Destiny's Passage

e Section One: Storm Clouds on the Horizon f

EXODUS 1:7-8 “But the Israelites were fruitful and multiplied greatly and became exceedingly numerous, so that the land was filled with them. Then a new king, who did not know Joseph, came to power in Egypt.”

Chapter 1: Disturbing Dreams

Princess Asati tossed fitfully on her bed as a cold sweat spread over her body, making her gown cling unpleasantly to her skin. Usually her sleep was peaceful and dreamless, like a gentle lover, caressing her in the darkness. But tonight potent visions disturbed her normally tranquil stillness. One disquieting sight after another buffeted her sleep as she vainly attempted to find some relief from the turmoil.

One powerful apparition thwarted all her efforts to gain the restful blackness. Even awake she could see its disturbing images framed in the darkness: She was on the edge of a vast sea. The sun, just cresting the distant horizon, fanned luminous rays from the center of its fierce brightness. A breeze rippled the surface of the water, carrying with it undercurrents of anticipation and premonition. Asati's hair stood up along the nape of her neck as it brushed past her. Then, a short distance in front of her, the surface of the water began ominously to boil and foam.

Asati tried to flee, but she was unable to move; her legs were anchored in the wet sand. Helplessly imprisoned, she could not turn away from the turbulence but had to face it and wait for what came next. Slowly, out of the middle of the ferment rose a baby, an exquisitely formed male child with strong, noble features.

As she stood transfixed by the unearthly sight, he began to approach her, floating easily over the face of the water. He stretched his tiny arms toward her and softly called to her, saying, “Momma.” The word flew across the water into the deepest yearnings of her heart. Even so, she pulled back from his advance, for floating in the water below was a coarse blanket, the type used by the Hebrews. This child was not Egyptian.

As she held back, clouds began to darken the sky and powerful bolts of lightning arched between the thunderheads and the churning sea below. Despite the gathering squall the child waited, as if unafraid, on the edge of the water, small arms outstretched, repeating the haunting assertion, “Momma…Momma...Momma.”

Asati's heart raced in her chest, spurred by the word’s reflection back and forth across the cavern in the center of her being. She could not shut out the sound. It seemed to find its way into every part of her, its taunting refrain echoing in the emptiness.

For five long years, despite the continuous offerings and potions of the priests and her own plea-filled prayers, her womb had remained barren. She had begun to think of her name as a curse. In naming her Asati, her father had dedicated her to Satis, the goddess of the first cataract, the protectress of the Nile and symbol of fertility and love. But instead of blessing her with an abundance of children, the goddess had allowed her field to remain fallow.

At court, whispers, floating behind veiled lips, suggested that an ill omen had overshadowed her. Asati's husband, once drawn by her beauty and grace into an endless stream of passion, now, sought less the pleasure of her bed than the diversions of his concubines.

Lying there in the aftermath of her dream, Asati understood with an almost unnerving clarity, that the gnawing ache that had settled into her womb, the desire for a child, had become a ravenous beast, a jackal eating away at the core of her existence, consuming her piece by piece. She curled up and hugged her knees to her chest, giving what little protection she could to her fragile center.

Frightened by this sense of inward dissolution, she offered a crying prayer to the gods. She asked that this dream, despite its ominous implications, could be a sign that her prayers would be answered and her emptiness filled. That the baby might be a Hebrew was pushed aside for the moment. Her mind instead grasped at the idea of a child, a son for the prince, a grandson for Pharaoh.

After what seemed like hours, Asati let go of herself and slowly began moving her legs, stretching the stiffness and lethargy from her body. She had made a decision. She would bathe early, a special, sacred bath. Then she would inquire of the priests about this night vision.

Though only a faint light was visible through the high window, a vague urgency caused her to pull the cord for her chief maidservant. She closed her mind to the fear that stirred in its depths, that this small hope might be only a mist in the night. She left her bed just as the door opened and Nari entered.

“You called, my princess?”

“Yes, Nari. I will bathe early this morning, in the Nile.” Debating whether to confide in her servant about the night's concerns, Asati paused, and then said simply, “I had an omen during the night. I want to present an offering to Hapy and receive the anointing of the sacred waters before I investigate its meaning with the priests. Prepare what is needed.”

Nari, seeing the delicate hope in her mistress' words, replied, “We shall be ready before Ra's barge passes the horizon, my princess.”

Turning from the retreating servant, Asati went to the alcove that held the altar and statue of Satis. The sacred lamp was kept burning in extravagant sacrifice to her patron. It illuminated a figure wearing a horned white crown, the sower of the seed of life, and protectress of the yearly inundation.

“Oh Mistress of Heaven, did you send these visions?”

There was no answer. The blank eyes and fixed mouth of the goddess showed Asati no response, no concern. An old doubt, one that had grown stronger in the last year, edged its way into her thoughts: Had the gods abandoned her? Or were the gods dead, only a memory kept alive by the ministrations of the priests?

With cold determination she quenched that line of thought. She dared not lose what hope the night had offered. As she knelt on the hard tiled floor, she offered her morning prayers with much more fervor than she had felt in some time.

Next>>