Love By The Nile

1

It was a long walk from the Nile to Goshen where I lived and  spent it cursing on that wayword low life. How could he watch me bathe? I feel so dirty and violated. Normally my mother would have me cleansed but how can I tell my mother about? She would just blame. It was my fault for going there, I was not suppossed to bathe there. That part of the river was for the King and the nobles of Egypt. My mother would hit me, it was my fault. I walked right into Sin.

"Amah!" I called out to my mother as I put the clay pot on the ground close to the mud hearth. "Amah!!" I called again but got no answer, it seemed she must have gone to the market. The oil lamp had almost burned out so I put more oil inside the lamp and regulated it till it came back alive.

"Netanya, is that you?" Her voice came off sounding groggy. I moved towards her room trying to be as careful as possible so I wouldn't hit my toes in the potholes, the passage was quite dark. why didn't i carry the lamp along?

"Amah were you asleep?"

"Yes, I'm a bit tired. I think I still have the morning sickness symptoms" she sat up from the mat "have you eaten?"

"No! I just came back from the Nile. What about you?"

She smiled, "Yes! I'm eating for two remember so even if I didn't want too, the other always wants to so I don't have a choice". I smiled back glancing over the swell on her Tommy. My mom wasn't young but the fact that she was still fertile enough to have another baby after nineteen years always amused me.

"Ma is Manasseh back?" I asked trying to raise the subject in a way it wouldn't annoy her like the previous night

"No" she sighed "You still want to go to upper Egypt? Even as a servant?"

"Yes" I answered lowly. I didn't mind going to Egypt even as a servant. I wasn't a freeborn anyway. I was slave and had accepted it long ago. I had chosen not to let it bond me to Goshen. I wanted to explore other places in Egypt, so far, I had only explored Goshen.

She sighed again" I know of your will to travel and explore the depths of Egypt. I also know if we had given you a chance, you would travel the Sahara. But you should know that we are slaves, we are bonded and surrounded by dangerous people. You see how they treat us in the building sites and markets, they have no pity for us". Her words pricked me, my mother never lied but what she said was the opposite of what my grandmother told me.

The seeds of pepper are not peppery except they have been stained by the pepper.

My grandma despite being a slave, never spoke wrong about the Egyptians. She didn't support their cruelty but she believed that not all of them where bad.

"Mother" my brother's deep voice called before he appeared in my mother's room. His apparel has changed from the faded wool robe he wore to one that was ornamented and new. My eyes widened, where did he get that from? "Mother I greet you" he said with grin before bending to run her hand on his head.

My mother gave him a puzzled look, he was too cheerful today. For someone who had worked overnight at the site, his high spirit wasn't expected.

"Welcome Manasseh, you seem awfully cheerful. May I know the reason?"

He reached for his girdle around his waist and fondle a little with his hand then he brought out a scroll and a small vile bottle. My eyes widened in excitement
"Is that for me?" I asked with glee then he tossed it to me. I stood up as I opened it, I was along them. I was among them, it was an order for servant girls from Goshen for a feast in upper egypt and I was given a scroll. I grinned as I processed the order. My chest swelled in joy "Mah I'm going to the palace, I'm going to upper Egypt"