Ancient Times #31

byKRoache

753 followers

4 years ago

Zem gazed over in his new community garden and tried to visualize how, after a systematic, slow re-planting of his specimens, the vision might appear. His just knew his garden was going to look spectacular.

A menacing shadow enveloped Zem and his immediate surroundings. This suddenly confused Zem, breaking his concentration and the picture that was slowly forming in his mind. Swinging around, Zem carefully looked up.

Blotting out the sun was an extremely large man. The word giant, when used as an adjective, can be said to be sometimes over employed. Not in this case though.

After a moment of stunned silence Zem recovered his wits and a little dignity. Zem managed a haughty and authoritative, “And you are?”

Holding out a huge hand the stranger grinned and boomed, “Mose, but everybody calls me Mo.”

Zem lost all feeling in his hand as Mo squeezed and pumped it vigorously. At first Zem thought he was being attacked. Mose suddenly stopped the assault and stood like a huge docile hippopotamus.

When Zem realized the foreigner had performed some sort of greeting, it dawned on him. “Ah! The statue man?”

“That’s me,” replied Mose, with a grin. Obviously existing on a diet of spinach, Mose was twice as tall as any man Zem had ever seen. Although he couldn’t be called fat, he must have weighed at least four times that of the average man.

Zem used to tell bedtime stories to Mai about a man as big as a house, who was built of pure muscle. Mo the bodybuilder bought to mind the gentle giant of these forgotten fables.

Before pharaoh had left for foreign parts, his secretary had furnished Zem with a list of artisans and the objects they were going to bring on a regular basis to the village. These were to be deposited in the storeroom.

Zem had recently found the list he thought he had lost. It had been safely filed away with his treatments for his ailing plants that he had collected over the years.

Top of that list had been Haaymysh the goldsmith, second on that list was Mose the silversmith.

Silver was a much more valuable commodity than gold in Egypt at this particular time because of its rarity. Silver was mined in the mountains to the East. Mose did the mining. Mose was an expert at bending the metal to his will.

As usual, word spread quickly to the rest of the village who gathered outside the storeroom to see the unveiling of Mose’s masterpiece.

Pharaoh was a Horus man. The statue, standing as tall as a man, was of Horus cast in solid silver with a lapis lazuli hawk’s head and rubies for eyes. As Mose stood on the back of his wagon and untied his cargo, Tej thought it strange that this artisan, and the one before him, traveled with such a valuable consignment yet with no guards. Mind you, Mose didn’t look like he needed any.

Everybody was as astounded by the elegance and beauty of Mose’s work of art as they had been for Haamysh’s.

After lots of shouts and ordering about, with much pushing and shoving, the new invaluable piece was itemized and locked away.

Mai of course wanted to hear all about the land Mose came from and about his travels across Egypt. Pushing her way through the mass of people, she prodded Mose on the arm, “Can I talk to you later Mo?”

Incidentally, those had been the exact words Aby had used. Only for an entirely different purpose.

Mai needn’t have worried about not hearing about all of Mose’s exploits. He was invited to join the family for their evening meal. Mose waxed lyrically about his childhood, being brought up and taught all he knew by his uncle, about the places he’d seen, and about the things he’d done.

Mai was absolutely transfixed, she sat fascinated as she lost herself in his deep voice describing her dream.

When the tale was getting really interesting, An spoiled it all by putting an end to the proceedings by insisting it was time to clear away the plates and utensils, and leave Mo alone. This then prompted Aby to take their guest out to see what an interesting barn they had.

If Mose hadn’t loved traveling as much as he loved his work, he told himself, as he sadly drove through the village gates, he could have made a good home in the village.

The hospitality he had been shown was overwhelming. Mose had made good friends with everybody he had met.

Work-wise, he was sure he would have fitted in admirably and been an asset to the team. His undoubted skills would also have been readily accepted by his new workmates, he felt.

Socially, Mose had never before encountered anybody who could hold as much beer as himself, until he had met Zem. There could have been a great partnership there.

Another partnership Mose wasn’t all that sad about having to break up was the one with Aby. Mose himself never went without for too long. He also prided himself on the fact he was ready for action at any time. However, after three days of Aby’s constant attention, Mo now needed to re-asses certain of his taken for granted abilities.

He needed to get back to work for some rest.