پدر مونیکا صحبت میکنه

CHAPTER SIX

Monica’s Father Speaks

Yvonne drove Monica back to the Cairo gift shop so she could return the blue scarab to the gypsy woman. She did not want the necklace after that night at Professor Lloyd’s. Her parents had both died on a boating holiday and hearing their voices again had really frightened her.

They parked the car near what they thought was the shop’s window. The window was old and dirty. There was no sign with Cairo written on it. The door had wooden boards in front of it.

“I think it was here.”

Yvonne looked around the street to see if they had made a mistake. Monica wiped the dust off one of the store windows with a tissue so she could see inside. The inside had pieces of wood hanging from the ceiling. There were old boards, stones and dirt all over the floor. It looked as if it hadn’t been used for a long time. Then, Monica saw it. Hanging from the ceiling, there was one of the brightly coloured paper animals. It was a bright blue scarab. Monica ran to the car.

“Let’s get out of here.”

“What’s wrong? What’s happened?”

Yvonne got in the car, but Monica couldn’t tell her what happened.

“Just drive me to the university. I’m not keeping this scarab.”

“What are you going to do with it?”

“Give it to Professor Lloyd.”

Yvonne left Monica at the university, where Professor Lloyd had an office on the top floor of the library. Monica knocked on the door.

“Yes?”

Monica opened the door.

“Professor Lloyd?”

“Monica, my dear! Come in. Come in.”

Monica remembered the woman in the shop saying something similar. She took the necklace out of her bag and put it on the professor’s desk. The sun was shining through the window. It hit the scarab. When Professor Lloyd spoke, he had Monica’s father’s voice.

“Monica, don’t be afraid.”

Monica covered her mouth with her hands.

“It’s okay, dear. I need to talk to you. I know I was angry at you for not going with us on that boating trip, but you mustn’t feel bad about it. You lived. Now we need your help. Keep the necklace. Live the best life possible. That will help us now.”

The professor stopped talking, then he walked to the window. Monica sat looking at the scarab. She wasn’t frightened. In fact, she felt very happy and calm.

“What does it mean, Professor?”

He did not turn to look at her. He spoke with his own voice this time.

“If you live a good life, you forgive others and try to help those you can. This has a great effect, because it shows that you have learned something from other people’s lives. By doing this you will be able to teach others who will live after you have died.”

She put the scarab around her neck. The professor continued.

“The fact that you were chosen to wear the scarab means you can do more than others. You can help many.”

“Really, Professor? But how can this be done?”

“We all have people we have loved and who are now dead. We want their lives to be judged fairly.”

The professor never turned away from the window. Before Monica left, he said two more words to her.

“Thank you.”