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The Collar of the Two Skies Epilogue

  Epilogue



After the whole ordeal of failure, the two Gales fell fast asleep, felled by a heavy mixture of exhaustion, desert dust and despair. All their logic, paperwork and high-level diplomacy had failed in front of a showcase in Tahrir by a mere twenty seconds.




The awakening came abruptly, far too early, shattered by a shrill sound that had absolutely nothing to do with the peace of home. Somewhere, on a nearby balcony or in the inner courtyard of the building in Zamalek, an Egyptian cockerel was repeatedly shouting its greeting to the sun that was barely dawning, partially drowning out the city's first horns.




Anemo started and opened his eyes, feeling his back stiffen. He had fallen asleep with his clothes on, on the old sofa in the living room. Professor Simoon rose from his armchair as well, passing a tired hand over his face, whilst the ceiling fan continued to turn lazily above them, moving the warm air.




On the cedar table, Anemo’s laptop screen had remained on all night, glowing palely in the bluish light of dawn. The cursor blinked absently on a blank page, just beneath a fresh title: ‘The Chronicles of Ether Drive. Volume II’.




Anemo turned his gaze towards the corner of the room, instinctively searching for the velvet pillow.




‘Remi?’ he whispered, his voice raspy from sleep.




No mew answered him.




The wide balcony door had been left ajar overnight, and now a thin, white curtain fluttered gently in the morning breeze, like a white flag of truce. Anemo stood up in a single leap, feeling his heart begin to thud rapidly once more. He stepped quickly towards the balcony and pushed the curtain aside.




Remi was nowhere to be seen.




Before Anemo, beneath the pinkish-yellow morning sky, the city stretched endlessly like an ocean of sand-coloured buildings, flat roofs cut by satellite dishes and minarets preparing for the first call to prayer. Beyond the balustrade, the Nile flowed lazily, reflecting the first rays of the sun. The city opened its massive arms, and the writer turned into a cat seemed to have been completely swallowed by its secrets.



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