Queenbastet sat looking out over the vast expanse of shimmering sand before
her. It was hot in the desert, but this was one of her favourite places to go.
As always, she heard the strange sound. Aishas have good ears and can hear things
others can't. But what was strange was that no one else could hear the sounds
she could hear.
She remembered her first trip to the desert. It was on the day she was born.
She was a little yellow Aisha and was painted as a desert Aisha right after
she hatched. Her owner bought her some desert food and took her to pick out
a pet of her own. Of course she wanted a Khnum. As she left the pet shop, she
noticed the owner Peopatra looking sadly outside. She wondered what the Peophin
was thinking.
As she left the shop she heard the sound. She stopped and listened, her many
ears turning this way and that. Many times afterwards she would stop at this
place and listen. She could hear music, always beautiful, but faint. It seemed
to float in the air as she watched it shimmer with heat. She could never tell
from which direction it came. In time her owner bought her a flute, and sometimes
she would try to recreate the song she heard. But she couldn't get the song
right. She'd go back to the desert, stop and listen, but never could get the
song right as she heard it.
This day she decided to bring her flute to the desert with her. She would
listen closely and play along she thought. So standing outside of the pet pet
shop, she got out her flute. But before she heard the music she heard a voice
whisper.
"Shifting Shifting Sands of Time. Bring the One I Long to Find."
She didn't know what to think, so she began to play on her flute the song she
had been hearing. Just then, Peopatra the Peophin who was the shopkeeper, walked
out of the shop (It isn't easy for a Peophin to walk on sand).
"That song! You played the Sand's Song! You are the one!"
"Then one what?"
"Poor Peopatra. I didn't know you were under a curse. I'll help you if I can,
but I don't know what to do."
"What is your name?" Peopatra asked.
"Queenbastet. But you can call me Bastet. I am not really a queen, except in
my owner's eyes."
"Aw, that is a humble thing to say," Peopatra said. "I was cursed because I
too have a noble name. But unlike you, I was vain. I thought I was special,
and bragged about it. I once lived in a beautiful stream. Now I am cursed to
live in the hot dry desert."
Queenbastet thought for a moment and said "It must be terrible uncomfortable
for a Peophin to be in the desert. But what is the Sand's Song, and what does
it have to do with the curse?"
"The Sand's Song is very special. Few can hear it, though it is in the air
all around them. Everything has a song of it's own and those songs have power.
Who knows what power the sands song has? That is for you to discover."
"So you know the Sand's Song, but it is of no use to you? Then how can I help
you?" Queenbastet asked.
"I have heard the sound of the Sand's Song many times myself, so I know the
song. But I need you to hear another song for me. You see, I was once the Protector
of the Stream. I knew it's song. None of the other Peophins could hear the song.
So I thought I was special. I had the name of a Queen and a special ability,
but no kindness for others. In time, I couldn't hear the song anymore. Maybe
because I stopped listening... or caring. The stream began to dry up. The other
Peophins asked me to play the Streams Song, but I could not remember it. So
the stream dried up. The other Peophins had to find a new home, but they did
not let me come with them. They told me to go to the desert. They are my elders
and are wise, so I did as they said, knowing one day I'd get to go home. As
I was walking in the desert I found a Wadjet and began to care for it. I eventually
became the pet pet shopkeeper. But I am sure you know that story already. If
you want to read it it is in the Neopedia
Now you are here, and you the only one who can help me. You are the only one
I have met who can hear the songs too."
Queenbastet wondered what to say but the words seemed to come to her. "You
have been in the desert a long time now, and have spent time alone. You have
had some quiet time to think and to listen. So you have heard the Sand's song,
which is a rare thing for a Peophin to hear. Now you are sorry for what you
have done. Maybe it is time to return to your stream and listen. If you are
patient I am sure you can hear the song again."
"You think so? Perhaps I can go back? But what if the stream is still dry?"
"Maybe it is a small trickle, but maybe it will be enough for you to hear the
song."
So Peopatra left her shop and returned to where the steam had been. Like Bastet
had said, there appeared to be a small trickle. But she didn't hear anything.
"I don't hear anything. I am really trying, but all I hear is the wind, the
sounds of the forest, insects, but not the song."
Bastet listened closely, she too heard the sounds of the forest, but faintly
heard a drip. The drip seemed to play a melody as she listened. She got out
her flute and began to play what she heard. It wasn't much, just a few notes.
As she played she noticed a bit more water appear in the stream, and the song
grew louder.
"I hear the song! I hear the Stream!" Peopatra shouted. She jumped into the
water. "Awwwwww! It feels so good to be back!" she said as she sang along with
the water. As she did the stream grew bigger. "I love the stream, I love the
water and I will never take it for granted again."
Peopatra splashed around for a while, then sat on the rocks thinking. She suddenly
missed something. The PetPets! Who would feed them? Who would sell them? They'd
be all alone without her. She had to go back to the desert! But why would she
go back? She didn't have to did she? But she knew... she was Peopatra
the Pet Pet shop keeper. That was who she was now, who she had become. And perhaps
it wasn't a curse after all.
The End | 
