Mummified by Lisa Rayns || A DESTINED DEATH || #Excerpt

Until you’ve mummified a 3 foot power ranger doll, you truly can’t appreciate the Ancient Egyptian culture.

Nah, just kidding. You can, but you’re really missing out. Since my topic is Ancient Egyptian Mythology, I’m going to share my best Egyptian adventure.

In college, one of my favorite courses was Ancient and Medieval World Cultures, and I had to give a visual presentation with props. The Egyptian fan that I am, I chose Osiris, the god of the Underworld.

Here’s how his story goes:

Osiris was a kind Pharaoh who was killed by his jealous brother, Seth, for control of Egypt. Isis, Osiris’ sister and wife (as was the custom to keep the blood line pure), was a skillful magician who transformed into a bird. By flapping her wings above him, she gave him breath and brought him back to life.

Seth killed Osiris again, cut his body up and threw the pieces into the Nile. Isis and Anubis (protector of the dead and embalming) put Osiris’ body back together with bandages and embalming rites while Thoth (god of knowledge, hieroglyphs and wisdom) recited an incantation. That's how Osiris became the first mummy.  

Osiris’ death and resurrection supposedly guaranteed an afterlife to mortals. There is more to his story, but I hit the high points.

Back to my project: 

As you can see from the old photo, my son is the same size as the power ranger so I had a little trouble deciding which one to mummify. The child, jealous of the doll, really wanted me to pick him. 

I spent days wrapping this doll in strips of cloth, and my father helped me create metal objects shaped as his symbolic crook, flail, and the snake on his headpiece. I even created the tall head with a plastic bowling pin. He was beautiful. Unfortunately, I didn’t think to take a picture until after I’d removed his head gear. Anyway, it was a fun experience.

I brought a little bit of Osiris into my novel, A Destined Death, which encompasses soul mates and reincarnation. Here are a couple of snippets from the book where Osiris gets his mention.

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Snippets from A DESTINED DEATH:

Draven laid me down on a bed in what I could only assume was the infamous Egyptian room. Large pictures of sarcophagi, pyramids, and people with dog heads lined the walls. The rug on the floor, neatly ruled with hieroglyphics, held a painting depicting Osiris.

“That’s fine with me! Tell me you found him.”

“No, I’m sorry. There wasn’t enough time.”

I tried not to be distracted. “It’s very sweet.”

“What is?”

“That you actually loved me enough to let me do this to your room.”

He laughed. “It used to be your favorite.”

“It’s not anymore. Can we leave, please? It’s creepy.”

“We spent a lot of time in Egypt that year.” His mind seemed to wander off while he spoke, “You were looking for something special. You wouldn’t tell me what it was, but I don’t think you ever found it.”

I saw the sadness in his eyes and realized that my last self was the only memory he’d had to keep him going for the last twenty years. I touched his arm tenderly, yearning to release his sorrow. “I’m here now.”

He smiled and effortlessly picked me up. “Of course you are, and we have many, many choices for you. Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Morocco, France––”

“France is fine.”

“The French suite it is.”

* * * *

 The Egyptian room was dark when I entered it. No lights glowed, and nothing appeared to move except the eyes of the dead that watched me. When I turned on the light, he lay there in front of me, bright and woven on the floor. “Osiris, Lord of the Underworld, what power do you have for me? What secret do you hold in your eyes?” I tried to put a mysterious edge on the words for fun but ended up with the same results as I had with “The road off 212.” The eerie feelings that surrounded me seemed to double.

Stubbornly, I held my ground and looked him over. He wore a white robe, and his head and collar were bejeweled with gold. In his hands, he held two staffs, one resembling a cane and one a whip. He faced left, revealing a long beard and only one eye. I stared at him, not knowing what was supposed to happen. Was another dream going to pop out at me and reveal another riddle? After an hour of nothing, I laid down beside the eye, thinking that dreaming in the room might offer me the image I sought. I had just drifted off when…

“Don’t tell me the room’s grown on you.”

A DESTINED DEATH is available from Amazon.

Sending thanks to everyone for checking me out on one of my favorite blogs!