Chapter 31: Time Like a Rolling Ball
Remi and Samir’s sudden collapse left the onlookers on both sides of the video call momentarily frozen. But after that single second of shock, panic gripped them all, and they reacted as one.
In Dublin, the eyes of the three furry creatures filled with tears that they fought hard to hold back; each of them wanted to be brave. Their voices—a strange blend of squeaks and meows—mingled with Professor Simoon Gale’s deep, heavy sigh of grief.
In Cairo, Shehrazad and Anemo snapped out of their trance and rushed forward to gather the two into their arms. Their very first thoughts were identical:
"The doctor! We must call Dr Hazem El-Amin!"
Simoon was the first to regain his composure. In a calm yet commanding voice, he stepped in to guide his son:
"Steady, my boy. Check their pulse and temperature first. Use your hands... Yes, you must call the doctor, but I strongly advise you not to take them inside the house just yet."
Anemo, who was already cradling Remi, took a deep breath. He exhaled slowly and evenly a few times before answering his father:
"She’s burning up, Dad! She’s boiling hot again, and her pulse... I don’t know how to take a cat’s pulse! Her entire body is just throb-throbbing."
"Samir is burning up too, and his heart is racing," Shehrazad noticed, her voice tight. "Demir must be affected inside the Ether Wall as well. I’m calling the doctor. I hope he answers."
Watching helplessly from across the miles, Simoon offered another piece of practical advice:
"With the mirror churning like this, I think instead of taking those two inside, it would be much better to bring Demir out here too. Perhaps you have a mattress, a rug... something you can lay all three of them on in the courtyard, right beside the mirror."
Shehrazad was already on the phone with Dr Hazem, pacing back and forth with small, hurried steps near the black marble table.
"They dropped like stones, Doctor, and they’re burning with fever again! Can you come? Yes, of course. I can manage that! I have it! We’ll be waiting for you!"
She ended the call and sat back down in front of the laptop, her tone much calmer now as she wrapped up:
"Your instincts were right, Simoon. The doctor agrees that we should bring Demir outside. I will call you back later, but please excuse us for now!"
***
It seemed the seven cats had sensed that their feline energy was needed once more to balance and anchor the heavily tested spirits of the twins and Remi back to reality. They slipped into the courtyard, paved with its black-and-white mosaic, at the exact same moment Dr Hazem El-Amin arrived.
Shehrazad, aided by Anemo, was just spreading a heavy Persian rug beside the Mirror of Time—a true work of art carefully preserved through the ages. As they laid it across the courtyard’s monochrome mosaic, its muted hues seemed to capture the very essence of autumn settling over Cairo. There was nothing loud about its thick wool weave; the intricate geometric patterns dissolved into delicate shades of olive green, like dried olive leaves, interwoven with rust-terracotta accents and glints of antique copper. Its colors evoked the long twilights of autumn, a blend of melancholy and deep warmth.
"This rug will insulate their feverish bodies from the cold stones of the courtyard under the night sky. Don’t you agree, Doctor? Thank goodness you’re here!" Shehrazad sighed.
"You have done well, my dear Jaddati! Your grandsons will be fine, let us bring them out here! The young writer and I shall carry them. You place the white cat and prepare the rope."
Shehrazad merely nodded in agreement. She had no choice but to comply and hope that everything would end well. *"Fate cannot be so cruel as to steal my second family away from me,"* she thought.
"The rope, the clock, the counting..."
Everyone knew their role and their place in the bizarre arithmetic of the fever. They laid the three inert bodies upon the thick rug, binding together the humans and cats who were all equally involved in anchoring the sleepers. But just as Shehrazad went to wind the alarm on the tortoise-shaped clock, the doctor stopped her.
"No alarm this time!" he said firmly. "We want no loud noises. The mirror is mending at its own pace and... look! It seems to have accelerated tremendously."
Upon the water’s glossy surface, the images rolled past in a wild blur, jumbling together places, eras, and timelines. It was as though time itself were a perfectly round ball rolling along, and the dots upon the ball were gates—portals through time and space.
What they did not yet know was that Remi and the two children had already been inside the Ether Wall for some time, standing as witnesses to the horrors of that ancient era.
Comments
Post a Comment