Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: ZENITH (04/21/16)
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TITLE: My Idea | Previous Challenge Entry
By Francy Judge
04/28/16 -
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One scorching hot evening, before the invention of air conditioners, I stood at Pharaoh’s side with his other servants, waving palm branches to cool his skin. As Pharaoh reclined, a servant girl fed him grapes. The smell of wine and sweet bread was almost too much to bear, teasing us with what we were not able to have. Musicians played harps and sung softly at Pharaoh’s request. I’m not sure if he was a bit dehydrated and delirious in the heat as he began voicing his fears and deepest wishes to us, mere servants.
“I am the richest man alive; I can have anything I wish for, yet I seek something more, something of the Gods. If any man has an idea for me to fulfill my wishes, he shall eat from my table.”
I was a bit delirious myself as I stared at a glistening drop of sweat on Pharaoh’s pointy nose. A falling star caught my attention through the window, and the idea burst into my mind. I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. I bowed and spoke: “Mighty Pharaoh, if you would like to reach the Gods, why not build steps as high as possible, starting with a large foundation that reaches a summit pointing to the heavens?”
Pharaoh shot up, throwing the branches to the floor. “That’s it! A stairway to heaven. A tomb prepared for me to climb up to the Gods. Bring me Imhotep at once. He shall draw the plans for the most incredible structure ever built.”
I stared at Pharaoh’s table, unable to ask for my reward. As he proceeded to leave the room, he turned toward me. “Yes, you may eat anything you like my table.”
I ate too fast. Bread slathered with honey, meat with spices, and enough wine to make my head spin and stomach ache. That was my only thanks.
For the rest of Pharaoh’s life, he watched Imhotep’s drawings of my idea executed to perfection. Every brick weighing in the tons had to be shaped precisely to fit the puzzle. I dreamed my name would be written on a corner of a stone, that my name would be remembered. I was behind this creation. It was not to be.
As the steps rose higher each year, Pharaoh, lamented: “They must build faster. I don’t feel any closer to God, but I feel my death approaching. I must know it is finished before Anubis (the God of death) drags me to the earth. I must see the last step at the zenith.”
Gradually, Pharaoh’s body failed, but not until he saw the last brick molded into place. I looked into his eyes, expecting to see the joy, the fulfillment of a dream. For the briefest moment I did, but the twinkle in his eye quickly vanished as sadness clouded his face.
His last words were: “I still don’t see God.”
Looking back, I’m amazed at what was accomplished by man. All my idea, thank you very much, but I hear it’s not possible. We could never build a stairway that would reach God, so He came down to show the way. But that’s another story, one the Pharaoh never heard.
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This is a work of fiction. Djoser is said to have been the first or second king of the 3rd Dynasty in Egypt. He lived long enough to see the first pyramid finished for his tomb.
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