by Kingsley Guy
I shuddered as I listened to Ramesses’ harrowing tale. I already had lost one son and could not have borne the anguish of losing another. Silently, I thanked the lion goddess for keeping Ramesses alive so I could later heal him.
“Sekhmet was with Father, too,” Ramesses continued. “He led the army into battle bravely. We regained much of our land. Someday we’ll march eastward again to take back the rest.”
“Where is your father now?”
“At the Great Temple of Amun, giving thanks to the gods for my life and our victory against the Hittites, and asking them to save you. I’ll go to the temple and tell him you have awakened.”
“First seek out a crippled old woman named Itet.”
“Is she the wretch staying in the palace?”
“Yes. Have you met?”
“I’ve seen Nebet waiting on her, but we haven’t spoken. Why is she here?”
“Do you remember the story I told you of the woman who interpreted my dream as I journeyed to Thebes to join your father as his wife?”
“Of course.”
“Itet is that woman. The other evening, she interpreted another of my dreams, which enabled me to heal you. Don’t be misled by Itet’s appearance, for she is divine. Thank Itet, then ask her to come here.”
Ramesses gave me a hug. “I will, Mother. Now get some rest.”
After a while, Itet entered the room, walking with a cane and leaning on Nebet.
“Why do you struggle so?” I asked. “The soldiers would have carried you here in a chair as they did before.”
“I’m a simple woman, My Lady. I prefer to walk and stand before you so I can give Egypt’s Queen a proper bow.”
Itet bent from the waist as best she could. I nodded to her. “That is sufficient. Now you will sit.”
Nebet helped Itet into the chair, and then retired to a corner of the room.
“Are you being treated well?”
“Like royalty. Your servant has been most kind, and even the young Prince stopped by to thank me and wish me well. He’s a fine lad, and quite polite. You should be proud of him.”
“I am. Because of you he will live to become Pharaoh.”
“I played but a small role in his recovery, My Lady. He owes his life to you, not me.”
“Don’t be so modest, Itet. As a reward, you will live in luxury on the palace grounds for the rest of your life and be treated with the respect you are due.”
A glum expression crossed Itet’s face.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“I’ve enjoyed your hospitality, My Lady, but such a life is not for me. I’m an old woman who soon will receive a gift of peace all the wealth of Egypt cannot purchase. If you insist, I will stay at the palace, but I would prefer to live out my days in my home in Dendera. Friends there will care for me as I pass from the earthly realm.”
Itet’s words humbled me. The splendor of the palace had never brought me happiness. My joy came from my children and the intermittent sense of tranquility brought by the Neters, not from the luxury afforded to me as Queen. Why would Itet be any different?
“As you wish, but there must be something you will accept for your services. Name what you desire.”
Itet thought for a moment. “A fine wooden coffin for my mummy.”
“You will have it, along with a granite sarcophagus and a magnificent tomb. I also will endow ka priests to pray for you throughout the ages. People should know of your greatness and honor you as they do Imhotep.”
“My Lady,” Itet said with shock in her voice. “My name should not be spoken in the same breath with Imhotep’s. The great architect and physician became a god.”
“You, too, are divine. Your gift of interpretation is too great for you to be anything else.”
Itet bowed her head. “If someone else were to tell me this, I would say they misjudge my importance, but I will not argue with a Queen, or question the word of Isis.”
“Give me your hand,” I said. “May the Neters watch over you throughout eternity.”
The love flowing from Itet’s eyes entered my soul.
“Though I’m a crippled old woman whose ugliness causes most people to turn away in disgust, the Neters have always blessed me. May the Neters bless you and your family as well.”
Nebet helped Itet from the chair. My eyes became misty. “This will be our last meeting.”
Itet smiled. “Perhaps in this world, My Lady, but we’ll meet again in the next.”
Nebet left with Itet, but my servant soon returned with mint tea and fish broth. I drank a bit of both, then fell asleep, awakening again at dusk when I felt a presence in the room. To my surprise, Sety sat at my bedside. He spoke softly.
“How do you feel, Tuya?”
“My strength is returning. Are you well?”
“I’m exhausted,” Sety answered. These have been trying times. First I worried Ramesses would die, and then I worried about you.”
“I should think my passing would relieve you of a burden.”
“Don’t speak like that, Tuya. You are a fine Queen and a wonderful mother, who poured her strength into her son without thought of her own life. I should never have doubted you. Ramesses lives because of your … because of Isis’ love and power.”
Sety took my hand and squeezed it. Tears formed in his eyes, and mine. After some moments, he stood, still holding my hand. “We must both rest, Tuya. We will talk more later. Do you need anything?”
“No, but I do have one request of you. Are you aware of the woman named Itet?”
“Yes. Ramesses told me about how she interpreted your dream.”
“She asked only for a wooden coffin for her efforts, but I promised her a granite sarcophagus, a fine tomb and ka priests to pray for her soul. After you are rested, meet with Itet and assure her she will have these things.”
“I will see her now, but what do you want, Tuya?”
The question surprised me. “Why would I want anything?”
“On the day we first met, did you not ask for a temple?”
My heart jumped. “Yes, a temple in which Isis could do her healing work.”
“You will have it. At the new Temple of Osiris being built in Abydos you will hold the status of High Priestess and be depicted on the wall as Isis. The fresco will have you wearing your magnificent wig. I will build another temple for the order of healers over which you will preside. You may name the order after Isis, or call it the Order of Tuya if you prefer.”
A few moments passed before I could speak. “The Order of Isis would be more appropriate.”
“Then that is what it will be. You are the Queen of the Heavens, and you will reign as such, in Abydos and throughout the realm.”
As my husband left the room, I settled back down in bed. “The Divine Pageant is magnificent,” I whispered, then closed my eyes and knew peace.
XXXIV
The next morning, I awoke feeling much stronger, and within three days I was well enough to make the trip to Memphis.
The evening before our departure, Ramesses and I joined Sety in his chambers for wine. After a few sips, my husband addressed our son. “In the morning, you will proceed directly to Memphis in a palace boat to assist in the planning of the great march into the city and the festivities to follow.”
“Perhaps I should go with Ramesses and help him,” I said.
“No, Tuya. Ramesses will do fine, and he’ll have plenty of assistance from my aides. You will accompany me to Memphis. I want to stop in several places, but first in Abydos to see how work on the new Temple of Osiris is progressing. I’d like your advice on the design.”
“I’m honored you would seek it.”
“Who better to consult than the woman with the power of Isis? The story of how you healed Ramesses is spreading quickly. Soon all Egypt will know of it.”
“Perhaps Ramesses should come with us. He’s still weak, and I worry about him.”
Ramesses looked perturbed. “Mother, will you never sto
p treating me like a child? I feel fine.”
“He does seem quite well, Tuya, and I want him to have more responsibility. He must start giving orders and helping me to govern, just as I helped my father.”
“Very well,” I said to Ramesses, “but promise me you won’t exert yourself on your trip down the Nile by trying to harpoon a crocodile or hippopotamus. You need to rest.”
Ramesses fidgeted. “I promise,” he replied in a tone that caused me to wonder how long he would remember his pledge.
The next morning at the river, I bade good-bye to my son and settled into the Queen’s cabin on the Pharaoh’s boat, to enjoy a restful journey myself. The morning after we arrived in Abydos, I donned the ankh with the carnelian and joined Sety on deck. As we stepped onto the quay, a hundred priests bowed.
The High Priest stood ahead of the rest. “My Lord, you honor us by your presence. You honor us as well, My Lady. We’ve heard of how you saved young Prince Ramesses’ life. Your power is great, and we praise you for it.”
I glanced at Sety. In the past, he always looked askance at those who acknowledged my abilities, but today he smiled. “Because of her greatness, my wife will occupy a special place in Abydos. I’ve asked for her help in preparing the new Temple of Osiris. Show us the design.”
Sety and I rode on litters to the old temple. A man stood underneath an open tent nearby, and bowed as we entered. Though elderly, he had a physique as solid as granite.
“This is Outa, the architect,” the High Priest announced. “The Pharaoh wishes to see the plans for the new temple.”
Outa smiled. “The Pharaoh does me a great honor by asking for them.”
He pulled a papyrus roll from a leather cylinder and spread it on a table, anchoring each edge with a stone to prevent the papyrus from curling up again. He pointed to different places on the drawing as he spoke. “People will enter a courtyard here, through a gate in a great pylon. A columned passageway will lead to the holy of holies.”
“The temple design is similar to that of other temples,” Sety noted.
“There’s purpose in this, My Lord. The design and precise measurements evoke the grandeur of the divine.”
“Is there no other way to evoke such grandeur?”
“This method is time-honored.”
“I know, I know, but I want this temple to be different. It won’t be as large as the temples in Thebes, but it must be as magnificent. In ages hence, I want people to marvel at its majesty. What do you say, Tuya?”
Sety’s question caught me by surprise. Unexpectedly, an idea passed through my mind.
“Perhaps grandeur can be evoked through seven chapels side by side, each representing a place in the body where the power of the divine passes between us and the Cosmos,” I said.
Sety raised his eyebrows. “What an intriguing idea, Tuya. Each of the chapels could be dedicated to a different god or goddess, with Osiris’ occupying a special place in the temple. Such a plan would celebrate the unity of the divine.” Sety looked at Outa. “What do you think?”
A sullen expression crossed the architect’s face. The Pharaoh had rejected his work, but he could hardly express disappointment to Egypt’s ruler. “The design would be quite radical, My Lord, but whatever you desire can be accomplished.”
“Good. Draw new plans and send them to me in Memphis. Develop plans, too, for another temple to be built nearby in which my wife and those she chooses can perform healings.”
“Another temple, My Lord?”
“Yes. Tuya’s healing power is divine, and she must have a temple that reflects her nature.” Sety turned to the High Priest. “The Queen and I will take a meal now.”
“Of course, My Lord, but there’s something you might like to see first. Two weeks ago, as workers prepared the ground for the new Temple of Osiris, they came across a ruin as they dug through sand and dirt.”
“A ruin of what?”
“We’re not sure. The stones are much larger than the ones in today’s temples. Outa says the building technique resembles that used in the structures near the Giza Pyramids. He even wonders whether the ruin is as old as the Great Sphinx.”
“Take us to it immediately.”
Sety and I returned to the litters. Masons preparing the first of the stone blocks for the new temple ceased their labors and bowed as we passed. After the bearers set us down, we followed the High Priest by foot into the ruin of collapsed columns and great stones. At first, a chill ran through me, followed quickly by warmth and a sense of peace as I sensed a strange familiarity with my surroundings.
“The ruin does seem very ancient,” Sety observed. “It must have been lost to us during the first of Egypt’s troubled times.”
Suddenly, I had an awareness beyond the scope of my earthly knowledge.
“Yes, the ruin is ancient,” I said. “At this site, Isis assembled the pieces of Osiris’ body and resurrected him.”
“How do you know this, Tuya?”
“I was here when it happened.”
Sety and I wandered through the ruin in different directions, each absorbed in our own thoughts. I turned toward my husband when I heard his voice.
“What is this?”
Sety stared at something that seemed to have been somehow burned into a stone pillar. The High Priest stood near to him. “None of us know, My Lord. I’ve traveled up and down the Nile and never came across such a design. Neither have the other priests.”
I walked to my husband’s side and was amazed by what I saw. “Isis calls it the Flower of Life. Through this portal, love passes between the earthly realm and the realms beyond. The Flower of Life seems motionless in stone, but when our consciousness meets the beyond, it swirls and dances with colors.”
“You have seen this before, Tuya,” Sety commented as he looked up at the pattern.
“The first time as a child when Isis entered my being, and the second time a few days ago when I brought Ramesses back from death. Osiris passed into the afterworld through the Flower of Life.”
“Leave us,” Sety said to the High Priest.
“My Lord, is anything wrong?”
“Do not question me.”
The High Priest bowed and quickly departed.
Sety sat down on a block of granite, his eyes fixed on the mysterious image. I sat next to my husband and took him into my arms. Sety’s eyes remained open and I felt his heart beat, but his soul had departed and his body was an empty shell.
I closed my eyes and sent my love into Sety through the carnelian in the ankh. Heat charged through me and time ceased as my consciousness drifted in a sparkling golden mist, which lifted when I heard Sety’s voice.
“Tuya. Awaken.”
I looked into Sety’s eyes, which now held a certain sparkle. I stroked his cheek. “My darling, you have come back.”
Sety touched my lips. “Yes, but I know not from where. As I looked at the Flower of Life, I felt the swirling you spoke about, and then found myself in a place of perfect peace and bliss. I could have stayed there forever.”
“We sit at the site of Osiris’ resurrection. Your soul passed through the same portal as his.”
“I became Osiris. I became the Cosmos. Is this what awaits me when I die?”
“Death is but an illusion, my husband. By knowing this, we conquer death.”
Sety and I walked silently, hand in hand, to the litters where the High Priest waited.
“Take us to Outa,” my husband said. Before long, we again stood under the tent with the architect.
“You will restore the ancient ruin to the grandeur of before,” Sety ordered. “I can think of no better way to honor Osiris than to reconstruct the temple that marks the site of his resurrection.”
“The resurrection!” Outa exclaimed, “Can this be so, My Lord?”
“Yes. Queen Tuya has proclaimed the site as such. Make certain the magical pattern my wife calls the Flower of Life remains in place.”
Outa bowed. “I’m honored you have c
harged me with such a noble task as reconstructing this great temple.”
“I’m certain you warrant my confidence.” Sety turned to the High Priest. “Tuya and I will return now to the boat and continue our journey.”
“So soon, My Lord? Meals are waiting for you and the Queen.”
“Outa and you may eat them. I wish to rest.”
As we stepped on board the vessel, Sety took my hands in his.
“I have much to contemplate, Tuya, and wish to be alone. I will send for you later.”
I embraced my husband, who returned the gesture with warmth I had not felt in many years. “Of course, my darling.”
I ate a meal alone on deck, enjoying the silence and peace of the Nile as the boat drifted down the river with the current. As the sun began its descent, I returned to my cabin and napped until Nebet nudged me.
“My Lady. The Pharaoh has asked you to join him for wine.”
I anointed my heart center with jasmine, and freshened my breath by chewing for a few moments on a wafer of ground myrrh set in wax. Sety rose, and greeted me with a smile as I entered his quarters.
“You’re most beautiful today, Tuya, but I state the obvious.”
I responded to the compliment with a smile.
We sat down at a small table across from each other. A servant brought wine in gold chalices, and then quickly left.
“Was your contemplation fruitful?” I asked Sety.
“Yes, very. The past several weeks have given me much to think about. In the great battle against the Hittites, I came close to being killed. Because of what happened today, I will never fear death again.”
“In the ruin of the temple you knew the love of the Cosmos, which is love at its purest. Love and fear cannot exist together.”
“I felt love for you when I sat next to your bed, after you healed Ramesses. I would gladly have given my life so that our son might live. Instead, you saved him, and nearly gave up your own life.”
“As his mother, I could do no less.”
