The Belen Archives (TMA fic)

Ashes to Ashes

Statement #8732509

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ARCHIVIST

Statement of Stephen Zultik, regarding a series of strange occurrences at archeologist, Madu Tuma's house. Original statement given September 25, 1873, as a letter written to Amelia Stroheim, previous archivist of the Belen Institute. Audio recording by Mina Lavanya, head archivist of the Belen Institute, London.Statement begins.

ARCHIVIST (STATEMENT)

Apologies for the handwriting Amelia, you must understand I am not in the best of conditions right now, and if this letter were to reach you, I hope that it may be of some use. I understand you sort of have an obsession with the weird and, quite frankly, the things borderlining witchcraft. If you are reading this letter at all, it may come as a shock to you that I'm buried in a shallow grave. Not willingly but in my final moments, I do hope you receive this letter.

Amelia, you should know recently I'd begun an expedition of sorts. My wife, Emily, had taken up a liking to things hidden in the dirt below, so we went on a short holiday. We visited the home of Madu Tuma, in Egypt. Madu was known as an up-and-coming archeologist and, upon special request, he allowed us to stay in his home and go on a few digs with him. Emily was ecstatic; in the weeks leading up to our departure, no other words left her mouth. She begun talking about carbon dating and which dig methods Madu might use. Most of what she said went over my head, but I was happy to see her so excited.

We made our preparations and headed out for Luxor. We arrived fairly easily; we took a coach to Italy and from there hopped a steamship that took us into Cairo; one more 20-hour coach ride and we were finally in Luxor. I would be lying if I said I wasn't tired, no more than 10 minutes after arriving at Madu's home I collapsed on the bed. Emily urged me to get up but I laid there for quite some time. When I arose the sun had gone down and Emily looked at me, disappointed. "I understand it was a long trip but that was very rude of you," she said to me. I apologized and promised I'd make it up to her in the morning.

Emily went to bed a few moments later and I found myself unable to sleep. I decided a walk was just what I needed, hoping the cool desert air would allow me some relief. I stepped out and started to walk, after a few minutes I heard a sound that resembled digging. It was pitch black out, and for the life of me I couldn't figure out why anyone would be digging. I followed the noise and stumbled on a man digging a shallow hole. I cleared my throat, making my presence known to the man and he turned to face me, it was Madu Tuma. Now, this was the first time I got to properly look at him since we arrived. He was a very young man who looked to be in his early 20s. He had stark black hair that was almost long enough to cover his eyes, though his eyes were a brilliant shade of amber that shone brightly even on this dark night. By all means he was very pretty, but what I still couldn't quite understand was why he was out digging so late, so, I asked him.

He smiled at me, a sort of nervous smile, and said that he thought he'd uncovered something and had to check right away. I offered to help him but he quickly declined saying that he had finished up anyway. We walked back to his home and he offered me a drink. I smiled and accepted and we spent the night talking about inconsequential things.

When my wife awoke we all packed our things and started to head out. We walked for a few miles, southbound. I looked around as we traversed and seemed to spot a crematorium of sorts, it slightly more modern looking so I was a bit impressed. Madu looked at it with disgust, making a tsk sound disapprovingly. I looked at him with confusion, and he seemed as though he realized he called attention onto himself. He shyly turned away and started to explain that he didnt like cremation as a concept, when someone dies they should be allowed rest in the earth. He specifically said the words that cremation "robs the body of true rest." I didn't quite get what he meant but Emily seemed to agree with him, saying she somewhat understood when he meant. Madu smiled at this and I could swear there was a bit of a skip in his step as we walked to the dig site.