Chapter 2: Something old, but Also New

Casandra left the apartment and headed out into the bustling city streets. It was a beautiful, sunny day unlike the previous day, and she felt the heat of the hot morning sun bearing down on her. She realized she should've worn more sunblock, but oh well, she’ll find a nice mall and spend the day in there. She looked around. There was a lot of commotion on the streets, people bustling through crowds, shops set up under overhangs to block out the sun, and children running to school. She was surprised by how lively and yet how old and dead this city seemed.

She wandered the dirt strewn roads amidst the crowds of people calling to one another, shopkeepers calling out their goods for the day, and felt lost in the bustle as she moved through the crowd speaking a different language to one another. She knew it was some form of Arabic, and her father could speak it, but she certainly couldn’t. She never really needed it in Manhattan.

She started to feel a bit faint as the day wore on and the sun grew hotter in the midday sky. She decided to try to look for a cafe or something where she could find something cold to drink. She walked up to a small coffee shop with chairs and tables set out under the canopy of the shop. It was painted a bright blue, and the furniture was wooden and carved ornately, which she couldn’t help but like. The shopkeeper spoke enough English for her to order ice water and a cortado. He was a curious looking man with small black eyes peering out from dark, bushy eyebrows. He had a large black mustache as well which covered most of his face. He was very friendly though, and she was pleased with the cortado. It was very dark and rich, which was just the kick she needed in the morning (even though it was technically the afternoon).

She spent the rest of the day exploring the local shops and bakeries. She purchased a few of the souvenirs which would have made her father gag, such as a plastic pharaoh’s head, a little model of the pyramids, stuff like that. Her dad was a purest. He did not believe in making merchandise of ancient cultures. But, she was not, so she will enjoy the merchandise.

Around 4:30pm she decided to call it a day. There wasn’t much to see there it seemed. She’ll have to check the tour guide books and see where the best spots are for enjoying yourself. She began to make her way down the still bustling market streets and towards the apartment. As she walked she passed by an alleyway where an old lady sat. She was completely covered in black and on her lap was a white crystal sphere. She thought to herself that this lady must be a fortune teller. She looked at her phone for the time. 4:43. She had time to get home before dark, she would stop.

As Casandra approached the lady slowly so as not to scare her the lady beckoned for her to sit. Cassandra sat on the dirt covered cobblestone and looked at the lady who did not make eye contact with her. Cassandra motioned towards the crystal ball on the lady’s lap, but when her fingers got close to the sphere, the lady swatted her hand away with a flash. Cassandra recoiled bsck and was about the mouth off to the lady, when she suddenly grabbed her wrist. Cassandra’s first response was to think the lady was trying to rob her, but quickly realized that the lady was not hurting her but was staring at her palms.

Oh, Cassandra thought, she is a palm reader.

The lady stared at her hands for several minutes. She did not move at all. After some 15 minutes Casandra thought the lady might have fallen asleep or something and started to try to stand, but the lady gripped her more. Cassandra was starting to feel very strange.

“Please,” she said gently trying to pull out from her grip, “I need to get home.”

But the lady would not release her. She did not even loosen her grip. The lady, after another 5 minutes, looked at Casandra dead in the eyes with a crazed look in hers. Cassandra began to wriggle but could not break free. She wanted to scream but found she could not. Was this lady some kind of witch?

The lady took something out from her satchel and placed it in Casandra’s hand. Cassandra brushed it away and took advantage of the moment to stand to her feet and start to run. The lady again gript her wrist and began yelling in another language, forcing the object at Casandra.

“No, no!” she yelled back, “I don’t want it!”

After another 10 minutes of this, Cassandra said, “Fine! Fine, I’ll take it. Just go away, please.” And taking the object from the woman she handed the lady a quarter and ran away. The lady was still calling out to her in another language but Casandra did not look back or stop until she got to the door of the apartment complex. She entered the building, took the elevator to the 3rd floor and sat down on the couch to calm herself.

When she at last relaxed she realized that she still had the object in her hand. She unwrapped it from the linen wraps that covered it to find a very curious object. It was a crown or tiara of some kind, but not like anything she ever saw before. It was a black ring that rested on the wearer’s head, with an orange disk in the center and two cow’s horns protruding from either side.

Who on earth would wear this?” She exclaimed.

She stood up and went to her room. She thought for a second that her dad might want to see it. What if it's important? But, then she thought she did not want to tell her dad about how she got it. She decided to put it away under her bed to be forgotten.

But, it would not be forgotten. It wouldn’t allow that.