Ptahs Travels: Kingdoms of Ancient Egypt
- Kathryn DeMeritt

Bastet

Late that night, when the moon was high and the lights were low, Ptah had a very strange dream.
He dreamed he was walking down a long, stone hallway, gloomy except where lit by oil lamps that hung at intervals from copper brackets set into the walls. There were no windows in this hall, but the light from the lamps flickered as if blown by the wind, causing Ptahs shadow to dance along the floor as he passed slowly by.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere it seemed, a mysterious cat appeared. Her lustrous fur was the same soft, dark gray as the shadows from which she emerged, and her eyes were as pale and as bright as the moon. Greetings, young cat, she said, her voice soothing and low, like the sound of deep running water.

Ptah froze in his tracks. There was something weird about this cat. She appeared to glow, surrounded as she was by a soft pinkish light. Who . . . who are you? he stammered.

I am Bastet, goddess and protector of cats, the gray cat said, smiling. I have been watching over you, Ptah, and Ive come to take you on the journey your heart so desires. Follow me! She turned and began walking further down the long, stone hallway.

Ptah hesitated for a moment, then hurried after her. Where are we going? he asked. He didnt know what sort of journey she could possibly be talking about, nor did he know how it was that she came to know his name. He also didnt know whether it was wise to follow a strange catno matter how beautifuldown a darkened hallway. But Bastet seemed kind, and her words were much too enticing for him to ignore.

The two walked on in silence, at one point rounding a bend in the hallway, after which they began passing by a series of doorways along either side. The doors were open, and inside, Ptah was surprised to see scenes of fields and villages, or forests and mountains, or rivers and valleys going off into the distance. It was as though each doorway led to a completely different world! Curious, he asked Bastet whether he could go through some of them, but she shook her head no.

Not now, not yet, she replied, as if that were enough in the way of explanation.

Further and further down the hallway they went, each bend that they rounded leading to yet another long series of doorways with more views of far-off places. The hallway seemed to go on forever! Finally, Bastet stopped and pointed at a particular door.

It is time, she said.

Bursting with curiosity, Ptah rushed forward to look inside. Gazing out across the distance, he could see a sparkling river winding its way through a lush green valley beneath a crystalline blue sky. Along the rivers edge he saw villages, tidy and small, and on either side of the valley there were reddish mountains and deserts made of sand. The tangy scents of cinnamon and saffron wafted up through the air, and the music of flute and harp played sweetly in his ears. It was a wondrous place, a place that most certainly looked inviting, but Ptah hesitated to go further, fearful of where it all might lead.

Go on, encouraged Bastet.

Timidly, Ptah stepped over the threshold. Immediately, he was overcome by a strong sense of vertigo. He felt as though he was falling swiftly through space, when in fact all four of his paws were planted firmly on the ground. Frightened, he reached out a paw for Bastet to take hold of, but she merely backed away.

Fear not, she said, for I will always be with you. Stay with the urn! It will take you wherever you need to go. After that she melted into the shadows and was gone from sight.

Ptah panicked. The world around him was beginning to turn hazy, and he could no longer see. His vertigo made him feel dizzy and sick. A loud hissing noise, like the rush of the wind, swirled round in his ears. The terrible feeling of having been left all alone and unprotected grabbed hold of his gut. He tried to step back through the doorway but it had vanished in the haze, the hallway along with it. His senses now reeling, Ptah was encroaching upon the brink of despair, when all at once the hissing, the vertigo, and the dizziness stopped, and he found himself back inside the urn, surrounded by warmth and darkness.

Read more of Ptahs Travels at www.ptahstravels.com.
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