The Things she Carries

The girl walked with a confident yet relaxed gait hindered only slightly by her rucksack which was rugged and worn. She was dressed in neatly ironed black linen pants and a crisp white blouse. She was wandering around the ancient Egyptians temples at Luxor. The expression she wore was one of immense enjoyment. Anyone who saw her would be in no doubt that she was completely engrossed in exploring the temples. She would flit from one carved pillar to the next tracing the hieroglyphs with the tip of her finger. She wondered what they meant. She knew some of them but not enough to understand. She was always trying to understand. She decided to sit and find her hieroglyphic dictionary, and try and translate the pictograms. She sat with her back against one of the huge pillars with her rucksack on her lap facing her. She opened it and began to search for the little book.  She sifted through the many things in her bag for several seconds without success. Growing frustrated she began taking everything out and setting them on the sandstone floor beside her.  

First she pulled out a half full water canteen, taking a sip be for setting it aside. The canteen was green tinted stainless steel. It clinked on the stone as she put it down. Next she drew out a wide brimmed straw hat she had been wearing earlier. It had become too cumbersome to continue wearing because she was constantly looking up to tops of the temples and the hat kept falling off, so she grew frustrated again and stuffed it into her bag. She pulled out her note book and her favorite pen. The pen was a little sculpture of the Egyptian cat goddess Bastet. It was nothing terribly special; she purchased it at Universal Studios when she was fifteen, but to her it meant a lot. Rummaging deeper she pulled out a sandstone rock she had picked up while exploring earlier today, and set it next to her as well. Ever since she was little she had always picked up rocks and pebbles where ever she went. It was one of the ways she remembered where she had been. Then she drew out a guidebook to Egypt putting it next to the rock. The book contained useful Arabic phrases, sightseeing destinations, and other helpful things of that nature. The binding was creased and several pages were dog-eared. It was evident it had been used quite a bit. She was getting close to the bottom now and was growing worried she had left the book somewhere. She searched the outside pockets finding only her travelers checks, her passport, her phone, some aspirin, a photo of her family, and a bottle of sun block. Now becoming a little frantic she stuck her hand in the bag down to the bottom feeling the change of clothes she had placed there to cushion the other things. She also felt something hard between her shirt and pants and was relieved to find the book that she had been searching for. It had been a gift from her parents and sister. They had given it to her the day she left for her trip. The book was leather bound with gold embossing on the cover. It said “Ancient Egyptian Hieroglyphs.” It was no ordinary book it had been specially hand made by a book binder. The pages were printed but they had been rebound in leather on a costume order. It was one of her prized possession, and that was why she had gently placed it between her clothes that morning. When she had repacked all her things she stood up and once again started exploring the Ancient Egyptian Temples.