Prose: My Egyptian Statue

By Morenike Nie Smith

I woke up with a feeling of a new day. I had my fears as I was unsure of what the day would bring forth. I packed my bags and set out on a journey that changed my life forever. My phone rang and it was her. My one friend who was also my travel agent had found me a seat on a flight to Cairo. The flight lasted longer than it would because I wanted excitement but the Egyptians had no time for monkey business.

I had only just met him when I felt like he was the best thing that had happened to me. He was so unassuming yet he possessed the character of a lion. I felt his presence yet he was not physically with me. It was a sublime feeling. I passed through the immigration not without a fuss as the Egyptian immigration officers looked like they all had spats with their spouses. I wanted a bath so badly so I walked to look for a cabbie to take me to the hotel. I got into the cab and the man yapped forever. He took me downtown. That was when I realized he wanted to do me in.

The cab driver made a call and in seconds, a group of men appeared. As they opened the car door, he appeared from space. He was fair skinned, well built and just over 6 feet. He towered over them and asked what they wanted from me in Arabic. At this time I had peed in my pants and started praying to God to take my soul. Then he looked me in the eye and spoke in English. My heart skipped a beat at the sound of his voice and for a moment I forgot my predicament. He calmed them down, gave them some Egyptian Pounds then he transferred my luggage to a new car. As vulnerable as I was, I felt safe. He was my ‘Bodyguard’.

He drove to the hotel and checked me in and left with a promise to come back. My thoughts were disjointed. Hope had taken over my fears as I looked forward to Cairo in a new light not totally disregarding my earlier experience. I unpacked and walked into the bathroom and had a bath. I waited for my cell to ring and remembered that a watched-over phone never rings. As I drifted off to sleep, it rang and he was at my door. I got up and took deep breaths as I opened the door. He was my ‘Egyptian Statue’. Ever so pleasing to the eyes I could not resist staring. I offered him a drink but he turned it down and sat by my dressing table. I hoped that the spirit of ‘King Ramses’ would awaken the ‘Nefertiti’ in me.

I blabbed and blabbed about my country and the things that make it great. He just listened as I stole glances, then he touched my neck with fingers light as a feather yet strong enough to break a neck. With each touch he told me things I had never heard before and yet they sounded so familiar. My body ached for his touch yet he gave me little doses then the kiss…the kiss that lit my fire. Then he looked in my eyes and told me there was another woman he loved…one who I was not to be compared to. As it shattered my heart, I began to love him. I looked in his eyes and all I saw was a man….a man who hated my arms yet he gave me so much pleasure it hurt. I fell asleep in his arms and in a wink he was at my door set to leave. He walked out of my heart and my life. And he scarred me forever.

My heart bled till dawn; and by morn even though he was still gone, I smelt him in my sheets, I felt his presence envelope me. If only he’ll look upon this ‘slave girl’ and desire her for a minute.

I spent one week of uneventful days and nights and woke up feeling nostalgic and home was the only way out. I called my agent and changed my return date and was home bound in 24 hours. I picked a cab and hoped that my ‘Bodyguard’ would appear and stop me from fleeing but as soon as the cab left the hotel, I knew that was the last. I looked out of the window and noticed the pedestrians, the smell of the Cairo city and I bade them goodbye. Then on the other side of the road, I spotted him. My Egyptian statue had come to the rescue of another. Another unsuspecting tourist and she too would be bitten by his bug. The tears welled up in my eyes as I departed from the city and home was miles away…all that flashed before me was the morning I was rescued to my fall.

My heart aches and bleeds for the affair that never will be.

Photo Credit: Simon Watson