



Paul
sat up late in the relative cool of the evening and studied the
rubbing of the stone plug. In the flickering light of his kerosene
lamps, more fervently than on the actual slab of basalt, the
figures leapt out at him. They were so real—so clear. Much more
realistic than most of the Egyptian art of the period in which
Audrey placed the structure.
The
beauty of the women who sat on the intricately carved thrones
was incredible. They looked like two beings turned out of the
same mold—twins perhaps. The only difference between them
Paul discerned was the slight smile of the woman on the left and
the obvious frown of the woman on the right. Interestingly, the
smile of the woman on the left was as open as the frown of the
woman on the right was secretive. And though the similarity of the
faces was obvious, that slight difference of expression gave
them two entirely different personalities.
Paul
could understand why the ancients had made a deity of such
beauty.