Chapter XLI
A Deafening Silence
“I’m afraid we cannot do anything about it anymore, High Priest.” The physician, who just examined Leo, faced us with a gloom hinted on his voice.
He was the 9th physician in the temple who checked on Leo and gave the same diagnosis. They said the lion would have no more chance to survive.
Upon hearing it for the 9th time, my heart broke into pieces. Oh, poor Leo. He shouldn't have suffered like this. He was innocent like an angel who did nothing but ask for belly rubs.
What cruelty could’ve they done to turn him on this state?
I stepped closer to the rectangular boulder where Leo was fighting for his own life, and reached his injured paw. He was already given first-aid earlier and the deep wounds all over his body were also cleaned. And yet…
“Are you sure there's no other way?” I bit my lower lip, hopeful.
“Hesperia,” Asim whispered behind me, “let’s accept it… They already did their very best to save him.”
I know that but wouldn't it be wrong to hope?
“In all honesty, we hadn't treated a lion before,” one admitted. “We might’ve treated the injuries but… the lion had already lost many blood. It has been bleeding excessively even before it arrived here… it’s also barely breathing.”
The longer he explained, the more hopeless it seemed for Leo to fully recovery. I couldn't bear the thought that an innocent animal would die like this. I cannot accept it.
I know I shouldn't do this but…
“Asim,” I called, still my eyes fixated upon the unconscious lion. “Can you please ask them to leave for awhile?” I made sure that my voice was low enough for anyone but him to hear.
“Okay… but why?”
I heaved a sigh, gasping a heap of courage in my lungs, and said firmly. “I’ll take my last shot to save Leo, Asim. But I want to do it without audience... Can you make that possible?”
I’ve been trying to practice the healing power lately, but I wasn't a hundred percent sure that it would work with big animals with huge, deep wounds. Plus, I figured my energy incredibly reduces whenever I channel this power.
Using it now might risk my well-being. But that seemed not to matter now that Leo is in front of me in the brink of death.
“Sure. I got you.”
Once I was alone inside the room with Leo, my hands gently rested over his body and I shut my eyes briefly, gasping a short, deep breath.
Please help me save him.
I imagined the healing power coursed through my veins, feeling it travel across my body. Eventually, I directed all the divine power down my arms, gathering it in my palms until a brilliant light emitted from my hands, filling the room with luminous aura.
You need to stay alive and get better, Leo.
As the radiant force continued to wrap around Leo, a sense of awe washed over me. The wounds and injuries that marred his body vanished in thin-air.
I smiled in relief.
It worked, didn't it?
My knees wobbled in exhaustion, as if my strength just sucked out of me. i clutched the edge of the boulder to keep my balance. That was the moment the door made a series of knocking sounds and eventually Asim entered.
“Hesperia, are you okay?” He approached me and went to my side.
“Asim…” I breathed heavily. “Can you check on him?” There were no more trace of injuries and wounds but I still wanted to be sure.
His eyes led their way to Leo’s direction and his brows furrowed. He moved closer to Leo and placed his hand over him, checking his body and his breathing.
When he returned his gaze at me, his lips were parted and a trace of confusion and amazement mingled in his eyes.
“His breathing is stable,” he said, making me sigh in relief. “And the wounds are gone… What did you do?”
I took that chance to tell him everything. From the memories of Habibah that kept flashing right through my eyes and down to the strange meeting with her in my dream. I left no crumbs of information to Asim—well, except for those what have been happening between Khufu and I.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I'm fine…” I breathed deeply. “Just a lil exhausted.”
“You should train your mind more, Hesperia, rather than focusing on channeling the power through your physical body,” he advised. “That method may lessen the pain after exerting your power.”
I faintly smiled at him and nodded. “Thank you, Asim. I'll remember that.”
I knew it was risky to heal Leo in a temple and I prepared myself for whatever might come.
But this was beyond my expectations.
“The lion has been resurrected!” one of the physician declared right after he examined Leo who was already awake. “It came back to life!”
Astounded, all of them fixated their eyes to Asim who stood beside me, waiting for him to confirm the question plastered on their faces, until one finally exclaimed. “High Priest Asim brought back the lion to life!”
“No,” Asim immediately waved his hand, dismissing their assumptions. He then pointed at me. “It was her who did it.”
“Huh? Asim!” I widened my eyes, gesturing him to take back what he just said. He could've just let them think that way!
He shrugged. “I don't credit myself for something I hadn’t done.”
In a blink of an eye, the physicians flocked in front of me and bombarded me with irrelevant questions. This was what I was avoiding to happen. Ugh.
“Do you live here?” one asked.
I forced a smile. “Not really.”
“Where did you come from?”
“Somewhere… far away.”
“How did you heal the lion, Miss?”
“I’m… not sure.”
“Can you teach us how to do it?”
“No.”
“Is it a hard spell? A hard technique?”
“I… I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Then are you a physician?”
“No.”
“A priest?”
“No.”
They all threw each other a meaningful gaze as if they were constructing a conclusion in their minds. I wondered what was it until a female physician cleared her throat.
I raised my brows, clueless, as she suddenly clasped her hands on my shoulders and made a serious look.
What’s up with them now?
“You’re a goddess!”
I hurled a dramatic gasped. “No!”
But they sounded very certain to the point they began to kneel in front of me. I stepped back, not knowing what to react.
“Grant us your blessings, Goddess Hesperia!”
What sudden twist of event is this?
--
The rumors about me curing an injured lion within a short span of time and me being a so-called goddess spread around the village fast. And now, the same rumors had reached the palace and my life had become more chaotic since then.
One good thing that only happened from this event was Leo’s fast recovery. Plus, Kawab, under his father's wish, stopped the Queen's punishment toward Leo.
Now that I thought of it, I also hadn’t seen Khufu lately. I guess he was still struggling to process all the things I said. I just hope he’d finally face me soon so we could clear things out.
“Hesperia.” Hafsah appeared in the kitchen carrying a basket of vegetables with her. She placed it over the table in front of me. “Another basket arrived for you.”
I sighed.
What I didn't like much about this was how I was slowly gaining worshippers, believing in me and offering me bountiful of gifts like I was actually a goddess. I wasn't used to the attention I was getting.
I don’t think I even deserve any of it.
“Next time, I’ll tell the guards to give these to Therapeuo instead,” I mumbled, playing the figs in my hand.
I had tried declining the offerings yesterday but they just kept on coming. Might as well, give it to those who are in need instead.
She sat at the chair across me. “But is it true?”
Her question had me frozen.
She rested her chin over her palms, eyeing on me. “If it's true, I think that would be great.”
“How do you say?”
She hummed, trailing off. “Well, when someone dies, it is believed that their soul will embark in a journey through the underworld. In there, they will face judgment by the god Osiris as to what fate awaits for them in the afterlife…”
She then continued with a smile, leaning forward. “So when you say you can heal people,” she paused, “it means you're giving them chance to live a better life and become a better individual...”
I stared at her.
Her eyes glimmered hope that seemed natural of her.
“Many people, especially those with ordinary status like us, usually live shortly. And I sometimes wonder if… in that short period, are we really able to prove ourselves to God Osiris that we have lived our life to the fullest? Did the way we spend our life in this world worthy enough to have a good place in the afterlife?”
My mind wandered as I listened to her rhetorical questions. Hafsah was already in her 20s and yet she could already think maturely like this. I couldn't help but be amazed and get swayed from her words.
She added. “Is living for 12 years, 23 years, or 30 years enough before judgement?” Her curious eyes met mine.
I trailed off.
“It may be,” I eventually answered. “People leave in this world on the time that's designated to them. So whatever judgment that'll greet us once we meet the god of death, know that it’s already beyond our hands.”
“I agree.” She smiled, nodding. “But you might be that one miracle.”
I stilled.
“If you being a goddess is true, I will certainly be one of your worshippers.” She giggled.
Although I didn't completely understand her belief regarding afterlife and whatnot, somehow… her words of thoughts moved me.
We continued chatting other matters when Meresankh suddenly appeared, rushing toward me.
“Hesperia,” she sobbed as she hugged me. Her shoulders shook, her arms tightenimg around my neck.
A skirl of worry washed over me, not having any idea as to why she acted like this. She seemed okay the other day. What could be the reason?
Although I was eager to know, I let her craddle in my arms for a few minutes, caressing her back, hushing her. But then, she pulled away from the hug and her red puffy eyes looked directly at me.
“What happened?” I asked, tucking strands of her hair behind her ear.
“Please help me, Hesperia.” She reached my hand and clasped it with hers, as if pleading. Her eyes flickered a mixture of emotions: pain, fear, hope, and desperation.
“You can heal someone, right?” She squeezed my hands gently. “Please… Please help Darius.”
Darius? Her lover?
“What happened?”
She bit her lower lips, tears welling up again in her eyes. “Mother... Mother found out about us.”
Hearing the last statement, I somehow already discovered what was happening. Without further ado, we left the palace and rode a chariot until we reached the temple of Therapeuo.
I had already warned myself not to heal anyone again.
But when you're really in a situation where you faced a person in desperate need, you can't just ignore the urge to help especially when you have the capability to do so.
I followed Meresankh silently yet hurriedly. Once we arrived the hall where other patients were being treated, many pairs of eyes settled in my direction, looking at me with recognition and curiosity.
I looked down and lowered the cloth wrapped around my head, concealing myself.
Mere halted once we entered a less crowded room. “There he is.”
I followed her eyes and I gasped, covering my mouth, as I found Darius laying on a bed, unconscious. His entire body and clothes seemed drenched with water. His face had few bruises and purple patches.
“What happened?” I knelt and checked his breathing.
“Mother found out that I was constantly meeting with Darius at the usual lake.” Her voice hitched. “That's why we decided to meet at the secluded part of the Nile River instead… I thought everything's gonna be fine after that.”
“B—But,” her voice cracked, “this morning, Darius and I were about to meet at the Nile River… But when I arrived there,” her lips trembled, “his body was floating in the water.”
She covered her mouth as she sobbed. “He drowned—” she shook her head—“no, no, I think somebody hurt him and pushed him to the river, Hesperia. I don’t know what to do anymore!”
“Princess...” My heart ached by just hearing her voice wrenched in pain. She certainly love this boy, but...
Mere knelt beside me, sniffing. Her welled up eyes were filled with hope for a moment.
“You… You can heal him, right?”
I hesitated to answer. I might’ve possessed a healing power but when I checked his body...
He was not breathing anymore.
Darius was dead.
“I…” I swallowed hard. “I don’t think I can heal him, Princess. He’s already…”
I didn't continue. I know she already knows the answer. I can't take the courage to add more salt to her wounded heart.
She sobbed. “Please tell me you can bring him back!”
“I’m sorry, Princess… I can only heal people who are still breathing.”
I had known this much because I’ve attempted using the power to bring back a dead bird to life. But there was no effect. Healing is different from bringing back a dead.
Just like I kept telling them, I was no god.
“No.” She hugged Darius and her sobs became even louder. “You told me you'd never leave me, Darius… Prove it to me, please… Wake up!”
But after everything she cried for, all she got as a reply was silence. A deafening silence.