Great Fortune Comes With Great Cost

My father was a highly renowned explorer and archeologist founding some of the greatest treasure finds to date. And through his fame he achieved great fortune which was achieved after separating from my mother. I always idolized my father for this aspect of his career, and blamed my mother for our paycheck to paycheck living situation. My mother passed away shortly after I graduated from high school. I swore to myself at her funeral that I would become a great archeologist like my father, and will never live in the slums from this point moving forward.

Jeremiah Smith was a well known business man of power. However just over a year ago he had lost his wife to cancer. He did everything in his power that money could buy to try and avoid her terrible fate. Unfortunately nothing worked and he'd lost all hope until hearing about the Book of the Dead. He began an expedition in search of it which posed a possibility for me as a chance to join the expedition and find the book before anyone else, thus cementing my name in fame.

I got up from my sleeping bag after yet another restless night. I joined the rest of the expedition team and went to work, the same as I've done nearly a year now, digging and sifting through sand for some kind of clue or indication that we're on the right track. As I was lost in my thoughts I noticed my shovel went a bit too deep into the sand then normal, past the head and up the handle. I tried again and once again the same happened. I informed the team leader to inform all diggers to concentrate on the area I had found and sure enough we did find something.

We found a set of stairs leading down to an undiscovered burial tomb. The entrance was forty feet deep and was guarded by two large stone men in what appeared to be dog masks covering their faces. The mask was the sign of Anubis, the Lord of the Underworld and presider of the dead. My breath caught a moment at the sight of them because this was the clue we've been in search of for so long.

The locals spoke of a curse placed on the tomb, but this had been waved off as nothing more than local superstition. My excitement had warded off any negative thoughts on these obvious warning signs. When we reached the entrance we found an inscription engraved on the top of the door. According to the local translator it said whoever should dare disturb this tomb shall receive great fortune at a great cost.

As I slowly made my way inside I came across a gold laden door with golden intricacies. I believed that I had finally found the treasure that I sought and gave the door a push. It had opened with relative ease and within the room was adorned with riches fit for a mighty king and a sarcophagus in the middle of the room. Immediately I ran toward the center to inspect it.

I lifted the lid of the sarcophagus with all my strength and within lay a mummy with a golden mask rested on his face. The mummy was smaller then I imagined appearing to be child size, but what lay in his crossed hands was what puzzled me most of all. It was a notebook, a black modern day notebook. I picked up the book and looked it over all around and flipped through its pages. The only thing of value that I could find was that it had 3 names written in hieroglyphs. I looked down at the body once more wondering if this was some kind of joke, but it couldn't have been because clearly this tomb was left undisturbed for countless years. I put the black notebook inside of my jacket for later study and made my way back to the tomb entrance. In the weeks following nothing more would turn up save for the identity of the child like mummy which turned out to be the child pharaoh Tutankamen.

Following the discovery of the tomb I searched the notebook forward and backward, but the only thing out of the ordinary were the three names written within. I had the names translated and found them to be: Sekhemkhet, the second was Mentuhotep, and of course the last is the recently found King Tut. None of these names had anything to do with one another save for the fact they were all pharaohs during their respective time periods. Sensing no actual danger I decided to write my name inside the book as well just for fun. I put the notebook down tired from racking my brain so long and tried to get some sleep.

When I awoke the next morning in my hotel room there was a strange briefcase sitting on my dining table which I was certain was not there the night before. I checked my windows and door but found no sign of tampering before creeping toward the mysterious briefcase. On it was an envelope with my name. As I opened it there was a map of the desert marked with a small X and a single note that wrote: spend it wisely and your dreams will come true. Confused, I carefully opened the briefcase and inside I found it was filled with money. After counting it all I realized there was $20,000 in total.

A feeling told me to check the notebook. My name was in gold lettering and I began to believe I actually found the Book of the Dead. I picked up the note and map again rereading and studying it over wondering what should be the next step. I deciphered the location of the X which seemed to be in the middle of the desert in the middle of nowhere. At that point I came to the conclusion that if by the grace of the gods I was given this chance I was going to use it.

The next three years were spent making countless discoveries all the while my fame and fortune continued to grow. I became a world renowned and respected member of the adventurer and archeological societies respectively. Finally when I thought I had reached the pinnacle of the mountain I climbed for so long my true wish was granted. One day I received a call from my agent stating that another well known adventurer wished to speak with me.

My father wanted to schedule an interview with me both off and on camera. The night before I was scheduled to meet my father he had called me personally, and we talked for a few hours. After we hung up I was so excited to finally see him face to face, I simply couldn't get to sleep. Suddenly a soft thud breaks me free from my trance and I search my room to see where it had come from. Laying on my dining room table is the black notebook I had found in the ruins of King Tut so long ago. Believed to be the Book of the Dead and the reason why my life has become so perfect.

I open the book and realize my name has changed from the golden glow to a scarlet red. At that same moment a low laugh reverberates throughout the room. It sounds like the laugh of a small child and it begins to fill the room completely. I slam the notebook shut and attempt to toss it in the fireplace, however the book doesn't burn. Rather the flames die down around it leaving the book untouched.

Once again the childlike laugh fills the room and suddenly I feel a strange sensation fill over me. I feel my body like it's melting into nothing. I try to scream but no sound comes out all the while the child's laughter grows louder and louder. Suddenly it is not the laughter of a small child but has grown in depth to the laughter of a grown man. I realize that it is my own laughter that I hear, but that is impossible as I know I'm not laughing.

Suddenly I realize I can't speak, move my body, even breathing seems to be ineffective. The only thing I can do is think and in a way sense rather than see, as my vision is the last to go, the environment around me. I find myself facing toward the ceiling and all of a sudden I'm being lifted into the air and put gently down again. All of a sudden I can tell there is someone in front of me but the sight is impossible. The person looming in front of me is a spitting image of myself down to the clothes I was wearing that night.

I try to scream again but to no avail. Any screams are all in my mind with no physical sound to carry them. My sudden clone begins to laugh hysterically again looking down at me. When he finally begins to calm down he just looks at me with excitement in his eyes and explains. He states he is the child king Tutankahman and that he was stuck within the Book of the Dead all these years.

He continues to explain that the book was a gift from the Lord of the Underworld Anubis but that there was a catch. When the dreams of those who write their names within the book have been achieved their souls are given as payment to Anubis. The only way for them to be able to become free once more is if a willing subject signs their name inside of the book and their dreams come true. Suddenly the words etched into the doorway of King Tut tomb comes to mind. Words I was foolish enough to ignore at the time and say I was willing to pay any price for the fame and fortune I acquired to this point.

King Tut explained the same had happened to the others whose names were written within. His soul had been sucked into the book once he was given the opportunity at finding true friendship which was why he was sucked in so young. Here he was alive once again and wearing my face able to do anything he wishes while I'm stuck within the pages of a black notebook.

He told me not to worry he was sure someone would come along in a few millennia and the same would happen once again. When that day comes I'll be free to walk the earth as I wish but until then he apologized with a not so sympathetic face. He proceeded to open a hole in the floorboards and place me inside. He smiled and said not to worry my time will come, and with that he covered the floorboards once again leaving me in perpetual darkness.

I'm not sure how much time has passed at this point. Perhaps it has been days, months, years even that I have laid here undiscovered. I thought I would go mad within these pages but strangely enough it all feels like a terrible nightmare. Suddenly I can feel light and hands picking me up from the dark. Perhaps this someone will write their name in this book as well and have all their dreams come true. Then maybe I'll be free once more and they will spend countless years within these rustled pages. After all great fortune must come with a great price.