Mahad:
Memoirs of Devotion and Despair
"Great Pharaoh! I am to blame for this. My ineptitude allowed that thief to defile the previous
king's tomb! I await your punishment!" The words tumbled from my lips, tasting of bitter guilt
and self-condemnation, as I threw myself heavily onto the smooth, polished limestone of the
palace balcony. On my knees, I was not begging for mercy. Quite the contrary. My supplication
was for punishment, my plea was for penalty – I beseeched him to pass righteous judgment. With
a chest constricted by shame, I could scarcely take in air. My lungs burned from lack of oxygen,
my heart stung from deficient hope. The cool Egyptian breeze struck its icy whips against my
robes, and my mind reeled with images of the near future. Flay his body, break his bones, and
execute him as a warning to others. . .Cruel, harsh, painful..yes, perhaps Seto's method would be
employed after all. Not on a petty robber, but on a demoted priest. My tortured confession hung
in the air, thickening the pressure in my chest and warping the images in my mind. Just when I
was certain I would burst from the pressure inside – He spoke. Gentleness, compassionate, and
mercy flowed from his every syllable: /ma-had pl-ea-se see that my fa-ther is in-terr-ed with re-
spect/. Shocked to my very core, I gazed in a coalescence of incredulity and awe. Noticing my
reaction to the Pharaoh's words, Master Siamun explained the justness of his ruling. As he spoke
and the reality of my liberty washed over me, the constriction in my chest loosened and relaxed,
the scarab images in my mind were silenced. My heartbeat slowed. Had it really been pounding
so fiercely only a minute ago? As Siamun concluded, I gazed thoughtfully at the floor, pondering
my strange emotions. So this is what it feels like to be forgiven…