Umi sat in the lecture hall at Berkeley to escape the heat of the summer sun. It was already July and they had not left for Egypt, so the teenager was throughly frustrated. She was too young to get a job, so her mom had made her work with her at the university for the summer.
"It will be fun, she said. You can be my assistant." Umi rolled her eyes as she quoted when her mother broke the news to her. "Not much fun sitting around listening to stuffy lectures and helping her organize things." She had not really understood what her mother meant about the dig season being pushed back this year. She knew that her mother was not the head of the dig, so the timing was not really up to her, but it still sucked. Now she would be leaving in October, right in the middle of school, so Umi would not be able to go with her. Double suck. At least her mom had made arrangements so she could stay with her best friend, Christa for the few weeks while she was away. Umi thought she was quite capable of taking care of herself at the ripe old age of thirteen, but her mother had insisted.
She sighed heavily as she kicked the empty chair in front of her. She had just wandered into the lecture hall as a professor had started talking. She had no idea what the class was even supposed to be about, but as much as she was angry about being stuck here all summer, she did have to admit that some of the lectures were interesting.
"Some cultures believe in a single afterlife—a heaven or hell, or just one place where our 'souls'," the professor said, addressing the students in the room, air-quoting the word souls. "Where we go after death. We can see that in the artwork of these cultures, in the goods they left with their dead. The Egyptians and Inca both practiced mummification as a way to preserve the body for this afterlife, and most cultures have a record of burying their dead with the supplies needed to go forth into the afterlife. For these cultures, death is a one-way passage, through which one can never return."
Umi perked up at the mention of Egypt, and found herself paying closer attention to the discussion. Since her father had died, she had found the idea of death and how we treat the dead and what happens to those who die after they are dead to be topics that occupied her mind. Her interest had only grown more sophisticated as she had grown older, and now the questions seemed to frequent her thoughts consistently. Sometimes she wondered if there was something wrong with her, being so preoccupied with death. She questioned herself often about it, but she still was not sure what she believed. The professor, a middle-aged woman with soft brown hair and a round face, continued.
"Other cultures, however, do not perform burials and do not send the dead off with grave goods to help them in the afterlife. Many of these cultures—though not all, believe in some form of reincarnation, or rebirth. For instance, the Tibetans perform what is called a "sky burial" where the corpse is left out as carrion for scavengers, vultures to devour." A collective groan of disgust reverberated through the hall. "Others practice some form of cremation. With these cultures, the 'soul'," air quotes again. "It had left the body behind, never to return, but rather to be reborn into another. Sometimes those rebirths are into a human, or sometimes it is into an animal or plant. The idea of a karmic wheel is one way that cultures describe what kind of rebirth one might experience. So we have two categories of afterlife: the one-timers and the rebirthers. For some one-timers, the belief is that you do well, and you are rewarded in the afterlife. If your family and friends also do well, you may be reunited. For others, everyone goes to the same place or afterlife without regard for earthly behavior, in which case, you will still be reunited with loved ones."
As she sat listening, Umi imagined her father was somewhere visiting with his mother who had died before she was born, waiting for them all to join them. She could not comprehend how that would be an appealing eternal existence for her father. Her memories of him were long faded, but she always remembered his excitement for discover. What would there be for him to discover in an afterlife, she wondered. The lecture continued.
"For the rebirthers, some cultures believe that 'souls' are carried through family lines, so a grandparent might be reborn into their great grandchild. Others have no such stipulation, and the 'soul' can be reborn anywhere, in any time, in any form. Some believe that once you are born as a human you will always be born as a human, but you might not have started out that way. Some believe that you retain memories or thoughts of previous lives and that these memories can be triggered and made to surface. And still others believe that some souls carry a deep connection to each other, and that these souls will always be born in conjunction with each other."
Umi felt her brows knitting together. Ever since she had moved to America with her mother, Umi had been subjected to strange dreams. Sometimes she would feel a trance come over her even when she was awake and would see the dreams before her eyes. The dreams were always of Egypt—which she loved so much it was understandable that she would dream of it. The Egypt in her dreams was ancient to her eyes, yet new, like she was living five thousand years ago. In it, she was a princess, which she had just assumed was because she wanted to be a princess. And Yugi was in the dreams too, only he was not her twin, but her half brother. She wondered now if these dreams were not really dreams at all, but memories of some previous life. The lecture topic made her wonder if the dreams were really something more, some connection between her and Yugi that transcended time.
"Of course," the professor continued. "We have no quantifiable evidence for any of these beliefs being true. All we know is that people held, or still hold such beliefs."
Umi chuckled to herself over the path her train of thought had taken. It was silly, she thought, to see dreams as more than just dreams. She tried to focus on the lecture as the professor had begun a comparison of the beliefs and burial practices of ancient Mesopotamia and Egypt. She felt a deep longing stir within her as the lecture turned to the Egyptian beliefs regarding the soul—how the essence of a person was believed to exist in two parts, the ba and the ka. Umi, having spent so many summers with her mother on site in Egypt, already knew everything in the lecture, so she found her mind drifting… and eventually dreaming.
She rode in a palanquin with her mother through the wide thoroughfares from the palace to the temple. The sun beat down on city streets, yet the people still gathered to catch a glimpse of the royal procession, and to take part in the festival that followed. It was to be a grand affair, with her father having spared no expense on food and beer. She had overheard that the cost of the festival was perhaps too lavish, yet she also knew that her father was having a difficult time placating the people. The annual flood had been poor for the last ten years, with some years being a complete failure. The floodplain was growing less and less fertile, and food was becoming more difficult to grow. She knew he was worried. She saw it in the slump of his shoulders when he thought no one could see. She looked out at the faces in the crowd through the gauzy curtains that shielded her from their eyes; she saw desperation in their faces veiled thinly with their appreciation for the festival.
"Neferet, sit back." Her mother ordered. She took a deep breath and tried to recline as her mother had. She marveled at how regal her mother looked even when relaxing in the palanquin. While the older woman seemed relaxed, Neferet could see the stress she too was experiencing in the taut cords of her neck. She shifted again in her seat, trying to find a comfortable position while still living up to her mother's expectations. It was difficult. She was not used to the raiment she was wearing. The gown wrapped her body and pinned her arms and legs in such a way that she could not easily move, and the heavy beaded collar weighed her down. The wig perched atop her head was also heavy and made her scalp itch. And her mother shot her warning glances every time she tried to touch her face where the heavy khol blackened her eyes for fear she would smudge all of the servants' hard work. Neferet knew that she looked every bit a princess, but she still felt like a child playing dress up in her mother's clothes.
But she was not a child any longer. She was thirteen and had started her moon cycle. And the festival had been thrown in part to honor that event. She was to take her mother's place as God's Wife in the temple of Amun, which meant more responsibilities and more public appearances. She would have to perform sacred rites alongside the priests and her father. Her mother assured her that it would not be difficult, and that she would have the opportunity to ask her mother for assistance if she needed it. She realized that she should be grateful to be given such an important role—most girls in her place would be preparing for their wedding, not giving honor to the Gods.
But truth be told, both roles terrify me.
Neferet knew that she would be preparing to say her marriage vows soon, once her brother Atem returned. She was thankful that her father had chosen him for her, rather than take her as his own wife, but that small comfort did little to assuage her fears. She wondered about what kind of life Atem was leading, what he had learned in the six years since they had played together in the harem. She could not indulge her curiosity for long as the palanquin was lowered to the ground, and the curtains were pulled back to reveal two priests—one old, one young.
The old priest stepped forward as her mother glided from the palanquin. He murmured some things to her that Neferet could not hear, but she saw the tremor of laughter in her mother's shoulders. Movement at the opening drew her attention away from her mother and the old priest as a servant offered his hand in assistance to the princess. Neferet just looked at it blankly for a moment before realizing that she needed to take it in order to get out of the palanquin. She tried to glide as effortlessly as her mother, but was sure she looked ridiculous in her attempt. She muttered a thanks to the servant as the young priest stepped forward to offer his hand to her.
"Princess." His voice was deep and made her chest flutter in a most unusual way. A wry smile danced on his lips. He looked to be two or three years older than her—fully a man where she was just blossoming into womanhood. She met his eyes as she slipped her hand into his. She felt paralyzed by his stare, all except for the heart that was pounding so hard she feared it would break free from her chest. His eyes were the most intense blue she had ever seen—bluer than the Nile or the midday sky in summer. She was transfixed, staring up into them. She felt weak, as if she would collapse under their weight. His touch sent a shiver through her.
"Seto," the old priest called. "Please lead the princess into the temple." At the call of his master, he looked away and she felt she could breath once more. She was sure her face was flushed. She tried to look down, so her mother would not see. She recalled as she followed his tall, slender form into the temple that her mother had originally planned for her to marry a boy named Seto. She wondered if this was the same person. She was unsure if she hoped it was him or not. She wondered if Atem's touch would affect her so strongly.
Umi started as her head began to slide from her balled up fist. The lecture had wrapped up, and the students were leaving the hall. Umi blushed as she fell in with the rest of the students and made her way to her mother's office.
"Where have you been?" her mother asked from behind a stack of books as she entered.
"Um, I was sitting in on a lecture." Umi said as she settled down into one of the worn leather chairs. The wood armrest had been smoothed from years of student worry. Umi liked how flawless they felt in her palms—like good silk.
"What was it about?" Her mother's glasses sat precariously on the edge of her nose as she flipped through the pages of a book.
"Life after death." Umi replied. "Different beliefs regarding the afterlife, that sort of thing."
"Hm… Sound's like Dr. Madsen's class then." The name did not mean much to Umi.
"I guess."
"Can you put these back on the shelf for me?" Her mother motioned to one of the stacks of books on her desk. Umi sighed, trying not to sound too annoyed with the request.
"Sure." She placed the volumes back on one empty shelf, alphabetizing them as she went. They both worked in silence for a while before her mother spoke.
"I've been thinking. It's not fair for both of us to be stuck in here working all summer."
You've got that right, Mom.
"So, I think it would be a really great idea for you to visit your brother. It's been far too long, don't you think?"
Umi froze. It was not what she had expected. Maybe she thought her mother would suggest staying with one of her friends while she was here doing her work. Maybe she thought her mother would just leave her to her own devices. She did not know what she had expected, but it was not this.
A week later, Umi sat on a plane once more, this time by herself.
A/N: First thank you to everyone reading and following along. It definitely helps with motivation to see people reading my work. Second, this is a work of fiction set in a universe I do not own. No infringement is intended. Third, I am trying to incorporate as much as I can about actual Egyptian beliefs and practices, as well as history throughout the story. I am not a historian nor an anthropologist, just someone with a love of ancient Egypt who had done a great deal of self study, so I am sure that I will get things "wrong" from that standpoint. But I am also trying to incorporate events from the source material's take on ancient Egypt, which is highly suspect from a historical perspective. Lastly, I am working on rewrites for the rest of this story as well. I just felt like there needed to be a little more set up with the original character that was not originally included. Thus all of the mid-story updates. Thank you again for reading. I hope you enjoy it. Please review if you would like.