An Ankh Pendant | Teen Ink

An Ankh Pendant

March 5, 2011
By SittingJackal25 BRONZE, Edmonton, Other
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SittingJackal25 BRONZE, Edmonton, Other
1 article 0 photos 1 comment

Favorite Quote:
"You can accomplish anything with a big smile and a give 'em hell attitude."


Author's note: A quiet Saturday afternoon, searching google for some interesting facts on Ancient Egypt, when I was suddenly hit with this idea.

A tanned finger reached out, tapping lightly at the glass. The sun's rays flowed lightly through the window, causing the bright orange scales of the Goldfish to shimmer in the light. The bad thing was, the poor fish was floating belly up on the surface of the water.
Cody Nicholson let out a sigh, withdrawing his hand, letting it fall to his side.
It's dead? Another one? He paused,it was all very odd. He bit his lip, quickly reaching into the tank and scooping up the fish, he briskly walked over to the bathroom, placing the dead fish gently into the toilet bowl. He paused, his hand on the knob to flush the toilet.
May your journey to the afterlife be pleasant, little fish. He thought, flushing the toilet finally. He ran his hands under some cold water, washing them with soap before walking down for some breakfast.
Cody sat down at the table, a glass of juice in front of him. His mother was already working quickly around in the kitchen, she looked up from her frying pan to give him a warm smile.
“ Good morning, sweetheart.” She greeted, moving something around on the hot pan.
Cody took a sip from the juice, placing it back down on the the table. “ My fish died last night.” He stated, looking back up at her.
She paused in her cooking, a concerned look on her face. “ Again?” She asked, “ that's the third one this month.”
“ I know.” Cody muttered, standing from the table. “ I better get going.”
“ You haven't eaten anything yet.” His mother said, “ you should try and eat something.”
“ I'll pick something up.” Cody insisted, picking up his backpack and heading towards the door. There was an odd feeling in the air, he could feel it. He shook his head, a frown on his face. He always felt this way after one of his fishes died.
Just a fish. He thought, pulling the strap on his pack tighter and started to walk to his school.

“ Uh,” Kelly muttered, her black hair falling in front of her face as she placed her head down on the table, “ another test? Are these teacher's trying to kill us?”
Mathew didn't look up from his text book, a pair of thin wire rimmed glasses resting on his nose, “ if you studied more, you wouldn't be having a problem.” He flipped a page, “ and having a vast amount of knowledge doesn't hurt anybody.”
“ You are such a geek.” Kelly said, smirking. Mathew only looked up at her to give her a quick glare before returning to his studies.
Kelly sighed, looking over to her left. “ You're unusually quiet, Cody. Is something wrong?”
“ No.” He said, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in, “ just an odd feeling.”
“ Hm.” Kelly leered at him out of the corner of her eye, it was the same every morning. Kelly, Mathew, and Cody would sit in the library, Kelly and Cody would chat about the night before while Mathew would sit and read, or, on the rare occasions that he would contribute to the conversation, it would be to correct one of them on something or other.
Cody found he got on his nerves quite easily, but he was a good source of information when you needed it.
“ Is William showing up today?” Kelly asked, leaning back in her chair.
Cody just shrugged, “ he's a bit unpredictable when it comes to whether he's going to show up or not.” He was going to add something when the bell went off, signalling the first class. Mathew gathered his books, glancing back at the two of them.
“ You two coming or are you going to be late?” He asked. Kelly stood, pushing her seat in.
“ Yeah, yeah.” She said, “ I'll be dead if I'm late for math again.”
Cody followed behind as the two of them walked down the hall, his mind wondering off. No matter how many times he told himself, he couldn't shake that feeling.
Like something was just looming over the horizon.

“ You noticed something's up too?” Cody asked, stopping in his tracks. Kelly stopped walking, looking at him with a confused look on her face. They were walking home when Kelly had mentioned something that caught Cody's attention.
“ Well, it's a little odd.” Kelly said. “ It just hangs around my house, when I call to it, it just sits there, staring at me.”
“ A black cat?” Cody asked.
Kelly nodded, “ Yeah. It must be a stray or something.”
“ My fish keep dieing.” Cody stated as if that fact was the answer to everything weird going on.
“ That's because you don't feed them.” Kelly pointed out.
“ I do feed them, that's the problem.”
“ You don't overfeed them?”
“ No.”
“ You change the water every week?”
“ Yes.”
“ Then your fish don't have a reason to be dieing!” Kelly exclaimed. Throwing her hands in the air in asperation.
“ But they do.” Cody stated.
Kelly sighed, “ I don't know, maybe you're just really bad with pets.”
Cody frowned, then turned and continued walking, leaving Kelly to jog to catch up with him.
“ Cody! Come on!” She sighed, “ I didn't mean to sound insensitive, but you might be blowing this whole fish thing out of proportion.”
Cody slowed his pace, “ how so?”
“ You're acting like the fact that you're fish keep dieing, it means that the world is going to end.” Kelly explained, raising an eyebrow at him. “ You might need to calm down a bit.”
“ What if it moves from my fish to the neighbour's dog?” Cody asked, “ what if it moves to my parents?”
“ Now you're just being irrational.” Kelly sighed, “ maybe you should go home and get some sleep.”
Cody sighed, looking down at the ground. “ Yeah. Okay, I can do that.” He started to walk again, Kelly glanced at him, worried, before quickly crossing the street to her own home.

“ What's this?” Cody muttered to himself, picking up the small object that was laying on his bed. He picked it up, turning it over in his hands. He let the string slide through his fingers, it catching on the end of his pointer finger.
The small Ankh dangling in midair. The wooden carvings in it, he could tell it was hilogriphics.
He blinked, staring at it for a bit. Maybe his mother had bought it for him? He slipped it over his head before sitting down on his bed. He reached into his bag and started to study.
A few hours had passed when Cody glanced out the window, his eyes widening. There was a dog in his yard. But, it seemed a bit too big to be a dog, and it's ears were too wide to be a coyote. In the setting sun, he could easily see the red fur on the animal, it's back was covered in black fur, white flecks sticking out of the black fur. The dog was staring up at his window, Cody could feel a sense of dread from the animal that made his skin crawl. There was something off about the dog, but he couldn't put his finger on it. The animal stared for a few more seconds before turning and running off into the woods behind the house.

It's dark in her room. The morning sun not getting past her closed curtains, but she's up and about, not bothering to let some light into the room. She likes it better this way, she realizes. She walks over to her bathroom, flicking on the light. A orange tabby cat sits on the edge of her bathtub, his slender tail moving in long, slow swooping motions. She smiles down at the cat, scratching his ears. The cat purrs contently, rubbing his pink nose against the palm of her hand.
Kelly Stone turns back to the mirror, reaching out for a hair brush. She ran the brush down her shoulder length black hair, pulling it up into a high ponytail. She quickly headed down the stairs, looking around the empty room. Her father was most likely at work, and he wouldn't be returning until later that night. It wasn't like she had a close relationship with him, anyways.
Grabbing her shoulder bag, she headed outside to head to the school. She stopped a few feet from the drive way, a frown crossing her features. The black cat sat on the grass in her front yard, it's eyes unwavering as it stared at her. She cleared her throat, trying to hide the fact that the animal freaked her out a bit. There was something very off about the cat, it's black fur seemed to almost reflect the sun. It stood on it's four legs, Kelly seeing how thin the cat was. It raised it tail up, holding it's head up high before turning and sauntering off. Kelly chuckled to herself, shaking her head as she continued to walk down the drive way.
She wasn't getting superstitious over the black cat. It was just a curious stray.

“ What is that?” She asked, reaching out and grabbing the small object that hung around Cody's neck. He looked at her, his eyebrow raised. Kelly ran her finger across the small cross, her eyes wide with wonder.
“ Don't look so surprised, it's just a pendent.” Cody said, pulling the chain out of her grasp and letting the Ankh fall back to his chest. Kelly watched him, matching his stride. There was something off about him today, his stance was a little lacking, his back not as upright as it usually was. His green eyes were bloodshot, like he hadn't slept. She tilted her head, frowning. Cody turned his head to look at her, noticing her staring.
“ What?” He asked, shoving his hands farther into his pockets. Kelly just shook her head, deciding not to mention anything.
“ Nothing.” She muttered, noticing that he had sighed after she had said that. Cody didn't say anything, though. Kelly pulled on the strap of her bag, not being able to shake that odd feeling.

A woman walked around in the forest, her green eyes scanning the forest. She walked with a delicate stride, her bare feet hitting the ground soundlessly with each step. Her lip was pouted, a natural look for her. She held a small Ankh necklace in her hand, the pendant swinging gently as she walked. She stopped suddenly, looking up at the trees, the sun shining down through the crowded branches and onto her face.
Ra. She thought wistfully, dear father.
There was the snapping of branches a few feet behind her, she snapped her head in that direction, narrowing her eyes. A man walked out of the trees, a frown on his face. His hair was a light copper colour, seeming to grow darker near the top of his head. His face had an almost angular look to it, his eyes as dark as the night sky. He watched her carefully, a blank expression on his face.
“ Bast.” He said, his voice deep, yet almost quiet at the same time.
“ Anubis.” Bast greeted, she held her head high, trying not to let the Jackal-headed god intimidate her.
“ What do you think you are doing?” He growled, stepping forwards a bit. “ You are not to be involved at this time.”
“ And you are?” She asked, “ running around in your animal form, following that boy?”
“ And you following that girl?” He asked, suddenly calm, “ go back into hiding, Bast, now is not the time.”
“ I'm tired of hiding!” Bast hissed, stepping towards him, “ we're deities, Gods, and should be treated as such.”
“ I agree, Bast.” Anubis said, “ but scaring that girl is not helping us as much as it is exposing us.”
Bast backed down, looking around at the trees, scowling.
“ I'm going to ask that you go back into hiding.” Anubis stated again, backing up slightly, “ it's not time yet.”
“ You're not in charge here.” Bast said, turning on him, eyes blazing, “ what about Ra?”
“ What about Ra?” Anubis asked, still very calm, “ he must be disappointed in us if he's abandoned us like this.”
“ Don't say that.” The cat God snapped, “ he's in hiding, too.”
“ Then maybe you should go join him.” Anubis said, Bast was going to snap at him again, but she didn't get the chance, seeing the back of a Jackal as he ran through the trees again.
“ Very well.” She hissed, turning back into a cat again and tracing back the way she came.

“ Did you see that teacher throw that text book?” Kelly asked, laughing. “ Some of our teachers need to take a chill pill.”
“ Hm.” Mathew held his glasses up in the sunlight before attempting to clean them with the front of his shirt, “ so unprofessional.”
“ So boring.” Kelly muttered. She looked up from under the tree her and Mathew were sitting under. Cody was walking over to them, his backpack slung over his shoulder.
“ I'm going home.” He seemed to choke out, “ sorry I won't be able to be in social with you.”
“ Cody-” Kelly starts, getting ready to stand, but the black haired kid is already walking away.
“ I wonder what's got into him.” Mathew muttered, watching Cody's retreating form. Kelly's eyes harden, she reaches down and grabs her back. She runs after Cody, worried. Mathew sighs, standing too. He watches the two go, a frown on his face. He just pushes his glasses farther up the bridge of his nose and heads back inside the school.

“ Cody!” Kelly yelled, slightly out of breath when the boy finally stops. Cody turns and looks at her, annoyed.
“ Kelly. Go back to school, I'm just feeling ill.” He stated, turning to walk away but she reaches out and grabs his upper forearm.
“ That's bull and you know it.” She said, stone faced, “ I've known you since, what? Kindergarten? I can tell when you're sick or if you're hiding something.” She takes a breath to continue, but Cody rust rips his arm out of her grasp.
“ Leave me alone.” He growled, leaving Kelly standing on the sidewalk, hurt. She sucks in a breath of air and glares at his backside.
“ I thought we were closer then this!” She called to him, but Cody doesn't reply. He just keeps walking, Kelly notices something very off about him. She caught a glimpse of the pendant that swung over his shoulder as he walked away.
She stares, her brow furrowed before deciding to take the rest of the day off as well and headed towards her own home.
The walk home was longer this time around, Kelly staring at the ground as she walked. What the heck is going on? She thought, lifting her head as her house came into view, she took in the black cat sitting on the drive way again. She narrowed her eyes at the creature before stalking over to it, she took aggressive strides towards it, but the cat just sat there, watching her. She huffed, then noticed the thing that was hanging out of it's mouth. She frowned, watching as the necklace dropped to the ground, the cat strutting off out of sight.
Kelly stared at the Ankh that lay on the pavement before bending down and picking it up, holding up watching as the sun reflected off the silver chain. She remembered Cody's, she quickly hurtled the jewelry into the green grass of her front yard and ran into the house as if she had just saw a ghost.



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on Jul. 19 2011 at 7:16 pm
Artist_of_the_Quill BRONZE, Dallas, Texas
2 articles 0 photos 17 comments

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This is AWESOME! Will you put more of the book in?