Mesopotamian Travels

    The last thing I remembered was looking into the old telephone box from the 1970’s at a museum.  The next thing I knew I was in a whole different kind of world, with all different smells,sights,and noises. When I asked someone what this strange place was called he said I was in Mesopotamia. I started to walk along to find out more about this place they called Mesopotamia.

    It looked as if people were celebrating, for what I did not know. It did not look as if anything worth celebrating had come to pass. Everyone was bustling around carrying crates upon crates of goods. I walked up to a grimy looking person and asked what all the hype was about. He said that a trade ship had just come in and they were all celebrating the good things that had come with it.

    Everything had a very distinct smell. There was a strong aroma of fish.  Since I was by the water that wasn’t a very big surprise. There was also a pungent odor of hot and sticky bodies all very close together. There was also a faint sweet smell of flowers which I saw were a very vibrant purple, growing near the shore.

    I went down to the water planning to pick a couple of the pretty flowers. When I started walking I noticed that I had no shoes on. The grass felt like silk between my toes and when I picked the flowers and felt the petals they were like velvet running between my fingers. I looked for a place to put the flowers and found a pocket in my dress. As my hands grazed over the pocket I felt that it was a rough fabric. I felt drawn over to the silvery water. I dipped my fingers into the water and felt it run over my fingers as it followed the current.

    When I pulled my hand out I licked my finger to tell if it was saltwater or freshwater. It tasted very salty, like sea water. I walked back up to see what the merchants were trying to sell. I found someone selling freshly baked bread It smelled so good that I searched my pockets for money, but found instead a small bag of grain. I went up to the merchant and asked if it was a fair trade he didn’t say anything but handed me the bread and turned to the next trader. The bread tasted so good, It may have been the  best thing I had ever eaten. It tasted like heaven on a cloud of flour.

    When I came out of my daze from the delicious bread I heard lots of odd language that I didn't understand. It sounded like arguing over things to trade, but I wasn't fully sure if that’s what they were talking about. The splashes in the ocean from the many fish were audible from just a few feet away. Everything was so loud now that I was alert. People kept pushing everyone aside to get to the next vendor. Then before I knew what was coming someone knocked me down the small hill that led to the sea’s edge.

    With my face so close to the water I could see all the glistening things at the bottom, then I saw a blue top that faintly said telephone box. Maybe it was a way out and back to the museum, why else would it be there? I dove into the water when no one was looking. The last thing I saw before I was back in the museum was all the fish swimming furiously away from the box as I opened the door. And just like that I was back at the museum staring at the mysterious telephone box.