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I'm sitting on The Wall. My legs hanging over the forbidden side. I'm looking at the moon rising over the Pyramids. The start of a new day. I feel the steam rising from the lake below me. The last remnants of the hot, hot day. The Pyramids look majestic as always. They say that's where the old god slumber waiting to be awakened, guarded by the Keeper. I'm not sure I believe that. Some still pray to them but I wonder, if they're asleep do they hear the prayers?
I'm watching the Pyramids when something suddenly moves in the distance. I squint in the hope of seeing it better. But I can't make out the shape. It moves slowly and gracefully. An Animal? But that would be impossible. I follow it with my eyes. As it moves out of the shadows from the First Pyramid, I can make out its shape. It is an Animal! But they're extinct. It has 4 long legs, a hump on its back, and a tail. What is that?
It disappears around the corner of the Second Pyramid. It's still on my mind when Alex swings himself up beside me. I feel him looking at me but he doesn't say anything. Then he follows my gaze.
"What ya looking at?" He suddenly asks.
"Nothing, I thought I saw something, but it must have been a mirage," I say distracted. I'm still looking at the point where the Animal disappeared.
We sit there for another hour as we do every evening before school.
"Come on, we're going to be late," he says eventually. He stands up and holds out his hand. I take it and pull myself up. He jumps down first. This side of the wall is less high than the forbidden side. I jump after him. We walk to school together.
"Why are you so quiet?" Alex suddenly asks. I look at him. His unusual light eyes stare right into mine.
"I'm not quiet," I defend myself.
"Yeah, you are. Does it have to do with what you saw?"
"With what I think I saw. And no, it doesn't," I tell him. He looks at me skeptically but lets it go.
At school, I can barely focus. I need to get to the library. I know they have old records there. Maybe I'll find something on the Animal. The monotonous voice of the teach-bot makes concentrating even harder. I open a new tab on my tablet and start drawing the Animal as best as I can. I'm afraid I'll forget otherwise.
---
Finally, school is over. I'm about to go to the library when Alex catches up with me.
"Oh, hey," I say.
"Hi, so my house or your house for homework?" He asks. Damn, I forgot. I take his hand to soften the blow.
"Actually, I have to run to the library," I say.
"The library? For what?" He asks.
"Uhm, for...research," I say.
"Research? What do you need the library for? It's just a dusty old place," he says.
