As soon as they returned from France, Topaz headed straight to her favorite tattoo artist. Catching that tiny glimpse of Tabitha at the graveyard had brought back such memories. She chose a broken heart as her memory of the trip, and wondered if she would ever find her mysterious purple-haired woman.
The jangle of her cell phone brought her back from her reverie. She sighed as she answered her agent.
"So soon? I just got back from the job in France. Now you want me to attend an art show in China? Okay, okay. You're right. It sounds like a good opportunity to expand my customer base. When do I leave?"
Topaz decided to leave Rose and Coral in the care of their grandfather, so they wouldn't miss any more school. He was getting on in years, but was still hale and hearty, at 110. Rose took the news well - a little too well, as far as Topaz was concerned. Pascal had just arrived for his exchange student program, and Topaz hoped her dad could keep the girls in line while she was gone.
The art show didn't take much of her time, and Topaz spent her spare hours engaged in her favorite activity. She only had one more tomb to explore to achieve her lifetime wish, to explore six tombs in each of the foreign locations she'd visited. This last tomb was particularly rough, with multiple traps to foil her efforts.
And at the end, not one, but two ancient mummies lumbered toward her, determined to stop her from reaching her goal.
She had fought mummies before, in Egypt, and wasn't worried. She'd read about mummy curses, but she had dismissed them as tales to discourage tourists. But she was wrong. She had achieved her lifetime wish, but at what a cost. Cursed! She left China worried and confused. How had this happened to her, and how could she fix it?
Meanwhile, back in Bridgeport, The girls were living it up. Rose was taking dance at the arts school downtown, and loved practicing her new moves. And Coral was all into sports, and was excited about the new kid on her team.
It seems he, too, was an exchange student, and shared an apartment with Pascal and two other boys. Most days after school, the girls would hang out there - working on homework was the excuse they made to their grandfather.
Love soon blossomed between Rose and Pascal...
...and between Coral and Cosmo.
Once home from China, Topaz's new ink betrayed her dark thoughts - an image of none other than the Grim Reaper himself.
And shortly thereafter, which was to her an ominous foreboding, she met him in person, as he finally came to collect Coal. He had lived to the amazing age of 113, which some attributed to his obsession with natural foods; but others whispered that it was due to secrets he had discovered during his work at the science lab, and called him 'mad scientist'. Whatever was whispered about him, no one denied that the community garden he had built was an awesome contribution to the city of Bridgeport.
After much research and thought, Topaz determined that if she was to survive the mummy's curse, she must return to Egypt at once. Perhaps someone there could guide her - perhaps she would even be able to locate her mystery woman. She gathered her brother Agate's family together to break the news to them. She tried to make them smile for a photo, but it seems they were too shocked to accommodate. She marveled again at how he and Jojo had managed to raise so many wonderful kids.
Her daughters were devastated as well - and with no grandpa to watch them, and with the seriousness of the curse, they would have to accompany Topaz on her quest.
Rose took Pascal to Eugi's for one last date before she left for who knows how long. She was worried about her mom, but not happy about being made to up and leave in the middle of a school year.
She showed off the latest dances she had learned at school. She was pretty sure she wouldn't be dancing again for a long time. Pascal, of course, couldn't take his eyes off her.
As their last evening drew to a close, she couldn't keep up the pretense any longer.
"Oh, Pascal. I'm going to miss you so much. I don't wanna leave."
"I am going to miss you too, mon amour. But your mama needs you right now. I'll be waiting for you when you return."
After one last kiss, they said goodbye, and the next morning, she and Coral and Topaz drove to the airport for the long flight to Al Simhara.
Topaz rented a small house for their stay. She didn't know how long her search would take, and the base camp was no place for two teenage girls.
The first thing Topaz insisted on doing, was to make the long trek out to Tabitha's oasis. At first Topaz had a hard time remembering the way; it had been such a long time ago - almost eighteen years. But after a few wrong turns and dead ends, they found it. Topaz was chagrined to see that it was unoccupied. Incense was burning on the nightstand however, sending out tendrils of intozicating perfume. The scent immediately brought Topaz back to the magical night she had spent here, the night her girls were conceived.
They waited for hours for Tabitha to return, but as night fell there was still now sign of her, so they reluctantly made their way back over the dunes to their little rental house.
While Topaz set out on her quest for a cure, Rose and Coral had to find ways to keep themselves busy. Electrical power was sporadic at best, and there was no internet connection at all, so they felt completely cut off from their normal life.
Coral spent her time jogging, and generally keeping fit for the career in sports that she wanted. Rose was at loose ends until she discovered a small herd of wild horses. She still wished for a horse of her own, but didn't see how that would ever be possible. She smiled to herself when she remembered all the times she tried to convince her mom, that a horse could live quite comfortably in their tiny yard in the middle of the city.
As for Topaz, she spent her time searching. But the days stretched out to a week, and she was still no closer to a cure for her curse. She forced herself to explore a few obscure ruins, but for the first time in her life, her heart just wasn't in it. The weakening effects of the curse were becoming more obvious as the days passed. Time was running out.
One day, for some reason, she was drawn to the small graveyard just outside the village. The last time she had caught a glimpse of Tabitha, was at the graveyard France. Maybe.. just maybe..Topaz glanced around. The place seemed empty, except for the ancient gravestone. Disappointed yet again, she turned to leave.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a flash of purple among the branched of a nearby hedge.
Tabitha slowly closed the distanced between. She stopped a few feet away, and stared into Topaz' eyes with a slight smile playing about her lips. Finally she spoke.
"After all these years, you are still searching. I thought the children would be enough, that they would teach what love, and true commitment is. But I was wrong. It goes much deeper with you, doesn't it. Why are you so afraid of love? Perhaps this curse was put upon you for a reason. If you wish to be cured, you must go to the Great Sphinx, and ask. But be warned, unless you can cast out all fear, even fear of love, you will fail. For your sake, and mine as well, I hope you succeed."
She smiled briefly - a sad, hopeful smile. And then, she melted into the bushes once more, and was gone. Topaz stared after her in consternation. Go to the Sphinx? She could do that, no problem. But the second part? How could she fix that? For in that moment, she realized that Tabitha was right. She had deep commitment issues. She was truly afraid of love.
Topaz was quite familiar with the traps and puzzles contained in the Sphinx, having fought her way past them years ago, the last time she had come to Egypt. This time the journey seemed even longer than before, and she felt exhausted and old by the time she stood before the Soulpeace statue once more.
She was not a praying woman, and didn't quite know how to proceed at first. But eventually she settled in before the statue in a meditative pose, and tried to clear her mind. And slowly, imperceptibly at first, she felt something deep inside her begin to melt - that hard place, that had been there all her life, the private place she never let anyone into, not her daughters, not Tabitha, not even Eva. And as it melted, she felt the curse begin to lift.
Topaz raced back to the house. She knew now what she had to do. But first there was time for a small birthday party, and a celebration of the lifting of the curse.
Everyone was in a great mood. Rose didn't even mind that much that she couldn't have a huge party with her friends. Mom was safe, and she and Coral were now all grown up. That was really something to celebrate.
After the party, they made the long trek across the desert sand to Tabitha's oasis. She came running out to greet them as they walked up.
At first her eyes were only on Topaz, but she stopped suddenly as she passed Rose. She quirked an eyebrow, and gave her a strange quizzical look.
"Hmmm.. interesting. Yes. You have the gift. Use it wisely, or it will use you."
Rose just stared, mouth agape. She was about to ask what this so call 'gift' was, but Tabitha had already turned her attention back to Topaz.
"Welcome home, my love."
Rose and Coral watched as the two turned and walked hand in hand back toward Tabitha's desert abode, oblivious to anything but each other.
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