Kemet: The Cat and the Masked Woman | Flash fiction series
In the halls of some ancient, echoing Egyptian temple, a cat opened one sleepy eye and looked around the open chamber it rested in. Unlike during the summer holidays, the day of the last harvest was one of silent repose and contemplation of the thinning veil. The priests and priestesses hummed their muffled mantras in the closed hall of the inner sanctum, their voices wafting to the cat on a melodious breeze.
There was little for a temple cat to do on a day like this, and her favorite human knew this as she approached with treats and a toy. Her human was one of the priestesses of the temple, but unlike the traditional priestesses, this one wore a mask that reflected the features of the cat.
This priestess had gone through trial after trial to become more akin to the divine spirits that the temple served, someone who had stepped out of time and immersed themselves in the currents beyond.
‘Nishi,’ the priestess murmured to the cat, a name meaning ‘West’ in Japanese. The priestess learned the basics of the language when merchants passed through with their wares and stories, and it was in fact during trade with these Japanese merchants that she procured her kitten, another outlier between her and the other priestesses who had chosen their cats from Egyptian litters.
She had thought the name would bring the cat closer to her new home, while still reminding the feline of the far travels it took to arrive into her arms.
‘Did you sleep well Nishi?’ The priestess asked. ‘I could feel you dreaming all the way outside the temple. With the veil being this thin, I wonder what the harvest brought you to see… I wonder what I will see tonight.’ the priestess lazily stroked behind Nishi's ears and looked up toward the vaulted ceiling of the open chamber.
So many colors and swirling designs that were meant to evoke a sense of otherworldliness in the visitors were a simple comfort to this priestess, who like so many others who donned the mask, had long ago begun to find the strange and the exciting to be like home.
She snuggled closer to her cat, bringing the still snoozing feline into her arms, and whispered conspiratorially, ‘Perhaps I'll have a dream about where they put the delicacies for the harvest festival. In fact, Nishi, I'll make sure that's the dream that I have tonight. Remember not to tell anybody our little secret!’
The priestess gave Nishi a quick peck on her head and sprang up, her mask dangling on the red belt around her waist. She took a deep breath in and with one last look at the vaulted ceiling, she made her way to the inner sanctum where the others meditated, placing the feline mask that mirrored Nishi’s features over her face.
One could hear a small break in the chanting as the masked priestess entered, then a renewing of voices louder and with more intent that drew her in as the doors closed behind her.
A flush of energy immediately overcame Nishi, and she shook her head to dispel what she could not contain herself. Debating between curling back up on her cushion and walking around the pillars of the ancient hall to find errant insects invading the space, Nishi instead contented herself with grooming her paws and her tail.
As the first waves of the mantra began to affect her human, both her and Nishi's eyes began to open to what otherwise could not be seen, the thin veil finally pierced in a moment of perfect clarity. Soon, they would achieve not only inner harmony but they would find where the best snacks for the festival were hidden as well… and that was something that Nishi certainly looked forward to.
