Egypt 200bc

• Georja Lane, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2004

My grandfather always has the most unusual things piled up high like a tower in his rusty, run-down shed. Whenever my mum went to work on Sundays I would go over to granddads. I remember the first time I ever went over there when I was three. Granddad had always warned me never to open the shed door or ‘strange and mysterious things would happen.’

On this particular Sunday, that was extremely hot and stuffy, I was playing hide and seek with my brother Danny. We were mucking around near the pool when granddad called us for lunch. Pretending we were bushrangers, we got down low and crawled to the big tree near the dairy. Granddad was yelling a lot louder now and I could hear him getting closer and closer with each step.

Danny was over near the rusty shed. Granddad was coming towards me. I signaled to Danny to do something that would distract him. He casually slipped out of the grass and went inside to eat lunch with him. They were probably having my favourite- ham, salad and mayonnaise sandwiches. But I really wanted to explore the mysterious and ancient shed.

I slipped into the shed. It was the wrong thing to do, but with Danny and pop gone I couldn’t resist. I opened the door and quietly closed it. The door creaked and I jumped as a spider swung dangerously within my reach. There were many things in the shed, but one thing right at the top of a large pile distracted me the most. It was an ancient box covered in pictures and carvings of people, animals and plants.

The most unusual thing that was carved on the box was a small, golden clasp. It was in the shape of a lion. The lion looked at me with fierce eyes and I backed away, terrified. But something drew me towards this crazy creature. I put my hand out to touch the lion and he then suddenly roared. The sound was ear-splitting.

An old, bony hand crept out of the box and reached for me. I shuffled back, not knowing where I was heading, not knowing what I was hitting. All I knew was that I had to get out of this shed. The hand suddenly reared and picked me up. I was thrown into the box. The last thing I saw was a blinding light. When the box stopped shaking and rolling I realized my t-shirt and shorts were replaced with cream-coloured robes.

I climbed out of the box and was welcomed by the soothing sound of music. The sky was a rich purple, pink and orange colour. Ladies were dancing around thrones made of gold and kings were taking baths in the river. Suddenly a thought struck my head. A thought that I never wanted to imagine. I was standing in Egypt in 200BC. A million thoughts buzzed through my head. “How was I going to get back?”