In the shadows of Cairo's towering buildings and under the moonlight, a haunting tale begins. Our protagonist was not someone extraordinary; his name was Johnathan Smith – an ordinary man with an unremarkable life. Yet one day, everything changed when he found himself caught up in ancient Egyptian lore.
One evening after work, while walking home alone, he stumbled upon a small antique store tucked away between two tall buildings. The old wooden sign read "Antiques from the Pharaohs". The shop door creaked open as if inviting him inside.
The dimly lit store was filled with curiosities and treasures that had been buried for centuries. There were mummies, artifacts, jewelry, sculptures, papyrus scrolls - all speaking volumes about their time-forgotten past.
Among these items was a glass display cabinet full of old dolls dressed in elaborate Egyptian costumes. Each doll seemed to be frozen in an eternal pose, each face bearing the same expression of serenity and peace. But something seemed off; they all had shiny black eyes that seemed to follow him as he moved around the store.
A sinister thought crossed his mind - what if these were not just lifeless dolls but relics with spirits attached? He decided to take one home, convinced it would make a perfect gift for his wife. She loved collecting antiques and had always wanted an Egyptian artifact.
He chose the smallest doll, wrapped her carefully in tissue paper, and left the store feeling pleased with himself. As soon as he reached home, he placed the mysterious doll on the table near their bed.
That night, while his wife slept peacefully beside him, Johnathan found himself wide awake, staring at the inanimate doll. Suddenly, it began to stir, its eyes flashing with an unnatural glow. Its head turned slowly as if looking directly into his soul. He screamed, waking up his wife who rushed to see what was wrong.
She noticed nothing amiss but when she looked at Johnathan's face, she could see the terror written all over it. From that day forward, strange events began happening around them – mysterious sounds coming from empty rooms, footsteps echoing through abandoned corridors of their house, doors opening and closing on their own accord.
Fear consumed them both until one night when they couldn’t take it anymore. They decided to return the doll to the antique store where Johnathan had found it. But upon reaching there, they realized that the shop was closed down! No sign of its existence anywhere could be found.
The next day, they decided to consult a local historian who told them that cursed items like these usually disappear into thin air once their spirits have been released or awakened by ignorant people like him and his wife. However, he also warned them about how some entities might remain attached for years until their anger dissipated through rituals performed by those knowledgeable in the ancient arts of magic.
Overwhelmed with fear but determined to get rid of the doll that had brought so much suffering into their lives, Johnathan took his wife back to the abandoned antique store. There they found several broken glass display cabinets containing empty spaces where once stood the enchanted Egyptian dolls. They searched every corner of the dark and dusty room until finally coming across a small crack in one of the cabinets.
With trembling hands, Johnathan opened it only to find an old scroll inside along with another doll – identical to the one he had purchased from the store weeks ago! He gasped as recognition dawned upon him - this must be what he had seen at night; a living doll with unblinking eyes and eerie smile.
The historian’s words echoed in his mind again: "Some entities may remain attached for years until their anger dissipates." Johnathan decided to burn the scroll immediately before attempting anything else. As he lit a match, something strange happened - the doll came alive! She rushed towards him with such speed that he barely managed to avoid getting hit by her.
Terrified beyond measure, he ran out of the shop, leaving everything behind including his wife who stood paralyzed in fear outside the door. As they ran away from that dreadful place, both of them could hear a deafening roar behind them - one last attempt by the doll to stop them.
Johnathan and his wife never went back to their house again after that fateful night. Instead, they moved into an old apartment in another part of Cairo, hoping to escape from whatever had followed them home from ancient Egypt.