Ankha

Darkness. Cool black seeping through my clothes. I hear voices around me, shaking sobs, whispers and singing. I open my eyes. Rough-hewn wood fills my vision, shafts of light filter in through cracks in the surface. I attempt to move my arms, but they won't budge. I slip into a dreamlike state. Bright white light blinds me. The light fades a little and I realize I'm standing on a beach full of black sand, a roaring river beside me. A figure is next to me, a teenage boy dressed in a kilt and sandals.

"Who are you?" I ask, my voice hoarse with disuse. The boy turns to stare at me. His dark eyes are empty.

"The question you should be asking is who are you?" My dream diminishes. Dim images flash in my mind. I hear the sounds of laughter and water splashing, but as I wake the images vanish. I'm lying in a tiny boat, floating on the river I had seen earlier in my dream. The boy is sitting in the boat as well, paddling.

I remember my dream and spoke, "Who am I? What has happened?"

"Your name is Ankha. You were a thirteen-year-old girl before you passed away. Most believed you had no significance in Egyptian society. You were a humble peasant. Your death was an unknown blessing for your family." I know I should feel offended, but I feel nothing. Lifeless. But the boy had said I had died, so technically I was lifeless.

"Don't worry. Your emotions should return soon. For most, they come right about now." Suddenly, a warm feeling spreads through my body. Joy fills me up, then the bubble of delight is popped by a sadder emotion. Pain, grief. It overwhelms me, and I collapse on the floor of the boat.

The boys looks on with pity, "Too many have too much of that certain feeling." The sadness fades away, replaced by a fierce heat. I'm full of fury, and I reach out to strike the boy. He doesn't react. The emotions pass through me, humiliation, jealousy, humor, and love. After the process is complete, I seem somewhat whole.

"Now that you are more yourself, I will tell you who I am," the boy declares. "My name is Anubis." I fall to the floor of the boat again to worship him, but he tells me to stand. As distant memories flood over me, I recall that the priests had always described Anubis as the god who leads the dead through the underworld. He was defined as a god, but never honored as much as the other gods, only feared. He was the protector of the dead, and it was left at that. Mostly the priests had concentrated on the mighty Amun-Re, the king of all gods.

"Oh, please take a seat. It gets rather tiring to have people face-planting every time I say my name." Anubis says.

"Why am I dead? I feel rather young," I glance down at my body, but it's not really a body anymore. I am made up of silvery smoke, dressed in the white linen my family affectionately wrapped me in. I am still partially solid, but my form is a pearly color.

"Your death was tragic for your family. The wealthy should have realized your importance."

I feel guilty for leaving my family behind, but at the same time grateful they would be lifted of my burden. Now they have one less mouth to feed.

"Wait, didn't you say I had no significance in the world earlier?" I protest.

"Why do you need to know? Do you want to be worthless? Never mind don't answer that. But to clarify, I said most BELIEVED you were of no importance." I twisted my face up in thought. Anubis sighs and reaches for my hands.

"It is simpler to show you," he says before my world dissolves.

We were swirling in time, black sand scraping against my frame. Sand gets in my mouth, strangling me as I fight to breathe. Anubis clutches my hands tighter, and abruptly the wind, sand, darkness, and fear dissipates. We are standing on the bank of a river, a river I struggle to remember. I finally recognize it as the Nile River. Peasants are on rafts, playing river games and diving in the water. When they resurface they laugh, choke on water, then laugh even harder. This was the faint sound I had heard before I woke earlier. My heart warms at their happy sounds, and for a split second I want to join them. Anubis begins walking towards a modest home made up of brick, mud and straw.