Simon, a Sokoke of considerable intelligence, affection, and energy, had always felt a bit out of place in his suburban home. He had a peculiar fondness for shiny objects, a tendency to sit in a regal manner, and an inexplicable ability to understand hieroglyphics.

One day, while Simon was lounging on his favorite sunlit windowsill, he noticed a peculiar beetle crawling on the outside of the glass. It was a scarab, a creature he had seen countless times in his dreams, often accompanied by towering pyramids and a sense of immense power.

Intrigued, Simon leapt from the windowsill and dashed outside, following the beetle as it scuttled across the garden. It led him to a small, unassuming rock. Simon, with his feline curiosity piqued, pawed at the rock, revealing a hidden compartment beneath. Inside was a small, golden amulet, shaped like a cat and inscribed with ancient hieroglyphics.

Simon, being a Sokoke of considerable intelligence, recognized the hieroglyphics as a name – his name, or rather, the name of his previous life: Pharaoh Nefertimon. The memories flooded back in a wave of sand and sun. He remembered the towering pyramids, the adoring subjects, the power that had once been his.

He also remembered the curse. The curse that had turned him into a cat, to live out his days until he could reclaim his amulet and his throne.

Simon, being a Sokoke of considerable affection, was torn. He loved his human, with her gentle strokes and endless supply of tuna. But he also yearned for his past life, for the power and respect he had once commanded.

Simon, being a Sokoke of considerable energy, decided to do something about it. He picked up the amulet in his mouth and trotted back to the house. His human was sitting on the couch, engrossed in a documentary about ancient Egypt.

Simon leapt onto her lap, dropping the amulet onto her chest. She looked down in surprise, then picked up the amulet, examining it closely.

“This looks like…no, it couldn’t be,” she murmured, reaching for her phone. She snapped a picture of the amulet and sent it to her friend, an Egyptologist.

While she waited for a response, Simon curled up on her lap, purring contentedly. He had made his choice. He would stay with his human, live out his days as a cat. But he would also reclaim his past, reclaim the power that had once been his.

His human’s phone buzzed. She picked it up, reading the message aloud. “This is incredible,” she said. “This amulet belonged to a pharaoh named Nefertimon. He was said to have been turned into a cat by a curse, to live out his days until he could reclaim his amulet and his throne.”

Simon purred louder, a smug smile on his feline face. He may be a cat in this life, but he was still a pharaoh at heart. And now, he had the best of both worlds. He had his human, his tuna, and his power.

And so, Simon the Sokoke lived out his days, a cat with the soul of a pharaoh. He ruled his suburban kingdom with a gentle paw, always remembering his past life, but never yearning for it. After all, who needs a pyramid when you have a perfectly good sunlit windowsill?