The Life and Times of Bonnie Chance

A Trip Through Time

They reached the Temple of Abu Simbel and disembarked from the bus. While Professor Brown did a head count and took roll to make sure everyone was where they were supposed to be, Bonnie, Carol, and her friends started looking around. Bonnie quickly realized she and Carol appeared to be a little overdressed compared to the others. Carol was wearing a lovely pale yellow dress with a pattern of purple and green grapes with purple trim on the hem of the skirt, sleeves, and collar. On her feet were a pair of purple sandals with a modest heel and on her head she wore a broad straw sunhat with a pale yellow ribbon and a scarf with a matching grape pattern was tied around her neck. Bonnie wore a gauze summer dress with long sleeves, which had a predominantly purple tribal pattern with faux tassels printed on the hem in in indigo. The dress was cinched around her waist with a leather belt that had a big silver buckle, and she wore a long scarf with the exact same pattern as her dress wrapped around her head with most of her long red hair tucked inside. She wore a broad black sunhat over the scarf to keep the sun off her face and neck. On her feet she wore black boots that had a small, feminine heel and went up over her calves. Around her neck she wore a necklace with a silver Tuareg cross pendant and a thin, gold chain with a gold and silver Scorpio charm. Small gold and silver drop-earrings shaped like leaves, and on her finger, she wore a vintage bloom-styled ring with eight pointed sapphire petals and an opal set in the center. As always, she carried her handy leather satchel with floral tooling.

Everyone around them was too excited to keep quiet. They had to raise their voices to be heard over the chatter of the crowd. The enormous temple's most noticeable feature from the outside was the four carved pharaohs. Two were seated on each side of the entrance, towering over all who approached. "Whoa! The temple looks so big and grand! This is Ancient Egypt's King Ramses, sculpted from the mountain," said Carol.

"It's so amazing!" Maria exclaimed.

"This was constructed around 1300 B.C., right?" said Bonnie.

"Right! Each pharaoh's total height is twenty meters, and even the ears are one meter long!" Jimmy explained.

"Hahaha! Everyone, you're all so lucky!" the professor declared proudly. "Because you can all touch and feel the living history, the Temple of Abu Simbel..."

"There goes professor Brown's little saying!" Carol said with a grin, elbowing Jimmy in the side, while a few of their classmates laughed. Bonnie smiled.

"Grandpa must have hit his head somewhere!" Jimmy said, embarrassed.

They split up into smaller groups to explore with strict instructions to meet back at the bus in three hours. Naturally, Carol's group was comprised of her friends and Bonnie. They started up the path carved into the side of the mountain. Carol was so excited. First, she wanted to take a look around the Aswan River's dam. And then the little shrine. Being able to visit them one by one made Carol feel so happy! There were things worth seeing everywhere. "Eh?" Carol said, pausing abruptly when she realized she was alone. "Where is everyone?"

Bonnie turned to ask Carol where she wanted to go first and stopped short when she realized her cousin wasn't behind her anymore. She couldn't see her at all. A sinking feeling of unease crept over her. Something was wrong. "Where's Carol?" she asked the others, alarmed.

"Huh? Wasn't she walking with you?" Jimmy asked, confused. Without another word, Bonnie took off running back the way they came. "Ah! Hey!" he called after her.

"Don't worry, Jimmy," said Maria. "I'm sure Carol's fine. Bonnie will find her."

"Yeah, let's wait for them here," said Harry.

Carol called out for the others. "Bonnie! Jimmy! Maria! Harry!" She thought she heard Bonnie call her name. As she approached the turn in the path ahead, Carol heard more voices. "Everyone's already up there, they're so fast." She shielded her eyes against the sun and noticed a dark figure was approaching her. "Ah! Bonnie, is that you?" The brief moment of relief she felt faded as the figure drew nearer. She gasped. She could now see that the person approaching her was a beautiful young woman with black hair wearing Ancient Egyptian clothing and gold jewelry. At her side was a large black dog. "Ah! You are... Isis!"