“I shall see you soon, my friend.” My confidence now outweighing his. I spared no time and threw myself in her direction. What should I say after all these years? I slowed my pace, she turned around. There she was, standing before me once again. I tried to fight my entranced heart by saying the first thing that fell on my tongue.
“I am Itef!”
“Yes, I know that. But you have forgotten who I am.” Tawri began to turn away and I swiftly reacted and threw my hand around her arm. The words persisting words of encouragement echoed inside me, repeatedly. It gave me the courage I so badly needed.
“No, Tawri! I had never forgotten you!” I saw my hand wrapped over her delicate skin. It was improper to touch a woman without her consent. Realising my imprudence I quickly removed my hand. What I was about to say waged battle against my weakening courage, thus flooding my face with blush. I bowed my head, unable to maintain eye contact. “The truth is Tawri … you were always in my heart …” I then looked up at her to catch another glimpse of her exquisite beauty. She was radiant, “… and you will always be for that final moment we had together in the marshes I can never forget.” Tawri was slightly embarrassed. She was not expecting me to be so forthcoming yet I begged the gods that my bluntness did not estrange her from me.
“I had not forgotten you either, Itef.” She leaned close and pressed a gentle kiss on my forehead. She stepped back with her head slightly tilted to the side. “We shall meet again, Itef.” Again I became speechless and entranced. I felt my entire body overcome with an electrifying spell. Every ounce of flesh within me, every drop of blood rushing through my veins was infatuated by her magic. I watched helplessly as the distance between us grew larger and larger. There was so much more I wanted to tell her, so much more.
The three young women strode into the emptiness among the moonlit walls, their garments gently swaying in the warm western breeze. My heart was tearing from my chest, yearning for her affection. I was accustomed to similar sensations whenever my heart spoke of her, but not to this extent. Hitherto the relentless craving for her presence I had endured in her absence were nowhere near this magnitude. I could feel a subtle emptiness happening inside me. I had always believed that the world was too big form me, that I was not worthy of the air that lavished our great kingdom. But in that short time we met, Tawri’s warm influence conveyed that I was someone who mattered. Without her there was emptiness. I would have given my life to Anubis for just one more kiss. I stood alone gazing into the barren stony grounds, hoping that she would return to me, running into my arms. Only dark lurking mirages remained, playing games with my senses.
“I see you waste little time, Itef.” Men strolled beside me. I glanced at him briefly. We both stood there, our eyes fixed on the horizon. “Tell me, who was the girl?”
“She is Tawri … we played together as children.” Men could sense my fluctuating emotions.
“You care for her, do you not?”
“Oh yes uncle, very much so.” My teeth clamped together in an attempt to avoid an emotional spill. “So much that it is tearing at me.” My eyes must have sparkled brilliantly in the trembling light for my tears ebbed like the slow inundation of the Nile.
“She is not a commoner?” He looked at me and saw the torment wrenching at my features. The answer he was seeking lied there in my expression. “Tell me son, who is her father?” Men held his breath. I stared back at him, attempting hard not to shatter. “Her true name is Neferura, daughter of Ramose.” My throat gulped, a bitter taste deluged my mouth. I continued. “He is a retired military man of high rank.” I could hear Men deeply exhale. A feeling of illness had overcome me, the nerves in my stomach jerked in an unpleasant twist as I came to realise after hearing my own words just how ambitious my heart was … maybe overambitious. It seemed that my pursuit for a woman so divine that she was considered untouchable by any man was impossible, except for that Nakht. It appeared that Men though so too. “Be wary my boy as your very life could be in danger if you follow her.”
I resisted a counter reply for it would have been nothing more than defending my own naive will.
“Your heart cannot be told otherwise, I see it in your eyes …” he raised his tone, his mouth tightened, “… then elope with her and run Itef, run far away beyond the boundaries of the two lands for Ramose will surely hunt you down like an animal!” Men quivered with distress like a concerned parent. He blinked slowly and stood back, realising how his emotional ordeal had caught him unguarded. Ignoring this he gruffed his iron throat and stood tall. “We must leave tonight for the west bank. The king has ordered another limestone quarry for his grand building scheme. Our rewards are not much, but it will sustain our well being.” He waited silently. If I stayed in Thebes to find Tawri I would have nothing. I would become an outcast, a beggar, and lose my only chance to win her heart. But how would she know where my feet had taken me? I had to tell her.
“Wait for me.” I whispered to him. I sprung like a gazelle and sprinted towards the path that carried Tawri home, my heart outrunning my frenzied feet. I came to the open air and spun around in circles, searching eagerly, but my eyes could only see distant, obscuring structures. She was nowhere in sight, disappeared perhaps forever out of my life. I became deluged with a tide of anguish. I fell to my knees, my arms draping back and my head stretching high towards the heavens. I had finally broken down into a sobbing river of tears. I could no longer resist the bursting emotional downpour. Little did I know then that Men watched my suffering from a distance. A tear escaped as he stood still. He knew that nothing could be said or done, for he knew that my fate was doomed.
CHAPTER 4
THOU ART MY KA WITHIN MY BODY, WHICH ENDURES AND STRENGTHENS ME
It felt as if only a short time had passed since we left our barge washing against the west bank. All of the Tjaru labourers had reunited to find work at the king’s quarries. It gave the only honest rewards for drift workers like us.
Our sandaled feet had been enduring the rocky terrain for some time. I peered towards the stark simplicity of the western ridge, nothing but stone and sand. Behind us, Ra was pressed against the breast of the deep blue desert sky. The heat was becoming intolerable. Sweat had saturated my entire body, cutting into every crevice of my limbs like lacerating blades. I shaded my eyes against the wind-driven sand and intense glare with the only possession I owned - a simple reed mat given to me by my uncle. My eyes were still swollen by the sadness of the past night. I held very little hope for Tawri and me. Thrown into total desolation, buried in the wastelands, I was banished silently without a trace. How could she possibly find me now? My heart was bleeding and there was nothing I could do to ease the pain and suffering. I wished that death would strike me down for no mortal should live to bear such pain. It seems that young hearts are quick to ache, especially mine.
Just then a bellow of nauseating odour flooded my senses. I lowered the reed mat from my eyes and my revulsion increased a thousandfold.
I heard a voice declare. “Behold, the enemies of the king!” An arm pointed from the front line of hardened men. I saw a linear collection of gruesome relics, foreign soldiers and deserters alike impaled through the gaps between their ribs. Their rotting corpses sagged high on giant spears, naked to dishonour them. I stared with horrified eyes, my hand plastered over my face. Never had I tasted such gore in the air … it was depet mewt nen, the taste of death. We had been intentionally led on the path of the condemned ones to demonstrate the type of punishment awaiting disloyal hearts. I could see clearly where the staff had pierced through their lifeless torsos - I could see dried, lumps of dark bloodstains on their dried vermin-infested bodies. The sound of a thousand flying insects hummed around our ears like a swarm of locusts as we distracted their gory feast. As we walked through the shadows of death the merciless rays of Ra flashed upon us in violent bursts. His power grew stronger as the moments passed. I wished for death but not in the like of which I had