Chapter twenty-seven

Zeke was so happy that evening that he unknowingly overlooked the sadness he saw in Noah’s eyes. He couldn’t contain his excitement over solving Zoom’s riddle and learning that the place she wanted him to find was on Earth. It was only later, once his enthusiasm dialed down, that he realized what that meant.

Egypt wasn’t anywhere close to where he lived – little Emmet County at the tip of the Lower Peninsula in Michigan. It was a different part of the world, making it almost impossible for him to be there anytime soon. He had never traveled anywhere outside the state, let alone the country. He couldn’t even imagine going to Egypt. Even if he did, how would he find her… and where? His cosmic friends Zig and Zag weren’t around to help him find her, either. There were more serious issues he needed to deal with now. His mother wasn’t well, and he had been looking after her for months trying to nurse her back to health. He also needed to study hard so he could maintain good grades in school.

Once again, he was reminded of the test of patience. He knew that this was probably the reason he had been taught that much-needed lesson at the beginning of the year. He figured he needed to know much more about Egypt and its connection to his mission before he could physically go there. He also realized that the test of patience was also a test of faith – faith in the unknown, and faith in the divine timing of the universe. He needed to trust that the universe would guide him back to his beloved when they were meant to be together.

After he came back home with the book that night, he began reading all the stories about that unknown land. He read all the little details Mr. Leitner had left out. He read all about ancient Egyptian civilization, its culture, its rituals, and its deities. Those stories helped him slowly tie up the loose ends of the puzzle.

Zeke already knew Zoom was referring to the underworld and the afterlife when she told him to look for the land “where the dead can walk.” She had specifically meant the mummified bodies of Egypt when she said, “the body never dies in this land.” While reading about Ra’s journey in a boat for millions of years, he clearly understood why she stated, “the sun travels towards the timeless,” for Ra himself, was the sun.

While reading the fascinating Egyptian myths, he fell asleep. He had a very strange dream that night. In it, he saw Mr. Leitner sitting alone in a graveyard. He was in tears, mourning over multiple graves. After some time, a young woman walked towards him. She had the body of a woman but the head of a black cat, reminding him of the lion-people of Lyra, yet she was unlike them in many ways. She wore many adornments around her neck and had a hat that looked like a crown on her head.

She affectionately pressed a hand to Noah’s cheek and asked in a loving and soft tone, “Why do you cry? Have you lost someone, my dear?”

He was lost in his tears and simply managed to nod his head in agreement. The cat-headed woman held his hands and spoke with motherly affection.

“Do not worry, my child. I shall guide you to a place where you can search for all whom you have lost.”

He looked up at her in shock and asked, “Where, Mother?”

“You shall find them where all who have passed reside now,” she answered.

She helped him to his feet, and they began walking. He followed her with a childlike faith. She took him to what looked like the entrance of a tomb. It was terribly dark, yet the two went in. After a while, they came to a passage where several statues stood in unison. He stopped near one of the statues of a hawk-headed god wearing the Double Crown of Egypt. Even in the dream, Zeke instantly recognized the statue as Horus, the son of Isis and Osiris.

The cat-headed woman stood beside Noah and spoke to him, “This is Horus, god of the sky.”

“Will he be able to tell me where my lost loved ones are?” he asked.

She smiled at him with love and affection in her eyes again and said, “It is his father, the Lord of the Underworld, King Osiris, who can help you.”

Zeke hadn’t read about any cat woman in the book of Egyptian myths, yet her energy felt very familiar to him. He knew she was an Egyptian goddess who was taking Noah to the underworld. She guided him to the temple of King Osiris, who sat on his golden throne.

Then, the god of the dead spoke. “Whom do you seek?”

Noah still had tears in his eyes as he replied, “I’m seeking all my loved ones. They’ve left me, and I can’t seem to find them. I feel lost and lonely. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to live anymore.”

Osiris lifted his arm and pointed his finger. “Seek them in that direction, gentle one. May you find what you need.”

Noah ran in the direction the god had shown him. He ran for what seemed like hours past dunes of sand and wandering souls until he finally came upon a clan that Zeke could only assume were his loved ones. Noah ran towards them and hugged them in joy. Zeke couldn’t see their faces, but he could make out the silhouettes of an old woman, a younger man and woman, almost his parents’ age, and another young boy closer to his age, all hugging him warmly.

“Are you all happy? Are you safe?” Noah cried.

“We are. We are safe, and we are happy. You don’t have to worry about us at all, Grandpa!” the young boy chirped.

“How will I live without you? Let me come with you, please!” Noah’s eyes welled up again.

“It’s still not your time, dear one. Don’t you worry. You’ll be fine. There’s someone who won’t let you miss us as much. You must be there to guide him. I can see you already love him, Noah,” the old woman answered in a rough, broken voice.

“He’ll remind you of us. He’ll be your family, Father. He’ll give you a purpose,” the young man added.

Noah smiled at them one last time and bid goodbye. Just as he turned to leave, he saw a man walking up to him holding a scepter in his hand with three symbols, one of which Zeke could identify as the ankh, as he had already read about it in the book. The man had green-colored skin and a long chin beard, his body enveloped in a shroud. As soon as Noah saw this man, his eyes glittered with joy.

“Oh, you followed me all the way here!” He hugged the man with great zeal.

“Let me take you back to where you belong. I have so many questions left to ask you. Will you answer them?” the green-skinned man asked him.

Noah answered while still hugging the man. “Yes, yes, my child! Let’s go back to where I belong and let me help you with all your queries. I was told I still have some time. Let’s go, son.”

• • •

Zeke woke up and found himself in his bed. His heart felt heavy. “What was that dream all about?”

He thought he had dreamt of the underworld, as he had been reading about it with such passion, but then why did he see Mr. Leitner searching for his loved ones there? “Who were those people he hugged? Who was the green-skinned man? Why did he seem so familiar? Why did Mr. Leitner call him kid and son, just as he addresses me?” Then came the realization.

“Maybe because… that’s me!” he said aloud. To his utter amazement, he suddenly realized the voice of the young green man was none other than his own voice. “Yeah, it was my voice! Why was I green and…”

He was suddenly reminded of the sadness he had seen in Mr. Leitner’s eyes the evening before. That evening, Zeke went back to Indigo Children. The old man was roaming around inside his store as usual. Zeke went straight up to him and said, “You never told me your first name was Noah, did you?”

Noah turned around and looked at him in a state of shock. He stayed silent for a moment, and then, with the usual mysterious smile on his face, he asked, “You had the same dream as me last night, didn’t you, kid?”

It was Zeke’s turn to feel shocked. “Was it me… the green man?” he asked instead of answering.

Noah smiled at him again and said, “Yes, I recognized you immediately. I’m here for you, son. I have a purpose: to help you on your journey, whatever that may be. Go back home and read the book I gave you. There’s an answer waiting for you in that book.”

Zeke wanted to know more. He wanted to ask Noah so many questions but listened to the old man’s advice and went home. He began reading the book of Egyptian myths again. The page he opened next sent chills down his spine, not out of fear but because of the sheer amazement at what he saw. The page had a picture of a man with green skin, a long chin beard, his body wrapped in a shroud, and a scepter.

It was the image of the creator god Ptah, said to be the creator of all things. He is believed to have created the other original gods, the heavens, and the earth. Zeke loved reading the myth of Ptah, who was said to have even created himself out of the void and then created the physical universe in which to live.

Zeke was so engrossed in the Egyptian myths that he forgot about the world around him for the next few days. The myth of Ptah resonated with him the most. He could almost relate to this green man in his dream as a part of himself, a version of his own being, in another time, in another reality. And as a lightworker, he already knew there were no coincidences.