Page 19 of Ra
“Really? And who told you that?”
“It is easy enough to see, Azi. Or, is it Azenath?”
“You heard that, huh?”
“I did. The ringing woke me so I followed the sound. As I stood at the foot of the stairs, I saw you pull your blanket over your head. Who was the male that called you Azenath?”
“My father. He’s very old. It’s hard for me to speak to him sometimes when I know he’s going to demand that I come get him and include him in my work. Our work, that we used to do together. It takes me a little while to shore myself up for it. I always call him back, but it takes a little while to prepare myself to hear the disappointment in his voice.”
“Why not just take him with you?”
“He’s not strong enough. The doctors and nurses at the facility he’s living in recommend against it. And even if I chose to ignore their advice, I’d have to hire an entire medical team to go with us to take care of him. He either forgets, or he doesn’t see it, and when I turn him down it’s a reminder of his inability to be who he is — who he has always been. It’s reminding him that age has robbed him of his life’s passion.” She stopped talking for a few seconds, and when she looked at him next, there were tears dampening her eyes. “I hate hurting him.”
“Age is a vicious curse placed upon the humans.”
“That it is,” she agreed as she took two coffee mugs down from a different cabinet and filled them both with steaming coffee, then poured cream and two teaspoons of sugar into each. She handed him one. “Be careful, don’t burn your mouth. It’s very hot.”
He accepted the coffee and held it up to his nose, inhaling the aroma appreciatively. “I think I’m going to like this.”
Azi nodded as she blew gently across the top of hers and sipped it, closing her eyes to better enjoy it. “You know… come to think of it, I’m pretty sure I remember reading that Ra, the sun god, is responsible for all creation and life in the universe.”
Ra looked up from his coffee to meet her gaze suspiciously. One thing he’d already learned about his friend Azi, was that she was not stupid by any means. And she was very educated about his time and culture. He’d watched for years as she came and went from the tomb, something he’d not yet confided in her, and he’d admired her knowledge even then. “I was, before I was made human. And you are already aware of that.”
“Seems to me that the curse of age that was given to the humans, must have been given by you,” she said, winking at him.
“Is there something wrong with your eye?” he asked, deflecting.
“You know there’s not.”
Ra shrugged non-committally. “I was a new god. I was learning. Some things made sense at the time that in retrospect I should have considered a little longer.”
Azi, to his surprise, burst into laughter.
He smiled, watching her joy as she laughed. He decided that he liked her laugh and wanted to cause her to laugh more often. “So, tell me, Azenath, do you know what your name means?”
“It means a lot of teasing when you’re a little child. Hence the shortened version… Azi. My father loves all things Egyptian. He named me Azenath. I hated it when I was little, but I’ve grown to appreciate it now.”
“You haven’t answered me. Do you know its meaning?”
She sipped more of her coffee, and finding it cool enough to drink, she gratefully took several long appreciative swallows from it. Then she looked him in the eye. “It means ‘belongingto Neith’, who I believe is responsible for releasing you into the ether.”
“It does. And she created me so that I could create the rest of the universe. She was a wise mediator whose primordial origins made her a protector of not only myself, but of all the gods and the cosmos I created and we all lived in.”
“I am aware,” Azi said, raising her cup to toast him briefly. “And that age thing for the humans… maybe you should have discussed that with her before you went and implemented it.”
“Yes, well… new god, I’ve already mentioned it.”
Azi simply peered at him over the rim of her mug as she prepared for whatever it was he would toss her way next.
“It is a great honor to be charged with the role of bringing forth life, and protecting and keeping order of that life.”
“I can imagine it would be.”
“I did successfully assist her by assuming my place in creation.”
“How kind of you,” she said with a smirk.
He grinned back, having instinctively figured out sarcasm within less than twenty-four hours.
