Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: Integrity (04/11/24)
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TITLE: True You | Previous Challenge Entry
By Jack Taylor
04/18/24 -
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“This could all be yours one day,” Hatshepsut said, extending her arm to take in from one horizon to another. “The gods await your acknowledgment. As my son, the people will raise monuments in your name. You will live forever. You need only to be who you are.”
Moses stepped back into the shade of a palm and noted a golden-plated warrior riding at the lead. “Thutmose awaits his ascendency and I won’t stand in his way. The lullabies of the Hebrews echo in my heart. I know there is something more than all this.”
Hatshepsut stepped toward him and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Your wetnurse bewitched your mind, my son. I was the one who rescued you, who trained you, who loved you since before you could walk.”
“There is no one I love more,” Moses said, placing his hand over hers. “You have given me a life no dreamer can imagine.”
“Look at the crowds,” Hatshepsut said. “Remember when they chanted your name after your exploits on the battlefield? Remember how the priests and scribes rallied around you to teach you all the wisdom of our people? This is who you are and this is where you belong.”
“You know I will always be by your side,” Moses assured.
“If only you would marry my daughter and secure your place in The Great House. She will be crowned the wife of Amun and the children from your union will rule over the river and the sand as long as life will last.”
“You have said yourself that you carry the blood of the gods in your veins and that your daughter carries that same blood. I am different. You tell me to be who I am. Your daughter is destined to raise up the power and prestige of Thutmose through their union. You honor me but I cannot accept it all.”
Turning toward the River in its flood stage, Hatshepsut sighed and sank to a chair. “You alone carry the hope of our nation. Don’t chase dreams and fantasies of what can’t be seen and miss out on what is right in front of your eyes.”
“I have seen the needs of our workers and my desire is for them,” Moses said. “They are a people who embrace only one god, a Creator.”
“People who have no hope and no dream have no gods,” Hatshepsut said. “You don’t want to lose everything for nothing, do you? If you refuse to take on all that marks you as my son how will people know that you belong to me.”
A caravan of camels paraded by and the scent of the spices held in their saddle bags drifted by on the breeze. Moses pointed at the lead driver waving in their direction. “As long as we are together, I have everything I need.”
She pulled him to the side to sit with her. “You know that I will be unable to protect you if Thutmose ever gains control of the throne. The priests, nobles, and army captains will rally to his side. Some factions think it is unnatural for a woman to control the land. You have what it takes not only to protect the land but to protect me as well.”
A servant stepped up with a tray of dates, figs, oranges, and radishes. Moses popped a date into his mouth. “There is something greater calling me to be something more. I don’t know what it is but I must be true to what I am meant to be.”
“Think of how you can help the workers you care so much for,” Hatshepsut reasoned. “As my son, you will have all the power you will need.”
Moses knelt before her. “As your son, I would have everything in this world I could wish for. I would have power, wealth, and fame. But would I be who I was meant to be?”
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