Sarai

by Lilya Myers

  Sarah chuckled softly. Now this deserves a picture for posterity! She lifted her pocket camera and took a quick shot of Sleeping Beauty. Girl claims she can never sleep on planes. She’ll accuse me of putting something in her drink, for sure. Sarah had already slipped back into her own thoughts as Rachel’s head dropped onto her shoulder and her breathing settled to a soft snore.

  Sarah’s parents tried everything to convince Sarah not to go to Egypt without Able.

  Dan and Marie weren’t usually this uptight about Sarah traveling. Even with Able by her side, it seemed they got very edgy when she mentioned Egypt. “Look, I’m totally comfortable going without Able. I can speak the language, thanks to you, Dad. I know my way around…”

  Marie had a way of reasoning with Sarah when she was headstrong and spoke up before Dan had a chance. “Your father traveled extensively there and it’s far more dangerous for a young woman by herself than…”

  “I won’t be by myself. Rachel is coming with me. She’s barely seen Russ in the past several months since he was assigned to those murders… which, by the way, puts safety into perspective, don’t you think?”

  Try arguing with a lawyer. There had already been too many savage murders on Long Island of young women Rachel and Sarah’s age. Russ had told Sarah, he was thankful in a way that the two women wouldn’t be around with a serial killer on the loose. He had trouble sleeping just thinking about how this psycho tortured the young women. Women who could just as easily be Rachel or Sarah.

  Sarah was immediately brought back to the present when the plane suddenly lurched and then began to bounce like they were riding over boulders. Rachel’s eyes flew open at the same time her mouth did. Her slumber was rudely interrupted when the huge plane maneuvered through some very bad turbulence.

  “We’re going down! I love you Sarah….”

  “Oh Rachel, stop the drama. We’re not going down and we’re not going to die.”

  Rachel said, “Now I know why you’re the one who flies all over the darn place and I’m the one who sees a road trip upstate as cruel and unusual punishment.”

  She had a death grip on Sarah’s arm. “Quick, I need a fresh Bloody Mary! On second thought, forget that and make it a straight scotch and let me out at the next rest stop.”

  The plane leveled out and the steady hum of the engines returned. Sarah pried Rachel’s nails out of her arm. “We’re fine now. It was just a little rough patch.”

  “Rough patch?” The less seasoned flyers were starting to crane their necks to see who was freaking out and if they should follow her lead. “You’re kidding, right? You call that a rough patch?” The decibel level was going up and Rachel latched on to Sarah’s arm again.

  “Shhhhhh!” It looked like one of the flight attendants was headed their way and she was not smiling. “Rachel! Hush! You’ll start a passenger riot and seriously, you can get us thrown off this plane!”

  “Hi.” The flight attendant leaned down and in too close. Intimidation or sincere concern? “Do you think your friend here needs some oxygen or would she like to try breathing into a bag?”

  Uh-oh. Rachel could be a scrapper when she was upset and little Miss Congeniality, with the wings pinned to her blouse, was about to get her plastic smile sent into orbit. Rachel’s mouth opened but fortunately, Sarah beat her to it. “Oh, no. Thank you. We’re fine. It’s her first time flying. Just a little nervous.” Rachel was staring up, her big green eyes shooting fireballs. The attendant slowly straightened up her nearly six foot frame and glared down at them with a nod before heading back down the aisle.

  “Why, that Amazon b…..”

  “Shhh, Rache. She’ll hear you.”

  “I don’t care. She’s asking you if I need oxygen, or a bag when her face is only eight inches from mine? Did she think I was deaf or something?”

  “Okay, please drop it now.” The engines were humming rhythmically in tune with a smooth ride.

  Heaven forbid we hit another air pocket. Oh, please dear God… Changing the subject is going to be like changing a cat into a dog. Lawyers have to think on their feet. “So, what were we talking about when you fell asleep?”

  “I wasn’t asleep. I was just resting my eyes,” Rachel said with curt sarcasm.

  “That’s right and I was a hairy nosed wombat in my –”

  Rachel interrupted Sarah by popping straight up in her seat with a finger in the air to indicate she had something important to say.

  “Oh, I remember now. We were talking about storming the cockpit, throwing Miss Wingnut overboard, and forcing the pilot to turn this sucker around. I see the perfect landing spot right over… there.” Rachel pointed out the window where water barely touched land. “Look, I think that’s Greece – I hear they have lovely beaches…”

  “Not too late to parachute, then. Here…” Rachel was sitting next to the emergency exit. Sarah reached across her as if to grab for the release on the emergency door.

  “Stop that!” Rachel swatted her hand away like a pesky fly. Miss Congeniality glared at them from her station in first class.

  “Rachel, we’ve got about another ten hours or so until we land. Why don’t you listen to some music until they serve lunch? Actually, I really should review some of these contracts.”

  “This is your fourth trip to Egypt on the same project. What’s up with that? You’ve never had to make so many repeat visits to a country on bigger jobs. So tell me, what is it with you and Egypt, anyway? Ever since you went here on that limestone quarry deal with Able…” She paused to think. “Or, maybe it was when you did that building material thing. Anyway, you’ve had this weird fascination with the place ever since one of those trips.”

  “It does fascinate me. I don’t think you’d call that weird. The mystery of the Pyramids, the Valley of the Kings. They’re wonders of the world. Don’t those amazing works of architecture strike some kind of awe in you? That aside, you evidently weren’t listening to the part where I said that I have some unfinished business to conclude. It’s about a ten hour plane trip from home, which isn’t exactly around the corner. The weather will be great this time of year, too. Besides, I figured that once you and Russ got hitched, a trip like this together would be a lost opportunity for us to go together.”

  “Awwww, now you’re trying to make me feel guilty.”

  “The Mediterranean is beautiful. It will make you forget all about Grand Cayman. Make sure you call it a sea, not an ocean. The people are very touchy about that for some reason. Furthermore, you’re always complaining that I travel all over and the extent of your world travel is to go from the Hamptons to Manhattan. So consider this your lucky day.”

  Sarah’s voice had gone from sounding like the sweet lilting velvet of chocolate melting in her mouth to the hard core, defense lawyer pleading a case. Sometimes she just had to get firm with Rachel.

  Rachel put on her pretend pout as she settled in.

  Sarah had to look away to hide her amusement. No surprise there, she thought.

  Rachel elbowed her. “You’re not supposed to smile. You’re supposed to go with it.” Sarah just shook her head.

  It was going to be a long flight, a very long flight. They say great minds think alike. They were thinking the same thought but for different reasons. Rachel knew Sarah all too well and sensed that there was a lot more going on in that pretty little head than just business. Sarah wasn’t sharing what was on her mind. That was a first between them and it was disturbing. For Sarah, there was something so strong, yet so elusive, drawing her back to Egypt.

  The aircraft hadn’t hit any more turbulence in a while, so Rachel bent down to dig around in her backpack. She pulled out a book and held it up in front of Sarah’s face, ignoring the talking-to she had just been given. “Anyway, I got this book on Egypt to brush up on the place. No doubt I’ll be able to finish it before we get there.”

  Sarah smiled and thought, she’ll either be intrigued and quiet or it will cause her to lay siege on the cockpit to tell the
pilot to turn this hunk of metal around and head for the Riviera.

  Rachel continued, “I’m hoping this book will give me some insight into your obsession with this desert heaven you’re taking me to.”

  “It’s hardly an obsession when I’ve had to go there for work,” Sarah answered. “Maybe reading will help you fall asleep.”

  “Oh, are you trying to tell me the book is an indication of what this vacation will be and I’ll be bored to death?” Rachel wasn’t quite done yet and didn’t give Sarah a chance to answer. “You know I can’t sleep on planes…”

  “Then pretend it’s a car.” Sarah cocked her head to the side as she looked at Rachel. “You’re usually out before we’ve gotten out of the driveway.”

  “Very funny. I’m going to ignore you now.” Rachel picked up her book and started reading again.

  It was July 1952. King Farouk, at age thirty-two would be the last King of Egypt. He was merely a child of sixteen when he took the throne and his ability to rule, as he got older, was fraught with alleged corruption. When he took state visits abroad, he pilfered priceless artifacts and even a pocket watch from Winston Churchill. The king had become quite an accomplished pickpocket and even the commoners were not immune to his kleptomania.

  They still had hours of flight time ahead of them and the paperwork could wait. Sarah tried to doze but each time Rachel discovered an interesting fact in her book, she’d bump Sarah’s shoulder to get her attention. The moment Sarah closed her eyes again…bump. That was like, the fifth time? Sarah tried to ignore her.

  Bump. If she wakes me up one more time, I’m going to brain her. “Yes, Rachel what is it now?”

  “Did you know…” Rachel paused. “Well, I shouldn’t tell you if you’re going to talk to me like that.” Big grin. “You know, I’ve always said that you could sleep on a bed of nails…”

  “Yes, and you know how grumpy those nails can make me. I’ll try to get over it…so you started to ask me, did I know what?”

  Rachel gave her friend the look before answering, “that King Farouk was a klepto?”

  Sarah slapped her hands to her cheeks and dropped her mouth in mock surprise as she said, “I had no idea!”

  Rachel dismissed her sass. She was going to make Sarah listen whether she wanted to or not.

  Normally Sarah would listen. It was interesting stuff, but for some reason she felt unsettled. Just a nagging feeling she couldn’t put her finger on. Maybe it was all those murders on Long Island, or her folks’ apprehension about their trip to Egypt. The last thing she wanted to do was let Rachel get a whiff of her anxiety.

  Rachel read the passage aloud, “King Farouk’s well-known panache for thievery, which earned him the nickname ‘The Thief of Cairo,’ was the trigger to the 1952 military coup by Abdel Nasser…”

  Sarah cut her off, “I’m so glad you’re enjoying the book but if you don’t mind, I’m going to listen to some music.” She added cheerfully, “Let me know when you see sand!” Sarah slapped an instrumental CD into her player, slipped on her headset, and let the easy horn of Chiz Rider take her mind on a journey.

  In the days before Abdel Nasser, Egyptians took pride in their country and surroundings. Cairo and Alexandria’s rich, ancient history lent to a thriving society and a huge tourist trade. Alexandria was a particularly popular destination for wealthy Europeans during the summer.

  There were beautiful mansions with manicured gardens, a flourishing and lush Delta region of agriculture, the Nile River – all with the intriguing Pyramids as the backdrop. Movies made in Egypt, from the 40’s and early 50’s portrayed affluent districts of Cairo. However, following Nasser’s Socialist nationalization of the country in 1952, people stopped caring for what the government took from them in the name of social justice. Poverty, filth, and decay became the way of life.

  Happy to see that Rachel was engrossed in the book, Sarah allowed herself to be taken in by the soothing music coming through her headphones. She remembered the first time she heard Chiz Rider being played in the Christian bookstore and immediately bought the CD. The same music was now lulling her into the blissful relaxation that came before sleep.

  Sweet dreams, one always hoped. The chance that a nightmare loomed on the fringes couldn’t be out ruled.

  CHAPTER 45

  SARAH CLOSED HER eyes and her mind drifted back to one of those long stretches of beaches along the Mediterranean during her first business trip with Able to Egypt. It was an experience she’d never forget and it was a story that rattled Dan and Marie.

  “We had driven a considerable distance west of Alexandria, a place called Al Alamayn, to meet with the Bedouin about mining their limestone. Lots of arm waving, lots of talk, and at the end of the day, nothing was accomplished. I didn’t need to be there but Able didn’t want to leave me alone at the hotel.

  So, who would notice if I disappeared and took a little stroll down to the water? Besides, it might be my golden opportunity to avoid having to drink that obligatory glass of tea they called “shay.” It was a hospitable gesture but one for which “no thank you” was a direct insult to the Bedouin. Way out there in the desert, no running water…. you’re handed a filthy, greasy glass of a brown gritty liquid. The bearer waits patiently for you to drink it down so it can be refilled and handed on to someone else.

  It didn’t appear that their hands had seen soap and water for years. The men wore long once white gowns called galabeyas and covered with assorted stains. The wrapped scarves on their heads were neither fashion nor religious. The custom was a necessity in the desert to help keep their heads free of dirt and blowing sand. Just like the grimy glasses they used for tea, they had little means of washing anything. It was no more than fifty yards to the sea and I wondered why they didn’t just wash things in that good salt water. I got the skinny on that all right.

  So anyway, I got off track. It was a windy day, making it just cool enough to put a bit of a chill through the light jacket I was wearing, but the water looked so inviting. You know me, I couldn’t resist the chance to wiggle my toes in the water as it lapped gently at the sand.

  The sounds and the smells came flooding back each time Sarah told the story. The sea had tantalized her that day, and it took little convincing when it came to water. Sarah loved the ocean, sea….whatever – there is a difference as she had been reminded numerous times. The sea was literally steps away, once she crossed the highway. Sarah figured that, as long as she could make it across the road without being noticed, no one would bother to follow her with a glass of shay.

  “I stopped momentarily and took a cursory look up and down the straight, flat road. You can see for miles but who knew if there was a stray camel lurking around somewhere.” That always got a laugh.

  Sarah remembered Egypt’s roads vividly, especially coming this far out to the quarry. Who could forget? The road resembled mostly rock mixed in with a tarry substance. The road was also very narrow, filled with potholes large enough to hold a young goat.

  Accidents were always fatal because the road was such an obstacle course that head-on collisions were unavoidable. Just the same, she was in the middle of what could accurately be called nowhere! That would be approximately 70 miles west of Alexandria, a mere two hundred fifty miles further west was the Libyan border. No electricity, no running water…no sign of life.

  “Just as I was about to cross the road, the wind carried a man’s voice yelling, “Leh-ah, leh-ah!” That meant “no” in Arabic. It wasn’t the non-threatening kind of no. It was commanding, frantic and bordering on hysterical.

  “I just froze in my steps, with no intention of turning around. I could only imagine him chasing me with that glass of tea. There was nowhere to run and it was too cold to jump in the water. If I didn’t turn around, maybe he’d think I didn’t hear or understand him.”

  Sarah remembered the tone of his words had surpassed any spoken language. It was fear – a fear that rode on the wings of the wind, hit squarely in her back and turned he
r to stone.

  “When I turned my head to see where the Bedouin was, I saw the sheer terror in his eyes. He was still screaming as he ran cautiously closer, waving his arms, you know… stop! The first thing I thought was, he didn’t have any tea. That was a relief.”

  However, the relief that spilled out of her was replaced by panic when she saw the expression of terror on the man’s face. He came up short of the sand to once again signal stop with his hands.

  “My first thought was that going to the water’s edge was one of those woman-aren’t-allowed-to-do things and I had violated some big rule. The man kept pointing at the ground yelling ‘leh-ah’ and spoke a string of sentences in rapid-fire Arabic all the while not budging an inch closer. The wind had picked up to almost a roar making it difficult to hear what he was saying. But then one word alone reached my ears and it was the only word I needed to understand. I got it. Landmines! Landmines?I started to tremble. I was petrified to move even a muscle. I turned ever so slowly, careful not to lose my balance. As long as I could retrace my steps in the footprints I had left in the sand, I should be okay.

  The man finally stopped yelling and brought arms down to his sides. He just stood there at the edge of the road and watched me through eyes that looked like they would pop out like torpedoes. Every drop of color in his wind-burned skin had drained from his face. I was only about twenty feet from him but it could have been twenty miles. Able had heard the commotion and came running. He reached me just as I stepped off the sand and onto the road.”

  CHAPTER 46

  “WHAT WERE YOU thinking?” Able had thrown his shaking hands up in the air and just as quickly folded them around Sarah. She would conveniently leave out the part of the story where he held her tight, burying his face in her wind-blown hair. She remembered how his head came up in a way that their lips almost touched. It was… Instead, he planted a soft kiss on her forehead. Something she never felt before with Able had stirred in her from that moment on.