“You are not going to Smita’s birthday party. It’s too far away. Moreover we must go to Mahesh uncle’s house,” said Mrs Singh. “I am going nowhere with you people and I mean it,” shouted 12-year-old Resham. She banged the door of her room shut. After a while she heard the car leaving the portico. Memories of what had happened came pouring back and she was angry again. Resentful at her enforced exile. Afraid what would happen when they came back. She had a hot argument with her parents and frustrated they left the house, leaving her all alone.

Resham stopped sulking after sometime and went to the terrace. She looked up at the sky. The rain clouds were low and steady and the wanton wind brushed its wetness into her face. Yet she stood watching people avidly as they walked. She was about to leave the terrace when she noticed a shining object lying in the corner. It was a round piece of some metal with buttons embedded in it.

She pressed a button and voila! Before she could realise what was happening, she found herself enveloped in total darkness. Resham couldn’t fathom where she was except that it was not her terrace any more. She skipped over something and fell.

Krrrrrrrrrrr……………..krrrrrrrr…….a sound capable of deafening a person was heard. Resham became hysterical  and broke into tears. She almost fainted when she felt someone touch her arm. She couldn’t see anything but could feel there was someone beside her. The place got filled with the sweet fragrance of fresh flowers. As her eyes got accustomed to the darkness, she saw the room was huge and shaped like a triangle. “I have seen this somewhere,” said Resham. In a second, she realised that she was inside a pyramid. And the one to touch her was none other than a pharaoh dressed in rich robes. He introduced himself as Alam, a pharaoh of Egypt and told Resham that it was his pyramid. He waited patiently for the paroxysm of tears to end. Then he showed her the whole pyramid, its sections, the treasures stored there and so on. He even gave her some fruits to eat.

Suddenly Resham realised that she had been away from home for a long time. “My parents must have returned so I need to go,” said Resham. The calm expression on the man’s face began to change. His face turned dark and ominous. “You have everything here then why do you want to go home,” roared Alam. His hands were like bands of steel as they tried to imprison here. It was scary and Resham started to run. From the corner of her eyes, she could see him chasing her with weary, disillusioned eyes. Resham ran unaware of everything.

The remote was still in her hand. Though she tried her best, she couldn’t press any part of it. She started screaming at the top of her voice. “What’s wrong? Did you have a nightmare?” “Thash!” A slap on her cheek brought Resham back to her senses. Her mom was glaring at her. “This is why I tell you not to stay up late at nights,” said Mrs Singh. Resham sat up, rubbing her eyes and realised that she had been pressing the gill of a fish-shaped rubber.

So much for her fantasy and adventure. The book, Tales of Egypt, she had been reading was lying beside her.