Chapter 28: Concentric Circles
The return to the present, triggered by the long buzzing of the sea-turtle clock, was always exhausting for everyone taking part in the ritual at Shehrazad’s house, but especially for Remi and the twins. Samir opened his eyes at the exact same moment as the white cat, but Demir didn't. He only shifted slightly in his sleep, clenching his fists in an act of silent defiance.
Seeing the movement of her long-asleep grandson, Shehrazad, who had already started untying the twine soaked in cedar resin, froze with her breath held, filled with hope.
But no, Demir had not come back to life this time either.
"You stubborn boy!" the woman cried out in frustration. "I don't want to lose either of you! I’ve already lost one family, and no, I am not willing to give up anything to some mystical mirror!"
Samir, visibly exhausted, climbed down from his brother’s bed and hugged her tightly.
"Jaddati, it will be fine. You won't lose us! The mirror is already repairing itself, and Demir will come home. You'll see!"
Remi leaped off Demir’s chest the moment she was freed from the tight bond. She was trembling, but she looked Shehrazad straight in the eye with the piercing blue of her cat stare. Then she turned her gaze over the seven felines, pausing on the blue cat, Maat.
"Let’s go into the courtyard!" she said. "I want to see the Mirror of Time!"
"She wants to go into the courtyard to see the Mirror," Samir instantly translated for the others.
But Dr Hazem El-Amin didn't seem convinced at all by the white cat’s urging, even if she was El-Beyda herself. He lowered his glasses, checking the calendar on his phone screen with a stern look.
"This mystical journey has completely drained their bodies," he said, looking at the trembling forms of Remi and Samir. "I strictly forbid another session for the next two weeks. We will meet again in this exact group for a new session on... the twenty-fifth of October."
Anemo, who had been waiting silently next to Omar until then, started at the mention of the date and felt he had to step in.
"But, doctor, for us—or rather, for Remi—it’s not that simple. We need to get back to Ireland in time. The winter solstice is her very last chance to return to her human body."
"There is no room for 'buts'. We are not negotiating! We cannot risk their lives... And I say this because, after all, this world is still preferable to the next one."
An uncomfortable silence followed. Anemo scooped Remi up in his arms, and a quiet procession formed behind him. They slowly walked down the stairs, crossed the cool living room with its russet-veined marble floor, and stopped in the inner courtyard. There, they surrounded the mosaic fountain—the Mirror of Time which, in its mystical churning, was repairing itself.
The seven cats also surrounded the stone edge like mystical guardians, staring into the depths where the liquid had already risen halfway. On the trembling surface of the water, scenes from the past began to play on fast-forward, like liquid holograms.
Remi let Anemo place her right on the edge of the fountain so she could watch the reflections drifting across the water's surface under the starry Cairo sky, like a magic kaleidoscope. Every now and then, she seemed to exchange a knowing look with Maat, the blue cat.
All the felines, including Remi-Bise with her mature woman's mind, were hypnotically drawn to the reflections in the water. They twitched their paws as if trying to catch a piece of the past out of thin air. Samir smirked, stepped closer to Remi, and whispered right into her ear:
"El-Beyda, Your Highness, they are just images. You can't catch them. Come on, let's go tell Grandma about the murder of Queen Tiye instead!"
Remi turned her gaze to the boy, but immediately looked back at the glossy surface of the fountain. The reflection there was focusing on a massive bronze vessel inside an ancient royal bedroom. In the water appeared Shehrazad herself, looking much younger, clutching two two-year-old babies tightly to her chest. The woman stepped directly into the bronze vessel and vanished in a flash of ether. Right next to the vessel, two white cats—perfectly identical to Remi’s Angora form, each wearing a Collar of the Two Skies around their necks—watched Shehrazad intently.
The exact moment the woman disappeared into thin air with the babies, the two felines let out a long sigh, relaxing in relief. Then, their faces began to tremble and fade, melting into concentric circles.
"Did... did you all see that? That was me!" Shehrazad exclaimed, her voice choking with emotion.
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