Me, The Mummy

512 BCE

I am the greatest Pharaoh that ever lived, Ammon the concealer. However, I am dying. I outlived what they said I would. I am 35! But it feels like the end. I haven't moved from my private chambers since last week, and my skin has started going yellow. My priest has said that this is the glow of royalty, but I know better. I close my eyes, and hope that it is not the last time that I do.

When I rouse, I notice that I am lying on a plank of wood, and being transported through the desert. This is odd. The sun is glimmering and is blinding my eyes. I lift my hand to shield my eyes, and nothing happens. I try again, nothing. This time I try rolling over with all of my might, but not even a muscle flinches. The people carrying me stop, and I see a large, unfamiliar building in front of me. A strong looking man, who is holding a spear, nods, and we enter the building.

I am overwhelmed with sadness as I realise that we have entered the mummy house. This is a place where royalty (like me) go to be preserved for the journey to the afterlife. I scream, but no words come out. My lungs erupt with anger, but no one hears me. I sob but no tears fall out. I am defenceless against death. I will see myself being preserved forever, and I can do nothing about it.

As I begin to calm down, and accept the fact that I will never die but be dead, my carriers (who I discover are my favourite slaves; Hadwin and Uke) drop me lightly onto a bench. My arm hits the stone bench rather hard, however, I feel no pain. Do all 'dead' people feel like this? I wonder. The people around me all help to strip me of my clothing. I am now, lying on this table naked, but I don't feel the draft on my skin. I know that I should feel different, but I don't.

The people who surround me leave, and two new ones come in. They coat me with a heavy with water from the Nile. Another man comes in and he begins to read from a sacred book. This, I realise is the book of the dead, and he is preparing me for the afterlife. This process of washing and reading continues for some time. They begin to take me into the next room, and I realise what is happening. They are going to take out all of my insides.

As I am being carried in, I see many other people in the same position as me. Wait, are they? Are they feeling this too? I guess there is no way I will ever know. Suddenly, a man looms over me. He is holding a knife. He whispers something that I can't understand, and a frown appears upon his face. Oh no! He is going to slit my side.

I brace myself for the pain, as he inserts the knife around the abdomen on my left side. I feel nothing, but I know that I should. I hear a rip and he pulls his knife out of my body. There is a metallic sound as the knife-sword hits the floor. He calls over another man who appears to be his boss. The converse for several minutes and the conversation ends with the boss man shrugging and walking away.

So, the man who cut me walks back over and puts his hand inside me without warning. I feel as if I should squirm, but I don't. There are four jars on the floor next to him, and as he begins to pull out my organs he opens each jar. I see him take out a long squirmy thing and place it in the jar. What is that? One by one, he takes out all of my organs. After all four jars are filled; he places them in a cabinet. I see him pick up a hook that is coloured with dry blood. Oh no, what is he going to do with that? He places it in my left nostril and pushes it up my nose as far as he can. A squishy object comes out. What is that? How did it get there?

I am now lifted up by two different men. They grunt as they carry me to the next 'station'. I am now lying flat on yet another bench. A shrimp man comes over and he is carrying a fancy glass bottle filled with a slightly discoloured liquid. In his other hand, he holds a simple brown straw bag filled with a white substance, which is probably salt. As he gets closer and closer, I notice his disgusting grimace. What is he going to do to me?

The man drops the brown bag and I focus on the bottle. He lifts off the lid and places it on the floor. The creepy man pours some of the liquid onto his hands and begins to rub it all over me. I notice that it is sweet smelling, and it must be to preserve a nice smell because my body is dead. After he is done with that, he places the lid back on the bottle and places it on the floor where the bag of salt is. He picks it up and covers me completely in it.

I am shifted to a room that has 3 other men who are covered in salt. I presume that I will be here for a while. Suddenly I realise that I have all of the 5 senses available except for the sense of touch. How can I see? How can I hear? How can I smell? How can I taste? I constantly think about this for many weeks. People come into the room that I am in, people come out. But I am still here, I don't move. Then the door to the room shifts and nobody new comes in. Maybe they will take me out of the boredom, hell hole. They take me out. It has been 70 days.

I am placed on a softer bench in this next part of mummification. There are several rolls of bandages surrounding me. This is the part where I get wrapped up. Will I still have all of the senses, which I have had the pleasure of controlling in the last few months? This time, two very tall men are the ones dealing with me. They each pick up a roll of thick material. It is shaped like a bandage. They each pick up one of my legs and begin to wrap. In less than 20 minutes, both of my legs are done and they start on my abdomen and crotch. This only takes them another hour.

They then each pick up a smaller one. This is, I presume, for my arms. They take more care, when wrapping my arms. This takes 45 minutes, even though they have left my hands and fingers bare. They get a thicker, whiter cloth and cover my fingers delicately. After this, they pick up 10 gold caps and place one on each of my fingers.

I am shifted to another 'bed' where they continue to wrap me. This time they wrap my head and coat my entire wrapped body with a sticky coat of resin glue. I am then wrapped again. However, this time, I am wrapped with many of my medallions and medals, to guide me through the afterlife. They are the key to passing through the afterlife.

Suddenly, I realise, I can still see. How can this be if my face is covered with 4 layers of thick cloth? Is it actually me seeing or is it my soul? Is this my start to the journey through and to the afterlife? An eruption of feeling explode all over my body. This is all too overwhelming for me, Ammon the concealer. I am lifted out of this room when the people are finished wrapping me. I want to scream. My throat erupting with anger, but there is nothing I can do.