Gods and Queens

Chapter Twenty-nine

"What you'll see may shock you. Do not be ashamed of your fear, it is a natural response. But when your courage comes, and believe me it will, take a hold of it and don't let go. Be a fighter..."

Addisu closed her eyes, intentionally blocking out the dry landscape that rushed by. The sight disturbed her peace of mind. Thutmose drove the horses like a madman, she was half expecting to be thrown off the chariot any moment from now.

"Right there, in the midst of the storm of your fear, choose to believe..."

She sighed at the memory of the last words the spirit said to her as the guards led her out of the dungeon. The boys had stayed with her up until the moment she was led away. Their comforting presence was like a healing balm on her aching body and soul.

"Why are you so concerned about my well-being?" She had asked the father early that morning.

"Because we can't help it. It's our nature to do so."

Addisu remembered snorting. "I find that hard to believe. I do not understand. Why are you here? Who are you? What do you want? This doesn't make sense. I want to understand, make me understand."

The word walked up to her and sat by her side. He smelled of chamomile and mint, and he didn't seem bothered by the dirt floor or the filthy state she was in. Addisu recalled feeling like his clean presence was infecting her instead of the other way around.

"The universe is so vast, complex and impossible to totally understand by the human mind. Mankind loves to plague their existence with questions they'll never get a complete answer to. It's really funny watching them try so hard and then beat their chest about their wrong findings. It makes us laugh sometimes." The word chuckled and tapped his little sandaled feet rhythmically.

"They look up to the sky and wonder what's up there and who put it all together. They have this need— this need to worship something...anything," The father added from where he stood close to the bars. He had his curly hair held in a little bun at the nape of his neck and a look of deep concentration graced his face.

"If we try to make you understand through what we say alone, you'll only get more confused. So, the question about who we are..." The spirit tapped his chin thoughtfully then smiled at her. "...we would leave that to you. You are free to have your convictions and hold on to your own belief. It has to be a choice you make, something you choose to believe and not what's forced upon you by us. We love people by giving them the freedom to choose. There is no genuine love in force."

She nodded as she felt the weight of the need to want to know it all begin to slip off her back.

"Imagine if we came to you looking like stoic old men with sad faces and sweeping grey beards. If we had come with a severe air and a pushful nature that scared you, how would you have reacted?"

She had thought for a while. "I would have accepted you because I'll be scared of what you'll do to me if I do not. But some would rebel."

"Would you have been our friend? Would you have liked our awesome company?" The father grinned as he wove his fingers behind his head and leaned against a wall.

She smiled and then chuckled. "Whoever wants to be friends with stoic old men? I like your company better. And you've all been so good to me."

"See that?" The word had asked as he nodded at her.

"See what?"

The spirit buried his small hands deep in the pockets of his purple robe and rocked on his heels with a small smile on his otherworldly face.
"Your gratitude. When thanks come easily and not from compulsion or a sense of duty, we like it. It feels... more real, better."