running down her cheeks.

She heard a noise, jumped and turned around. Her heart was pounding, and her body was shaking. Shiny reflections were clouding the ceiling, making it look like a constellation. She dried her tears and started taking big breaths.

"What the hell is that?" she whispered to herself while staring at the ceiling. She would have found it beautiful any other time, but not that day; she was too scared to enjoy anything.

What is this? She thought while slowly walking toward the rays of light.

Come on, Poppy, it's too late to run, so you may as well just find out what it is, and she slowly approached the stone block in the King's Chamber's room, took a peep inside the rectangular hollow stone and furrowed her brows.

Inside the stone was what looked like an ancient oil lamp.

"Where do you come from? I swear I looked inside, and you weren't in the stone earlier," she said to the lamp.

She started to play nervously with her fingers, I shouldn't touch it, I shouldn't touch it, I shouldn't touch it, but the temptation was too strong.

What's the worst that can happen; she leaned forward and picked it up.

"How come no one else has noticed the reflection on the ceiling, or you?" she said to the lamp.

She was still frowning when an idea started forming in her head. Could that be a magical object? Could I be your Aladdin?

She chuckled to herself then started rubbing the lamp. "What do I have to lose?"

The lamp started to shake, and Poppy screamed, dropping it in the process. A colossal noise came out of it.

Poppy got scared and hid behind the rectangular hollow stone. She wanted to run away, but her curiosity was taking over her fear.

While she was debating if she should approach it or not, a filet of smoke started to pour out of the lamp, getting bigger and bigger and yet not escaping the room.

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What is happening?

The lamp was now shaking uncontrollably, and Poppy chose to remain in her hideout, too scared to go near it.

Eventually, the smoke materialised, and a stretching humanoid-like form started to take shape.

Oh my God! That cannot possibly be happening!

A middle-eastern-looking man now stood in the room. He was wearing a golden-brown turban, gold bracelets, a gold collar and a pair of gold earrings encrusted with emerald and sapphires.

He bellowed with pleasure and screamed, "Free at last! Thank the heavens and the master who took pity on a poor jinn and freed me. Who has released me from my prison?" the Jinn asked, looking around.

Poppy lifted her head; her heart was pounding so hard that she thought it would jump out of her body.

Her hands were shaking as well, and it took a lot of courage from her to come out from behind the rectangular hollow stone.

She carefully took a few steps toward the man, lifted her left hand slowly and said under her breath, "Me!"

The Jinn bowed in front of a terrified Poppy. "I salute you, Milady. A thousand thanks! I am Mokhtar, the jinn of the lamp," said the apparition in an Egyptian accent.

"As the new owner of the lamp, I can grant you three wishes."

She stared at him. He had grown again, transformed and had filled the room with his smoke.

She slowly started walking backwards until an invisible force stopped her.

"Do not be afraid of me. I will not hurt you, "he said while shrinking back to average human size and returning to a human form.

"Are you alone, my child?"

Taking a big breath, she nodded.

Then remembering the tour, she swiftly responded in a loud voice glancing at the doorway, "No, I'm not! My friend and my group are just outside this room!"

She then proceeded to smile nervously.

Mokhtar was listening to her, his arms crossed across his chest.

He smiled, "No need to shout, Milady, no one can hear you! And I know that because I froze time."

Izzy wrinkled her forehead "You froze time? Like, Father Christmas?" she said in a sarcastic tone.

Mokhtar nodded "Exactly, the power children bestowed on him is actually a real power that all Jinns possess. Milady, you have nothing to fear; you can leave this room at any time; I will not stop you. Your wishes are my command, and as I said before, I am granting you three wishes to show you, my gratitude."

He then clicked his fingers. "Go ahead, Milady, try to leave; you will see that the invisible wall is now down. I promise you; you'll be able to do so anytime you want."

She stared at him a bit longer, turned around and left the King's Chamber room just to make sure he was telling the truth.

Outside of the King's Chamber, she could hear voices coming from both sides of the corridor. She took a big breath, smiled, then turned back and found Mokhtar waiting for her.

"All right, I believe you. But why did you freeze the time in the first place?" Poppy asked Mokhtar.

Now that she knew that it was real, her confidence returned, and she spoke to him with more assurance.

He answered, "You were terrified when I came out of my lamp. Imagine what would have happened if you had screamed and others have heard you. It is more to protect you than I did it. Please think of the panic that seeing me will cause. We are in an ancient structure. You don't want people to start running and stomping on each other, trying to flee such a small and enclosed space."

He clicked his fingers again, and the outside noises went away.

"Now that we have dealt with that, let's go back to your wishes, shall we?" he said while bowing.

Poppy's eyes grew, and she gasped, "Are you serious?"

Mokhtar nodded, so she asked eagerly, "I get three wishes? Anything I want?"

Mokhtar nodded.

Poppy screamed and started jumping around.

She finally stopped and started to pace around the room, wishes, wishes, wishes; I have to be careful; I shouldn't waste them on some ridiculous things.

She eventually stopped in front of him, "I want you to bring my parents back to life."

Mokhtar rubbed the back of his neck, then put his hand on Poppy's shoulder "I am sorry, Milady, even a Jinn as powerful as I cannot revive the dead."

Her bottom lip started to tremble, and tears began filling her eyes.

She took a big breath, nodded, then said in a cracked voice, "It's ok, I understand.''

She stared at the hard floor then added, '' I am too rattled to make any decision. Can I cast my wishes later?"

Mokhtar bowed again, "Of course, Milady, just rub the lamp when you feel ready, and I will appear."

Poppy looked at him and smiled "Okay. I will see you soon. Goodbye, Mokhtar!"

Mokhtar turned back into smoke and returned to the lamp which was lying on the floor. Poppy then bent down to pick it up and started to make her way out to join the rest of her group in other chambers when she heard a stifled voice coming from inside the lamp.

Mokhtar cleared his throat, "Not so fast, Milady! Before you leave, I should address a small issue."

Poppy looked at the lamp and frowned.

Mokhtar continued, "Even though you can take as much time as you need to make your wishes, the rules of the lamp clearly state that for me to grant wishes outside of the Pyramid, you have to accept me as your jinn first and invite me back to your house before I can do anything. If you don't believe me, check the bottom of the lamp for the instructions."

Poppy raised her eyebrows and turned the lamp over. There was a tiny inscription at the bottom. She then proceeded to read aloud, "to take possession of this lamp and its content, you have to officially accept the gift you received into your home by repeating these words."

The last words were not in English, so she squinted a little bit and tried her best to read them "Ambula slilot makalula seisei li hu lak asani mak."

She shook Mokhtar's lamp, "It doesn't sound like Arabic."

"Yes, Milady, it's not. It is Frakalic, the jinn dialect,"

"Oh!" said Poppy.

"I didn't know that you had a different language. I always assumed that all jinns were speaking Arabic."

"Common mistake, Milady. Our language is called Frakal."

Poppy asked, "So, what does the message mean?"

Mokhtar quickly answered, "It means, I accept the lamp occupier as my wish granter, and I willingly accept him as a member of my household."

Poppy suddenly felt a warmth in her heart after hearing the meaning of the inscription.

She looked at the lamp and the Jinn with tenderness, "Welcome to the family, Mokhtar. And stop calling me Milady; Poppy will do."

"Very well, Mil... I mean Poppy. Keep the lamp with you and go home. You can call upon me anytime you wish now."

Poppy quickly mumbled a yes, then put the lamp in her crossbody bag and left.

Where am I going? I should have asked the Jinn to help me locate Ius.

Out of options, she stood outside the room, leaning on the wall not knowing what to do. Soon after she heard footsteps, turned around and saw Ius.

He walked up to her smiling while holding the scarabaei pin in his hand,

"Found it"

She screamed, ran and hugged him "Oh my God, I thought I was lost, and  you weren't coming back"

He laughed "Of course, I was coming back. Here, this is for you, I thought you might like it, I can't believe I almost lost it."

She gasped and smiled "Thank you, it's beautiful", then she hit him on the arm "this is for leaving me alone."

"Sorry, it won't happen again. So, where are the others? Did Selma notice I was gone?"

She shrugged "never mind them; you are not going to believe what just happened to me!"

He started to lean toward her when they heard, "What is going on here? Why did you stay behind?"

Poppy and Ius jumped. A furious Selma was approaching them.

What? Seriously? Again? is that woman stalking us or what?

When she got close enough, she placed her fists on her hips and said, "The Queen's chamber tour is over, and you two missed it. I would like to know why."

Poppy and Ius looked at each other, and Ius answered, "Sorry. I lost my pin, and we were looking for it."

Selma raised one eyebrow, wrinkled her nose and hissed, "Yeah, right. Anyway, I don't have time to play babysitter, so I suggest you and your little girlfriend keep up with us or I will inform your guardians," she barked.

She then turned around and started walking at a quick pace.

Poppy took a step in her direction when Ius extended his arm and stopped her.

"What did you want to tell me?" he whispered.

She was about to answer when they heard, "Are you serious? What did I just say? Get over here IMMEDIATELY! Come on, let's go!" shouted a furious Selma while tapping her fingers

Poppy and Ius answered simultaneously, "Okay, we are coming!"

Telling Ius will have to wait. Maybe it's for the best, thought Poppy as they rushed to follow Selma and rejoin the group.

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