Sand Dunes and Draco

1.

 

 

The sand was sting their face and the sun's rays were beaming down on them as they walked off the plane.

 

 

"Well, were finally here!" Said Josh strecthing out his legs and putting on his jet black sunglasses. He wore a dark blue shirt with dark blue jeans and tousled his messy straight mid-shoulder length brown hair.

 

 

Jonathan, his deaf triplet brother, motioned a hand gestured, but he could talk too, "Yes, we finally made it after a bumpy ride."

Jonathan was taller and lankier and had short messy brown hair. He wore a black shirt and black pants and black Converse, a punk rock as he could be amongst an Egyptian city Cairo.

 

 

The other triplet, Joseph, fumbled his way out of the plane last and had a half-cocked smile and one lazy left eye and he was dreamily looking around with luggage in tow. His hair was somewhere in between short and shoulder length, but it was less messy and more loosely curled than the other two's hair. On his thin frame, he wore an olive green tank top witha silver shark tooth around his neck and green camoflague pants with boots laced up tight. 

 

 

They were all happy to arrive at last in Cairo.

 

 

"We need to find a place to sleep at'" Jonathan said wearily.

 

 

"Yes, gringo," a name meaning brother for Joseph.:We know."

 

 

"You mean with all your knowledge on Egypt, you still don't know the word brother yet?" Jonathan asked Joseph.

 

 

"Uh, let me pull out my translator and I'll tell you," said Jospeh with a serious look on his face.

 

 

"Really, you have a translator thingamajig?" Josh asked laughing.

 

 

"Uh, no gringo, they speak Arabic. The old language is heiroglyphics and that would take me a while to paint."

 

 

"Is that why you brought your little paint set with you," Josh said.

 

 

"Yes, that's why I brought it with me."

 

 

Suddenly, they heard a man with a loud voice talking in the distance, :Bread and hibiscus tea! Bread and hibiscus tea!"

 

 

The brothers looked at each other in unison and agreed as their stomachs growled to go that direction.

 

 

As they walked over to the man selling bread with pitted olived in it and hibiscus tea they saw alll kinds of goods for sale on tables and eached walked over to a table eyeing a this or that.

 

 

After making their way through the vendors crowd they closed in on a bald man, with thick muscles and tanned with sweat in his eyes. Both eyes were lined with black kohl and his shirt was off-white and loose. He wore the traditional black pants that most seem to wear but his were a little looser at the bottom and he wore nicely woven black leather sandals.

 

 

The boys were circling around him like prey. Their sixteenish appetites couldn't withstand the growling of their stomachs.

 

 

"Hello! What can I help you boys with." the man said in a low baritone voice. If Joseph didn't know any better he'd think he was a pirate. 

 

 

"We'd like some olive-pitted bread and tea, please." Josh said being the leader of the triplets he always spoke up first during conversations.

 

 

"For all three of you..." He stared at them as they stared back.

 

 

"Brothers," Jonathan spoke up.

 

 

"Ah, your mother must be so lucky." And he handed them some bread wrapped in paper and they each took sips their own way of the hibiscus tea.

 

 

After they were done the man asked if they wanted seconds and they said no.

 

 

"But it's free," the man said anxiously."Don't let this heat get to you at least have some more refreshing tea."

 

 

"Okay, what's your name by the way," asked Joseph, thanking him for the extra drinnk and nodding his head to Josh-the man turned to Josh as he realized he was the most outspoken.

 

 

"I'm Fa." he said sternly.

 

 

"Cool name," said Josh."Do you happen to know of any good places to stay at?"

 

 

"Let me see," Fa thought internally."There is a place not to far from here, but it's expensive..."

 

 

"Any hospices?" Jonathan asked.

 

 

"Any hospitals?" Fa asked in confusion.

 

 

"No," Josh laughed."Any places where we can stay cheap."

 

 

The man turned his back for a minute or two as if he had something to hide. The boys just gave each other what-the-hell glances.

 

 

he turned back around and said,"Well, if you don't mind roughing it a bit I could take you to where I live out in the sand dunes."

 

 

"Awesome! So we can like live amongst the stars and stuff," Joseph said.

 

 

"Well, it's not a campsite but an adobe-type home."

 

 

"Sounds good and have enough room for the..." Josh said holding up three fingers.

 

 

"Yes, plenty of room a large empty bed, a cot and a couch."

 

 

"I get the bed," said Joseph slyly.

 

 

"Okay boys, just don't fight over who gets what. When we get their my daughter will have a dinner ready of warm milk and some what you call it beef-jerky and maybe some bean soup."

 

 

"Sounds like a plan," Josh said and he and the other boys gathered their bags of stuff and took off with Fa as he shut down his vending sight. 

 

 

They walked a long distance in the evening, but it was nice the sun was going down leaving a purple and pink sunset. Fa was ahead of them with a walking stick and supplies wrapped around his chest and as Josh followed, he asked general questions about Cairo. Joseph looked back at the city only to see it getting smaller and smaller and hoping they were doing the right thing.

 

 

2.

 

 

When they arrived at the adobe they could smell something sweet like warm milk-just as Fa had promised.

 

 

At the edge of the adobe was a black crow eating on some bread. 

 

 

"Oh cool," Jonathan said, pointing to the crow and taking out his calligraphy notebook and jotting down what the crow was eating."I love birds" he said with a wide grin.

 

 

"Yeah, he sort of my daughter's pet." Fa said with a smile.

 

 

It was already dark outside and all the stars were lined up for the outside night. The adobe had a warm amber glow and squared-off windows witha flat roof on top matted down with dry brush to keep it even cozier.

 

 

As Fa opened the small door, a beautiful, young girl of the age of sixteen stood at the side and smile purtly. She had long thick jet black hair in a ponytail and had bread in a basket by her side. She was much smaller and wore an off-white dress with a brown apron tied at the waist.

 

 

"Hello," she said in a melodic tone."I wasn't expecting company." She lay her eyes to the ground as if she forgot something and smiled and walked away to the dinner table.

 

 

"Set out three more plates for these young boys." Fa said.

 

 

"Will do," she said curtly."I'm Eduth by the way."

 

 

"Josh looked at her intently and thanked her for the food and for the stay.

 

 

"You boys must be famished." she said sweetly.

 

 

They lay their bags on the big square wooden table and each sat down at the long rectangular dinner table made of adobe and brick. Each plate was squared-off and earthen and each cup was a goblet of brass with warm milk in a large ornate brass pitcher.

 

 

The boys sat down and began shoveling food in their mouths each one making Eduth laugh, because they had their own way of eating. Silence passed for a while and they finished off a days work of meal in no time.

 

 

"So, what brings you to Cairo?" Fa asked as he sipped some chai tea.

 

 

"You mean we're still in Cairo?" Jospeph asked.

 

 

"Yes and no," Eduth said rasing her light voice."We are on the outskirts of Cairo in unnamed area."

 

 

"How can the area be unnamed?" Josh asked politely.

 

 

"My father owns this land and we just have not named it yet."

 

 

They all began laughing though the boys took it for no joke.

 

 

"So where is your mother? Josh asked, being nosy, but noticing she wasn't around.

 

 

"Oh, she passed away when Iwas a child. I don't remember her very much, but she gave me this locket." It had an image of the eye of Horus and inside a picture of her mother.

 

 

"She's beautiful," Josh said, learning not to ask about it again.

 

 

"Well, you boys must be tired after that long walk" Fa said.

 

 

"Yes, we are." Jonathan said sleepily.

 

 

And with that each boy took up with a big bed, cot or slept on the wooden couch. Josh deciding the latter since he still didn't know these people well, but he had vivid dreams of Eduth and him stuck in sanddunes. It almost reminded him of Star Wars.

 

 

3.

 

 

When the sun crept in Eduth was jostled awake realizing she had company and not just any company, but three cute boys as company.

 

 

She went to the living room and saw Josh with a shirt over his face and his same clothes on. She herself changed into a green-gold flowing dress that complimented her starry black eyes and tan skin.

 

 

Outside she heard some scratching noises. She went to investigate further.

 

 

Jonathan was setting on the edge of the adobe sketching out little plant life into his calligraphy book.

 

 

She waved a hi and didn't want to bother him, but she krept over and asked,"So what are you doing in Cairo?"

 

 

He closed his sketchbook, and put a pretty green twisted glass calligraphy pen in his pocket along with some India ink.

 

 

"We...I mean my brothers and I all love something about Egypt, were just boring Americans I'm afraid and we don't really have too much fun studying without actually being here firsthand."

 

 

"What do you love about Egypt?" she asked.

 

 

"The Arabic language, the tea we had last night and the botany and wildlife, especially the birds here, like that blackbird I saw yesterday."

 

 

"Oh, that sounds fascinating to explore and there are all types of birds here, not just blackbirds."

 

 

They both laughed and then Jonathan spoke up,"Well, I should probably go inside and wake the others or just chill and have some tea until they wake up."

 

 

"Allright, I need to get some fresh eggs for your breakfasts-egss and a what do you call it-Leggo-my-Eggo."

 

 

Jonathan smiled, "You mean waffles."

 

 

"Yes, but we use ours with honey-sauce."

 

 

"Yum"

 

 

They both went inside to find Josh still asleep on the couch.

 

 

Joseph was awake and drinking last nights warm milk out of the pitcher. 

 

 

Jonathan made some tea and went back into the room to lay down for a while. 

 

 

"So," Joseph said."Where can I find some liner like your dad's"

 

 

"Oh, I guess that's punk rock to you guys, here I'll help you," she grabbed Joseph by the hand and they went into a tiny bathroom.

 

 

She took the black liner out and carefully lined her lower and upper lash line.

 

 

"Now you try," she said.

 

 

"I'll just do one eye, like the eye of Horus," he said.

 

 

"Oh, you know about that."

 

 

"Yeah, well, I'm actually studying the God Ra." He lined his good eye and left his lazy eye free, one of his eyes went into different directions like a chameleon, but he had green eyes not like Josh's blue oceanic eyes. And Jonathan had sympathetic brown eyes. She noticed although they were triplets, they each had their own look and personality. 

 

 

"My dad could tell you more about Ra." She said proudly as they walked back into the living room."We worship all Egyptian Gods and Goddesses, but Ra he's the..."

 

 

"Sun god." Josh answered behind them. Fa was next to him.

 

 

"My muscles are sore from the couch, no offense but, it's a pretty hard bed to sleep on."

 

 

"I have some ointment you might like to try. I made it myself." Each boy was in the living room now and they all looked at each other.

 

 

As she opened tin cans of ointment the boys complimented her on how better their calves or neck or shoulders felt. 

 

 

"You should seriously sell this stuff on ebay," Josh said with a smile.

 

 

"I do sell at the vendors, but I really give it to those in need first. I'd like to be a doctor someday and study in America at baylor of Medicine. Ever heard of that."

 

 

"Yeah," Josh said flexing his muscles, we know where Baylor is." 

 

 

"It's a good college." Jonathan said.

 

 

"See, I told you pa that is where I belong." SHe let out a big sigh of releif as if the two had been in discussion over this awhile.

 

 

"We'll see..." Fa said under his breath.

 

 

4.

 

 

"Is there anywhere you boys had in mind of going to?" Fa asked.

 

 

"Yes," said Josh. "We are trying to find the lost tunnel."

 

 

Eduth and Fa gave a glance at each other.

 

 

"But why would you want to go there?" asked Eduth.

 

 

"It's where Ra is painted as a heiroglyph and we are told of secrets within the tunnel exist." said Joseph, his green eyes peering at them like a lizard.

 

 

"We can go, but it will be quite a walk." Fa said grabbing his walking stick. On the stick were colors of paint in horizontal stripes and a carved bird at the top.

 

 

"Great," said Josh gathering up his gear.

 

 

Eduth said in low voice, "Wait, Pa, I want to go...I may be of help."

 

 

They all walked through the desert sun for what seemed like an eternity until they reached some caverns with nothing to indicate it was holy grounds.

 

 

"This is it." said Eduth.

 

 

"It doen't look like what I was expecting." Jonathan said while wiping sweat from his brow.

 

 

They walked into a little opening just barely big enough to fit through and each one crawled on belly until they came upon a giant opening. They jumped down from the hole and looked at a room so secluded and quiet you could hear a pin drop. The walls were lined with heiroglyphs of Ra and battle that have taken place and finally a part of the heiroglyph was missing.

 

 

Joseph got out a sheet of paper and put up the missing pieces of heiroglyph. The paper told the story of a dragon that existed in Egypt a long time ago, but was cast out by the gods and goddesses to protect the people from afar. That was the dragon's name too, Afar.

 

 

Jonathan got out his night sky map and pit it up, "Constellation Draco" he said, and when he put the map down, the ceiling were holes of the constellation in the shape of a dragon.

 

 

Next, Josh put a piece of stone into the wall that was missing and the walls beacame white with light and the room looked at if it were spinning. They all sheilded their eyes from the massive tornado of light around them and then it stopped.

 

 

"Wow! Did you guys see that!" Eduth said in excitement.

 

 

"Yes," Josh said."It was like an electrical storm."

 

 

"It looks as if we had seen enough," Fa said loudly in the room as he headed outside.

 

 

When they came outside it was different than before. The moon was not one , but three and each boy looked in disbeleif.

 

 

"Where are we?" Jonathan asked, rummaging through maps of space that did not match the three moons hanging above them, one large white moon, one purple moon, and one pinkish-red moon.

 

 

"We're not in Kansas anymore Toto..." Josh said laughing.

 

 

Jospeh rolled his eyes and Eduth giggled.

 

 

"Wherever we are, we need to get back home," Jonathan said.

 

 

"And how do we do that? Josh asked sarcastically.

 

 

"Whatever you boys did, we...upset the gods and goddesses and now we are stuck here."

 

 

"But here is where Pa," said Eduth.

 

 

"I think we might be on Draco." Joseph said with a sigh. 

 

 

"You are on Draco." A little squeeky voice said to them brom the back. As they turned around they saw a little blackbird, the same one that Eduth feeds.

 

 

"Oh my God! Did that bird just talk to us?" Jospeph asked scared. 

 

 

"Yes, I did, the name is Corbus." Corbus bowed before them with his wings.

 

 

"Since when do birds talk...hey aren't you the bird I fed this morning," Eduth said.

 

 

"Yes, that's me. Didn't know I had a name did you." He walked his little bird legs back and forth pacing as he was walking. He told them how they had arrived by majic and that this is where Afar lives, "But he is a mute dragon you see and that is how you get back home. You must meet Afar."

 

 

Joseph was yelling and hollering outloud and happy to meet a dragon since he loved reptiles.

 

 

"About how many people have done this Corbus?" Josh asked.

 

 

"I'd say none." Corbus said.

 

 

"Then how do you know we can get home." Josh asked impatiently.

 

 

"I dunno boy....must meet the dragon...must go now." Corbus flew by their side as they walked the foreign landscape with nothing but sand dune after sand dune, but the night sky looked incredibly beautiful and surreal. 

 

 

5.

 

 

Meeeting a dragon on Draco was not on their to-do list of activities and they realized they needed to get Eduth and Fa back to Egypt as well.

 

 

As they walked up a sand dune they could see the outline of a dragon in a morning sun that was blazing bright.

 

 

He was as big as a Hummer or several put together and his wings flapping in the air. He was scaly black allover except a red tail and golden eyes. He turned to look at them and Corbus flew up to the Afar and mumbled in his ear. Afar smiled a big toothy grin and stretched his wingspan out and back down again taking one flight nearer the boys.

 

 

Joseph was shaking a little bit and the dragon bent down and smelt him, blowing hot air onto his face.

 

 

"I...must...stink...to you...sir, I mean, Afar." Joseph let out a little laugh and the dragon giggled too.

 

 

"I told him you were brothers and these are your Egyptian friends." Corbus said as he walked towards Jonathan.

 

 

Jonathan held out a hand and the dragon took a claw and Jonathan shook it.

 

 

Then the dragon looked over at Josh and Eduth huddled close by. Humpf! was all the dragon said. 

 

 

"Don't be scared of Afar." Jonathan said eagarly.

 

 

"He means no harm to anyone."

 

 

"Afar, do you know how to get us back home." Josh said pensively.

 

 

Afar turned around and sat down.

 

 

"Okay, now what, did I forget to bring a gift or something." Josh said.

 

 

"No, said Corbus. "You are the gift."

 

 

"Silly, I think we fly him home." 

 

 

"But it's space," Josh said."You know, where you need oxygen to breath."

 

 

"You need to beleive, Josh." said Eduth as she stared at him intently.

 

 

"Okay, who goes first" Josh asked.

 

 

"Why all of you" Corbus said laughing.

 

 

So they climbed on the back of Afar and began a journey into space as each person would try to breath all the dragon had to do was let out hot air and they could breath normally, although a bit stinky. Time seemed to be streaming past them and yet Afar was under control.

 

 

When Afafr finally approached earth he slowly made a soft landing and it was night time so he could go unseen into the deserts of Egypt.

 

 

As they slid off the dragon, Afar handed an ankh to Joseph to wear around his neck. Jonathan pet Corbus and they both flew off and up into the night sky with one moon above them.

 

 

Josh grabbed Eduth and kissed her on the lips. 

 

 

"Maybe we can stay here a little longer." Josh said.

 

 

And they all smiled and walked back home.