Page 39 of Ra
“I don’t believe for a moment that this was Azenath’s idea. I have no doubt Ra put the idea in her head.”
“Does it matter, though? It’s a fantastic idea. It will gain so much attention, the very throne of Ra on display for all to see.” He looked down at the throne he was sitting on, and suddenly stood and walked around the throne to lean in beside it and smile brightly. “And take photos with!”
“It will be roped off. No one will be able to sit on it, other than Ra. It is after all, his throne.”
“They can still stand beside it. I think it’s a great idea. You can decide later if you would like to allow large donors and benefactors to have the opportunity to sit on Ra’s throne.”
“I don’t think so. They are not Ra. They are not gods at all.”
“You allowed me to sit on it.”
“You, are a descendant of the priests of Ra. Your people swore their allegiance thousands of years ago, and have remained loyal even in the silent years.”
“It will be a wonderful sight to behold when all the gods are walking among us once more.”
Dr. Weaver looked around her office once more, before allowing her gaze to wander back to the throne. “You are aware, each will have choices to make. The world is a very different place, with very different people and beliefs from the world they knew.”
Abasi nodded, but didn’t answer.
“They may not ever regain their status.”
“Is that a definitive development?”
Dr. Weaver had glanced away, but now swung her feet off her desk and planted them on the floor before leaning her forearms on her over-sized desk. She pinned Abasi with an intense stare before slowly raising one eyebrow. “You seem very comfortable questioning me, Abasi. Is that something you’d like to continue doing?”
There was just enough danger lacing her words for Abasi to immediately back off his line of questioning. “No, ma’am. I do not mean to offend. I simply worry for Azenath. We’ve all made our choices willingly. She’s completely unaware of it all.”
Dr. Neti Weaver smiled ever so slightly as she sat back again. “There is no reason for concern. Azenath will have her own decisions to make.”
~~~
Azi looked at the cell phone in her hand, its screen clearly showing that her call had ended. “Well, I guess that’s that for now,” she said. She powered off her laptop and with a sigh left her office on the way to her kitchen to find something other than sugar to eat. As she came down the stairs and into the living room, she smiled. Ra had stretched out on the sofa and fallen asleep. Azi took a moment to look down at him, admiring his appearance. “It’s a shame you’re not really human,” she whispered, before she left him sleeping soundly and went into the kitchen.
Azi dug around in the fridge and took out several cheeses, a large pepperoni, black and green olives, dates, golden raisins, hummus, sliced red peppers, spiced mustard, and black pepper crackers. She set her chopping board on the granite counter top, laid out a large platter, took her phone out of her pocket and started her play list for a little background music. Glancingback toward the living room, she decided to risk it, and took a bottle of red wine from the cabinet above the fridge and poured herself less than half a glass. She drank it down in a couple of gulps, then poured another, fuller glass and began slicing up all the ingredients for her snack platter. As she sliced and arranged, she sipped her wine, and sang along with her favorite music, even dancing to a few songs, while holding her glass in the air. It didn’t take long for her to finish slicing and arranging all her ingredients on the platter, and shortly after, Azi, her snack platter, and her wine were all on the sun porch, just off the kitchen, singing, dancing, eating, doing her best to let the stress and strangeness of the last couple of days slip away.
She dipped another slice of pepperoni and cheese into the spiced mustard and popped it in her mouth, followed by a black olive topped with hummus and olive oil. She hummed along to a song as she chewed and swayed her hips. Bopping along with the rhythm of the music. She lifted her wine glass to her mouth and took a sip to wash down her food. She sighed happily and danced in a slow circle, sipping from her wine glass again, startling suddenly and almost choking when she came face-to-face with Ra as she almost completed the circle.
“Is that wine?” he asked, standing so near to her that she could feel his body heat as she coughed and hacked, trying to catch her breath.
Finally, she managed to overcome the wine she’d inhaled going down her wind-pipe. “What the hell, Ra? You made me choke!”
“No, I almost made you choke. You recovered. Is that wine?”
“You know it’s wine. Why are you asking me ridiculous questions?” she grumbled, popping another piece of pepperoni and cheese into her mouth as she glared at him.
“We do not drink wine,” he said, angling his head questioningly.
“You do not drink wine. I do. Occasionally.”
His gaze narrowed, but he didn’t object. Instead he made a show of allowing himself to slowly take in her body from head to toe and back up again. “What are you doing?”
“I’m eating.”
“That was not eating. Though, you are eating as well.”
“Huh?”
“That movement. And what is that?” he asked, looking around the room as though he’d find something he didn’t expect to.
