Then she remembered the Book of the Dead placed in her tomb. Maybe her answer lay in the
papyrus scroll, filled with spells that would guide her path to heaven.
She broke open the seal and unrolled the
scroll to read. She opened it a bit more, frowned. She opened it even more, and
then more. Finally, she flicked out her arms and unrolled its length like a
mat. The papyrus gave a warning crackle and rustle on the floor, like the sound
of a crocodile shifting through the papyrus reeds on the Nile.
But what she saw was far worse. Nefera’s mouth
fell open in astonishment. How could this be? Her sacred scroll for the
afterlife was blank, a pathway of papyrus leading her nowhere...
Nefera trembled at the sight
of her empty scroll. They had left her in the tomb without a key to the
underworld. Every royal, noble or wealthy Egyptian made sure that they were
buried with a copy of the Book of the
Dead, a kind of passport and travel guide in one handy scroll. They
believed that the magical words in this scroll allowed them find their way
through the dark and terrifying passages of the Egyptian underworld and reach
heaven (and Nefera was anxious to see her cat, Miu, again).
Her scroll was totally blank, as if the text
had been written in disappearing ink. Not a drop marked its grainy surface.
“My scroll is as empty as the desert. Where
are my magical Words of Power?” she choked.
This was the first time in her life, or
afterlife, that words had ever failed Nefera. Words had brought her everything
she had ever wanted in life. Just one word of command and any wish had become
true. Words, sweetly spoken, she had learnt, even had the power to turn the
heart of her father, the pharaoh.
