Distantly Falling Stars (GRAND WINNER * ONC 2019)

The Star

Upper Egypt, 1700 BC

The small, copper ball hovered in the air.

Then slowly it descended onto the floor of the temple chamber and began to roll.

Changing directions several times, stopping and looping back, it traced ever more complex patterns over the smooth stone, the flickering tongues of flame from the open braziers of the shrine dancing on its shiny surface.

Sweeping a wide arc, it ran only a hand-span away from the delicately-woven, palm-leaf sandals of the four men who stood along the chamber wall watching its progress in awed silence. Each one of them took a quick step backwards as the ball rolled past them, bowing their heads slightly and secretly clutching at protective amulets hidden in the folds of their white linen shawls.

Seti, the last man in the line, watched with a swirling mixture of fear and fascination as the ball moved towards his own feet. Like the others, he felt the strong urge to move back, to bow his head, but curiosity kept him rooted where he was.

The ball rolled past him. . . but then looped back, slowly coming to a stop only an arm's length in front of his sandals.

It levitated again, rising to the level of his navel where it stopped, hanging motionlessly in the air. The urge to reach out and touch it, to stroke the reddish metal, test the air around it with his hand, rose in him like the tensing of a muscle. Was it hot? Cold?

Before he could make a decision, it began to slowly float away back across the chamber to nestle into the out-stretched hand of the petite High Priestess gazing at him from under a voluptuous, dark wig.

"What you have just witnessed is a demonstration of the power of the Star of Bekumen on an object when it is joined with the mental discipline of an adept of the Goddess," she said. 

The bodice of cylindrical, green-glazed faience she wore over her dress rattled faintly as she moved the ball from one hand to the other.  

The priestess hurled the ball directly up into the air.

The men gasped and retreated another step back as it halted abruptly, locked into place as if caught by an invisible hand. 

"Over one thousand years ago, the Sky Goddess gifted the Star to us," the priestess continued, ignoring the ball floating above her head. "You have all heard of its powers to cure sickness and purify water, but the Star is capable of far more than that."

Seti looked from the copper ball to the famous Star resting in the large shrine that spanned the entire length of the east-facing wall. He had never considered what the Star of Bekumen actually looked like because he'd never dreamed he'd be allowed to see it. He looked now, though, committing all of it to memory. 

The Star was a long, black rock with a deeply-pockmarked surface, as if it had been struck by a thousand random hammer blows. One side extended up like a finger and the base was uneven and cracked. Its asymmetrical, damaged form sharply contrasted with the clean, linear lines of the shrine that was designed to look like a spacious house.  Painted carvings of gardens, orchards and animals grazing in fields decorated the walls along its sides, giving the house a lush, welcoming appearance.

Above, a huge sun disk stretched its vibrant wings of green, red and blue feathers down either side of the shrine, as if the sun were embracing the gift of the Sky with its warmth and affection.

Although not a particularly pious man, Seti felt a tingle of religious awe at the sight. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and considered stepping back in line with the others.