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Getting out of his sarcophagus was a blessing from the Gods for Akmenrah, after so long being trapped inside it, unable to breath and screaming his throat raw each night. And he believed it was all thanks to Larry Daley, the Guardian of Brooklyn.
However, old fears still lingered at the back of the Pharaoh’s mind. The thought of doing something that would upset Larry meaning he would realise that the young Pharaoh was better off left in the confined space of his sarcophagus.
Akmenrah was once again mulling over these feelings as himself and the Guardian of Brooklyn walked back to the Egyptian exhibit, the summer meaning he had less time out of his he’ll then inside.
“ Thank you once again for letting me out again Guardian, I will never be able to repay that debt” the pharaoh recited, even though it had been months that he had first been freed.
“ Ahk, how many times do I have to say this? You won’t ever have to pay a debt to me as you don’t owe me any, and I will always let you out whilst I work here, and I’ll make sure whoever comes after me will aswell.” Larry told him, a fond smile on his features heading Ahkmenrah’s usual politeness.
They continued with the small talk as Ahkmerah got it no his sarcophagus once again. As Larry was about to replace the lid just before the sun rose he heard the quickening breathes of the pharaoh, however before he could ask what was wrong the sun rose and the breathing cut off fully.
Larry knew Ahk had a problem with enclosed spaces and it wasn’t a wonder why. Being stuck in a sarcophagus with no way out for over 50 years would be no where near pleasant. He just didn’t no how to help.
…
By the next shift Larry had formulated 3 ideas to help the Pharaoh. The first idea would occur just before the sun set. The second would be during the night if the pharaoh wanted and the last would happen just after sunrise.
So a few minutes before the sun set, very late as it was summer, Larry headed to the Pharaoh’s sarcophagus and tipped the lid off so Ahk wouldn’t have to be confined as he woke up.
Just as the sun set the mummy sat bolt up right in shock as he took of his wrappings from his face.
“The lids off.” It was stated just as a fact but Larry answered him anyway.
“ I thought it may be easier if I got the lid off before you smash your head into it by accident each night.” He used the white lie as he knew that Ahk hated talking about his so called weaknesses (even though his claustrophobia is in no way a weakness).
“ Oh, thank you Guardian, that is much appreciated” Ahk replied grinning at Larry.
“Ah don’t mention it, and remember it’s Larry not Guardian.” He replied, returning the smile. “Also if you wanted I had an activity I thought we could try tonight? It does mean going up to the roof though.”
“I’m sure whatever you have planned would be good ,Guar- Larry”
“Awesome, we’ll I’ll wait by the stairs up as you get dressed”
…
Once they were both on the flat part of the roof, sitting in the remanence of warm summer air keeping them warm watching as the last parts of the sun’s glow reduced Larry finally talked as to why they were up there.
“I know that you don’t do well in confined spaces”, in the corner of his eye he saw Ahk stiffen, “ and we don’t have to talk about that right now if you don’t want to, but I thought star gazing might help, I found it calming when I didn’t have a a steady job to just get away and look elsewhere. So I thought you may want to try. We can go back into the museum whenever you want.”
“ Thank you Larry, but don’t you need to keep an eye on the museum? We can go inside if I’m causing you to miss out from your duties.”
“it’s nothing to worry about, I asked Teddy to look after it for tonight.”
After that they fell into a comfortable silence as they watched some stars begin to flicker to visibility. In the end they spent all night up on the roof. Occasionally making small talk or Larry pointing out some of the constatations he knew.
…
“Thank you for tonight Larry, it was nice ti get away from everything. Sometimes it can be a bit crowded.” The Pharaoh said graciously.
“No worries Ahk, I’ll see you tonight. He said as Ahk climbed into the sarcophagus. Now it was time for the third idea: to wait till after sunrise to put the lid back in place and make sure Ahk new he would be able to move freely in his sarcophagus without the lid, all the way up till sunrise. “Also Ahk?”
“Yes?”
“Just so you know I won’t replace the lid until after sunrise again and it will be off before sunset again tonight.” And if Larry heard a happy tearful sniffle at this, he wasn’t going to mention it. He was just glad he found some way to help the young Pharaoh. His conditions were far from perfect but Larry would be there if he ever wanted to talk or asked for help.