Eliza Brenan (age 11)

I

On a rainy day, Aziza and Chafik looked out of the window and complained.

“It’s never this rainy in Cairo,” Aziza said.

“We want to go outside and play!” said Chafik.

“In the rain?” the twins’ grandfather asked.

“YES!” they said together.

“No,” their grandfather said drily.

“Let’s play Grave Raiders, your favourite game,” their grandmother said from the kitchen.

“Yes!” the twins said in unison.

“Okay who wants to set it up?” Grandma asked.

“Me,” they both said.

“How about you both do it?” Grandma said before they could start arguing.

“Okay, so here’s how the game works: You can play in teams or by yourself, and you roll dice to move your token. The board is designed like a pyramid; you have to collect artefacts on each level and whoever has the most at the end wins,” Grandpa explained, even though they all knew how to play.

They were off with the twins in the lead. Grandpa was losing as usual because he was distracted with his newspaper.

The twins loved this game because it had belonged to their parents who had died when they were four. They lived with their grandparents for that reason.

As evening turned to dusk and gradually to night, Aziza looked up from her book. Her eyes caught on the family collection of artefacts and she wondered how they had come to be in her grandparents’ house. She imagined her parents and grandparents running through temples of old pharaohs, fighting hordes of mummies and dangerous snakes to get to where the tomb lay, then picking up the most precious gems or pieces of pottery. Just as a memory of her parents brushed the surface, a voice broke her thoughts. It was Grandma.

“It’s time for bed, honey. Your brother went to bed an hour ago.”

“Okay Gran, I’ll just finish my page,” Aziza said. After finishing, she did her nighttime duties and went off to bed.

Chafik awoke. It was 1 am. His sister had woken up half an hour ago and was fiddling with her brunette braid.

“Hey sis, you awake?”

“Yeah, how come?”

“Just wondering… how long?”

“What time is it?”

“1 am.”

“Oh, half an hour ago. What about you?”

“Just now.”

“Well, we’d better get back to sleep.”

So they tried to sleep. They were unsuccessful, though, so they got up at 3 in the morning to make breakfast for their grandparents.

Their grandma awoke to the squeaking of floorboards and clanging of cutlery. She looked at her husband.

“What’s that sound?” she asked.

“I don’t know. Why don’t we find out?” he said curiously.

“I suppose we should,” she replied.

They had just got up to see when Chafik strolled in.

“Oh,” Chafik said. “You’re already up.”

“Yes, we were just going to see what the noise was about,” Grandpa said.

“Oh, that’s just Aziza,” Chafik said. “I was coming up to wake you, but looks like I don’t have to.” He said the last part loudly for Aziza to hear.

“It’s good you’re awake,” Aziza said. “I just finished making your–”

“ANNIVERSARY BREAKFAST!” Chafik cut in.

“CHAFIK!” Aziza exclaimed.

“How thoughtful of you both,” Grandma put in.

“Well, get on with it,” Grandpa said.

“With what?” his wife asked.

“Not you, oh never mind. I just want to know what the food is.”

“It’s only your favourite,” Aziza grinned.

“Which one? You know we have many,” Grandpa said.

“We?!” Grandma asked.

“Okay, me!” Grandpa grinned.

“Well, I’ve made Shakshuka and Chafik’s made Taameya,” Aziza told them.

“Sounds de-licous,” Grandpa said, and they dug in.

For those of you who don’t know, Shakshuka is an Egyptian breakfast dish consisting of poached egg and vegetables, and Taameya is an Egyptian falafel.

“Gramps.” Aziza said.

“Uh-huh” Grandpa reached for another Taameya. “These are brilliant Chafik. But, yes Aziza?”

“I was wondering if we could all go to one of your dig sites?”

“I won’t go; but it sounds like a good idea.,” Grandma raised an eyebrow at her husband.

“I’m not supposed to take anyone with me to the dig,” said Grandpa.

“Oh,” Aziza said pleadingly while attempting a fake cry.

“Look what you’ve done!” Chafik said. “You’ve made h.er cry!”

“Well … I … um.” Grandpa stuttered.

“He means yes,” Grandma cut in.

“Well. No. I can’t,” Grandpa said.

“Please!” Aziza said, giving her best puppy dog eyes.

“Oh, all right!” he said. “We can do it tomorrow.”

“Yay! Although, could we go this afternoon? You never know, it might rain again tomorrow,” Aziza said. “Grandma, didn’t you say that there’s rain forecast for tomorrow?”

“Hm? Oh yes!”

“Oh, fine!” Grandpa said. “Can we please talk about something else now,” he said firmly.

“How about we play the silent game?” Grandma suggested.

“Yes,” Grandpa said.

And, so they did. (Grandma won.)

II

Later that day, Aziza and Chafik were getting ready for a sandy afternoon. When they came out of their room, they were geared up wearing white long sleeve shirts, blue jeans and straw hats with a silken scarf to hold them in place.

“Are you ready?” Grandpa asked. “Grandma made us some snacks and water flasks.”

“So can we have the food now or what?” Chafik said.

“Really Chaf, that’s all you can think of?” Aziza said. (By the way, Chaf is Chafik’s nickname) “We should save it for when we need it.”

“If we have it now we’ll have enough energy to start the dig,” Chafik pointed out.

“I suppose so,” Aziza said.

“Well, my home made barley bread has just finished cooking,” Grandma told them.

“YUM!” They all said.

So they sat down to have some barley bread.

III

“I’ve found something!” Aziza called to her grandfather.

“Me too!” her brother called out.

“Tell me what you’ve found,” their grandfather said.

“It’s-”

“Well, I … Oh sorry Aziza, you go first,” Chafik said.

“No, you,” she said.

“No-”

“Ok, Aziza tell me what you’ve found, then Chafik can,” Grandpa said.

“I found a–”

“Nice hats,” a foreign voice interrupted.

“Thank you. I made them with the help of my grandma,” Aziza said proudly (even though she knew they hadn’t meant it).

“It’s ok sis – I’m sure they didn’t mean to be rude,” Chafik said.

The camel riders sniggered as they left.

“Are you ok?” Grandpa asked.

“I’m fine,” she said defiantly.

“Then what did you find, Chafik?”

“I found a prehistoric necklace that might look good on Grandma,” Chafik said to boost Aziza.

His sister sniggered to supress a laugh.

“I’m serious kids, don’t even joke about that – it can get you in deep trouble,” the old man said.

It was worth it for Chafik though because Aziza looked happier.

“Now what did you find again, Aziza?” he asked.

“I found a hole,” she said, sounding a little depressed.

“That could be an entrance to a tomb Aziza!” Grandpa said.

“Really? Wait… Are you saying that because you want make me feel better?” she asked.

“No. I’ve believed there to be one here for a while.”

Aziza forced herself to believe him as they kept on digging.

IV

Meanwhile, Grandma was at the Saturday market looking for something she could get for the twins, because their twelfth birthday was coming up in a week. She was looking for a book on archaeology when she remembered that she already had one.

“I know. I’ll give them the book their parents published: Egyptian Archaeology.”

A loud voice broke her thoughts.

“Would you like a camel? Or maybe two?” he asked.

“No. What would I use–”

Grandma thought for a moment. Unless…

“Yes. I’ll take two.” She took the ropes in her hand as she paid.

“There’s one of those silly hats again,” one guy laughed.

“I wonder what he means?” Grandma thought.

V

“Grams!” The twins called after an evening of exploring.

“Guess what we’ve–”

“Yes?” she said (pretending she wasn’t standing next to two camels with overly large tongues! How rude to insult their tongues!).

“Who did you buy them from?” Aziza asked suspiciously.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, still insulted that the man had called her hat silly.

“What made you buy them?” Grandpa asked.

“Haha!” Grandma laughed as the camel she was feeding licked her.

“Well? What do you think, twins?” she said mysteriously.

“W–wait these are ours?” Chafik asked cautiously.

“Chafik,” Aziza reprimanded, even though she had just thought the same thing.

“Chafik’s right,” Grandma said. “They’re your birthday gift. Oh–-I almost forgot!”

She handed them a medium sized book with a red cover and gold lace around the sides which read Egyptian Archaeology.

“How come you’re giving this to us now instead of on our birthday?” the twins asked.

“Well, I can’t hide a camel under a red cloth so I may as well give you the book now, too, before I forget.”

“Happy birthday twins,” Grandpa said. “We can do something else on the actual day, something you want to do.”

“Thank you,” the twins said, awestruck that they were holding a book written by their parents.

“Now, do you want to feed your camels?” Grandma said.

Aziza slipped the book into her pocket still amazed that the camels were theirs.

VI

“Good morning world,” Chafik said.

“Good morning Chafik,” Aziza said.

“Oh, is it already time to go to the market?” he asked.

“Mh-hm,” she nodded.

“Also what about– ”

“Breakfast?”

“Yeah,” Chafik said.

“Grandpa and I agreed we would have breakfast at the market, get a Christmas gift for Grandma, and then buy the ingredients for a dinner I want to make.”

“What dinner? And shouldn’t you check with Grandma first?” Chafik asked

“Well, I kept forgetting to ask her about it, and besides, getting more groceries won’t hurt. You should probably get up now,” Aziza said.

“Ok, ok,” he said.

“Sorry it’s just I want to– ”

It was Chafik’s turn to cut her off.

“Let me guess! Hmm… see the camels?”

“Well yes, that. But I want to ride them.”

“We’re allowed to ride them already?”

“I think so. Grandpa said we could,” Aziza said.

“I think Grandma would advise strongly against that,” Chafik told her.

“Ok, but do you still want to?” Aziza asked.

Chafik wanted to do what Grandma would want him to do. But he wanted to ride the camels even more.

“OK, let’s do this,” he said.

They went to get the camels ready but Grandpa was reluctant to ride.

“I wouldn’t want to keep you from your birthday present,” Grandpa laughed nervously.

“You’re the one who said we could,” Aziza said.

“Still, like I said, I’d rather get a bus to the market,” he said.

Chafik looked at his sister accusingly.

“Did I not say he would rather get a bus?” Aziza said.

“No.” Chafik said.

“Oops,” she said sarcastically.

“Alright I’ll do it,” Grandpa said.

As soon as he mounted the camel, Grandpa wished he hadn’t. But it was too late to get off: Chafik was already getting into a gallop and Aziza was starting to urge her camel forward.

Then they were running along and it was the best (but simultaneously the worst) moment of his life.

When they got home, Grandma was already up. A: Aziza’s plan hadn’t worked (which pleased Chafik very much), and B: They didn’t know where to hide the presents. They hid them up their shirts and hoped Grandma wouldn’t notice with her poor eyesight.

“What are the ingredients for?” Grandma asked when she saw them.

“I was wondering if we could make a Christmas dinner for the community,” Aziza told Grandma.

“Well we’ll have to get board games for the kids to play, and put up posters.”

“I’ve already sorted that out,” Aziza told Grandma.

“It sounds like you have everything organised then,” Grandma said.

“Does this mean we can do it?” Aziza asked excitedly

“We most certainly can,” Grandma said.

“Thanks Grandma!”

VII

Three days later, they put up a notice in the village square.

FAMILY CAMPFIRE NIGHT UNDER THE DESERT SKY
Join us for dinner around a campfire at Dewen and Chilli’s house.
Where: The desert near Dewen and Chilli’s house.
When: 25th of December, 18:00–21:00.
Food and games will be provided.
We look forward to seeing you.
Signed: Aziza, Chafik, Dewen and Chilli

“How many people do you think will be there?” Chafik asked.

Aziza and Chafik were sitting together in the lounge room.

“I don’t know. At least Mia and Fihn are coming. What do you think?” Aziza asked.

“I bet half the village will be there,” Chafik said.

“Really?” she said hopefully.

“Really.” he said. Even though he wasn’t sure.

Aziza started crying.

“What’s wrong?” Chafik said, coming to sit next to her.

“Well I was thinking that maybe nobody would come. I mean, what if they don’t see the posters?” Aziza said through tear-filled eyes. Chafik sat comforting her until she stopped crying.

“How about we play a board game,” he said.

“Which one?” Aziza asked.

“Umm– how about Cluedo?” he asked.

“Ok.”

So, they played Cluedo. Chafik had to think of a lot of ways to distract Aziza that week.

VIII

The day of the dinner arrived and the family started preparing. Aziza and Grandma made dinner, while Grandpa and Chafik built a fire.

They didn’t have time to get anxious before their first guests arrived.

“Hi Leah,” Grandma said.

“Hi Finn,” Chafik said.

“Hi Mia,” Aziza said.

“Hi, happy birthday,” the twins’ friends said.

“Tom,” Grandpa called.

“Hey Dewen,” Tom said. (Dewen is Grandpa’s real name by the way.)

And they all started chatting.

“Would you like some soup?” Grandma asked.

“Yes please,” Leah said.

“What about you two?”

“Yes please,” Finn and Mia said.

“This is a good thing to do on Christmas day, isn’t it.”

“Yes! It was Aziza’s idea,” Grandma said.

“How many presents did you get today?” Leah asked Aziza.

“Oh, well Grandma and Grandpa gave us our parents’ book on archaeology-”

“Oh yes.”

“And a camel each,” Aziza said.

“Really?”

“Yes, I can show you them if you like; they’re just round there.”

“Ok, lead the way.”

IX

“So– ” Chafik said after he’d finished serving everyone.

“Should we go see if that guy wants a bowl of soup?” Aziza asked.

“If he wants some, he can come up here,” Chafik said.

“I think he’s coming,” she told him.

X

“Where are those kids?” Grandma asked.

“I’ll go get them,” Grandpa said.

“Come on kids let’s go sit down,” Grandpa said once he reached them. “Do I know you?” he added, seeing the newcomer.

“You can’t know him. He says he’s new to the area,” Chafik said.

“No– I do know him,” Grandpa told Chafik.

“Really? You must have seen me walk down the street one time,” the man said.

“No, your voice sounds familiar,” Grandpa said. “You’re our accountant! Wait here, I’ll get Grandma.”

The kids waited for Grandpa to come back, but he got caught up talking to Leah and Tom, so the twins were left to their own devices.

“So you knew our parents?” Chafik asked.

‘Oh boy,’ the accountant thought. ‘This is going to be a long night.’

To be continued…