THE PRESENT

The clock had already struck 12 and everyone in the house were dozing off. I heard someone trying to unlock the door. Was it real or hallucination? I asked the question to myself. After a few minutes, the door was opened and I saw a big shadow with a sack entering the house. It was the same child kidnapper whom mom always used to mention. The shadow grew bigger as it approached me. Frightened to death, I covered my face with the blanket and closed my eyes tight. A few minutes later, someone pulled my blanket. I was freaked out and started to scream. Seeing me screaming, he took a candy from his pocket and plunged it into my mouth. I switched on the bedside night lamp. The light revealed the kidnapper's true identity. It was "Santa Claus".

An excitement took over me and I started to jump on my bed. 

"HO! HO! HO!" he laughed and hugged me to calm my nerves.

"I have got a present for you", he said and started searching his sack.

He took a minute to search and found the present from his sack.

I jumped in joy again, this time trying to catch the present. My hands caught hold of Santa’s white beard and all of a sudden, it came off. I was shell-shocked and started to scream. The Santa covered my mouth with his hand and requested me to calm down. Then, the Santa revealed his true identity. It was “My Grandfather”. 

"HO! HO! HO!", he laughed like Santa Claus. 

I too joined his laughter.

After a few minutes of laughter, he asked me to open the present.

I opened it. It was a story book.

“Can you read it out for me?” I requested him.

“It’s my pleasure, Son” he rejoiced and started to read.

"The Cursed Mummy"

Mr. Bones, an archaeologist, was doing an excavation near Egypt with his team. After thirteen days of research, they found nothing except few old coins, pots and a broken vase. He was upset as his mission to find the lost coffin of the pharaoh was about to fail. A sense of defeat started to rule his mind. With a dejected face, he was digging the earth. His eyes caught attention of a green color stone. He speeded up the process and no sooner he found a big emerald stone whose reflection shot sky high. On seeing its reflection, the whole crew assembled near the stone and started to dig. As soon as they finished, they found the lost coffin of a pharaoh. The coffin was covered in gold and an emerald was placed at the heart of it. Either side of the coffin, there were some interesting carvings. 

On finding the coffin, the whole crew celebrated the success of their mission that evening. 

“To Mr. Bones!”, one of the crew member raised a toast.

For which he smiled shyly and replied,

“To our mission!!”, he raised a toast.

The reflection from the emerald caught his attention. While everyone was tasting the success of their mission, Mr. Bones left the place to his camp. He was curious about the reflection from the emerald. He started walking around the coffin with his glass of wine. On the coffin, there was a picture of two men holding the emerald stone. On either end of the coffin, there were hearts connected to each men. All of a sudden, his mind started to decode the carvings. He took a piece of paper and started to decode the carvings. After hours of research, he decoded the hidden message written in the coffin. 

The emerald didn’t stop reflecting. He took a chisel and a hammer from his kit and started trying to take the emerald out. As he was chiseling, the light from the emerald filled the pictures carved in the coffin and suddenly, the Mummy woke up from its coffin.

It took the emerald from the coffin and placed a condition to Mr. Bones.

"I was cursed with an immortal life. Anyone who performs last ritual for me can have this stone".

Agreeing to the condition placed by the Mummy, Mr. Bones decided to perform the last ritual for the Mummy. As a part of the ritual, the Mummy gave the stone to Mr. Bones. As soon as Mr. Bones got the stone, both of their souls switched. The Mummy’s curse was finally broken and Mr. Bones was cursed to be the Mummy trapped inside the coffin.

The Mummy took a piece of paper near the coffin and started to read. It was the message decoded by Mr. Bones. As soon as he read, he smiled viciously.

It said:

“It is hard for a greedy eye to have a leal heart”

The story ended.

"Grandpa! Are mummies real?", I raised a question. 

To which he nodded with a vibrant smile.

His vibrant smile turned vicious when the excavation picture in the wall caught his attention.

His vicious smile and the excavation picture answered the kid’s question.

“Mr. Bones is lying in the coffin as the cursed Mummy and the cursed Mummy is living as Mr. Bones… in THE PRESENT.”