Monday, February 15th
Today, I woke up before dawn. My servant had prepared clean clothes for me - my usual linen skirt and a loin cloth.
After washing myself and changing into my clothes, I prayed to the deities Heset, the god of plenty, and Toth, the god of wisdom. I remembered to offer prayers for the victims of the recent inundation of the Nile river that happened 2 weeks ago. It had been a bad flooding. Many people had died .
I then ate my favourite breakfast of bread dipped in honey. I drank only a little wine today.
Usually I worked at the same place where I lived. This was a temple which Egyptians called "The Temple of Life". However today I decided to set up my clinic outside the temple. Sometimes sick people cannot come all the way to the Temple of Life so it is good to be at places which are nearer to them.
I gathered up all of my supplies and medicine and went to find a more suitable place to set up my shop.
I walked along the Nile river on my way to town centre. There were many fishing boats on the river and also many fishermen fishing from the riverbank. I saw my friend Neshi fishing. I went up to him and asked: “Hey Neshi, any good catches today?” He replied “Yeah, of course!” and as he said that, he smiled and pulled a huge fish from a basket next to him. I asked him to reserve that one for me later and I continued to search for the right location for my shop.
I passed the shop of Ani, the father of Neshi, and went to buy some jewelry from him. I bought an amulet from him and set up my store next to his.
After a few hours, a stone carver named Debi asked me to bring my supplies and follow him back to his house quickly,
so I followed him. I went to his house and found a peasant named Nebnefer lying on the chair and blood flowing out of his leg. I
quickly took out some cotton and dipped it on his leg, I told him that I had to stitch the wound back together or else more blood
would come out. I quickly stitched the wound back together before more blood could flow out and put a bandage on it to just cover up the wound for a while.
Nebnefer thanked me and Debi helped pay for the surgery. After that, I went to the Nile river to take a bath and went back to the temple for some rest.
Tuesday, February 16th
Today when I went to my shop, I found a letter on my desk. This is what it said:
Dear Methyethy,
King Tutankhamen is sick and we need you to come to the palace so that you can heal him. His whole body feels hot and he never feels like eating. So you must come AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.
From,
Nebetah
(Grand Vizier)
I took my supplies and rushed to the
palace at top speed. Once I got there, I was welcomed by Nebetah and both of us rushed into the throne room. I saw Harry the musician and Aneksi the dancer, entertaining King Tutankhamen while he was sitting on his throne. I quickly went over to him and felt his forehead. He had a high fever. I asked the royal servant for some herbs so mix them with my medicine and I asked King Tutankhamen to lay down on his bed. I quickly did the mixture and made King Tutankhamen drink it. I told Nebetah to give the King this medicine again after dinner and I left. Once I got back to my shop, Ani asked me about King Tutankhamen's condition. I said that he would be okay and that I would go back to his palace tomorrow.
Wednesday, February 17th
Today I had a very delicious breakfast of beef, bread and wine. After that I went and set up my shop next to Ani’s. Then I went to King Tutankhamen's palace to check up on him. It turned out that he was better and I asked him to take more of the medicine. Then I went to buy some ingredients from the store and took it back to my shop. I then mixed it up and put them in to bottles based on their names. I managed to sell quite a lot of medicine and used the money to buy some food for dinner, I also went to Neshi’s store and bought the fish which I had asked him to reserve for me. After that, I went to the Nile river and took a nice long bath. Then I went back to the temple and prepared dinner for the priest and myself. I made roast beef, prepared some bread and placed the wine on the table. After a really good dinner, I went back up to my room and slept for the rest of the day.
Friday, February 27th
Since today was a Friday, I decided to take a day off from work and just relax. I had a delicious breakfast with my friend, Tia, and the rest of the priests and priestesses in the Temple of Life. We had some roast beef, some bread with honey, eggs and beer. After cleaning the dishes, I visited the 6 main parts of the temple which are the courtyards, the second hall, the sacred lake, the pylon, the sanctuary and the hypostyle hall. Going there reminded me of the first day I moved in. I was amazed that I was actually going to stay in this beautiful place. I felt really happy that day. I had a new house, new friends and a new family. Then I decided to go to The Temple of Heliopolis, where people go and worship the sun god, Ra. I asked him to bring prosperity to the fields so that there will be enough food for everyone. Then I went and sacrificed a cow to Ra. After that, I went to the Nile River so that I could take a bath and relax. I went back to the temple and prepared dinner for me and the other priests which is also part of my job. After finishing dinner, I cleaned up and went to bed.
Saturday, February 28th
Today I got up and found some depressing news. One of the priests had just passed away. His name was Sontiana and he was 81 years old. It seems that he died in the night because of old age. A few priests and I prepared his funeral while Rennefer, the mummy maker, mummified his body. Some of the priests and I prepared some wine and meat as offerings to sustain his spirit in the afterlife. After Rennefer informed us that he finished mummifying Sontiana’s body, we went to the burial site and waited there for his body to be brought there. Once the body was brought there, we chanted a chant and said our goodbyes to him one by one. I said that he would definitely find a good place to live in the afterlife and that he was a good priest. After that, we sadly watched as our friend was buried in the ground. Then we went back to the temple and we all had a dinner that was dedicated to Sontiana. The dinner went on for about 4 hours and everyone in the village came. Even our pharaoh, King Tutankhamen attended. Once the dinner was over, we prayed and offered the wine and the meat to Sontiana. After dinner, I went over to the Nile River to have a quick bath. Then I went home and got ready to sleep. I thought about the things Sontiana and I did together. It made me so sad that I cried myself to sleep.
Sunday, February 29th
Today I got up and went to set up my store next to Ani’s again. Once I got there, I noticed a sign. It said in big bold letters, “ Sale!!!!!!!! Sale!!!!!!!!! Get your jewelry here!!! 50% off!!!” I went into his shop and we started having a conversation. “Hey Ani, I see that you have a sale going.” He replied “ Well yeah, do you want to buy something?” I looked around and I saw it, the most beautiful amulet I have ever seen. There was a green diamond in the middle of it and two winged dragons curled around the diamond as if they were protecting it. I pointed to it and said “ I would like that one please!” He took it out and told me that I had a very fine taste to jewelry. I gave him the money and wore it around my neck. I swore to myself that I would cherish it with my life then I went back to my shop. Once evening came, I packed up my stuff and I started to go to the Nile River so I could take a bath. On the way there, a farmer was passing by on his horse and cart when a box on his cart suddenly fell off. I would have gotten squashed. But I suddenly tripped and luckily managed to evade it. The farmer apologised and I helped him put the box back into the cart and I continued on to the Nile River. While washing myself, I realized that the amulet could be the reason I managed to dodge the box. After all, amulets do bring people good luck . I washed the amulet and put it around my neck. Once I got back to the temple, I showed it to the priests. They admired it a lot. Some of them wanted to borrow it while others wanted to buy it from me. I said that I would only lend it to them and I went to prepare dinner. After cleaning up, I went back to my room and polished the amulet till it was spotless. I told myself that I learned two things today: one was that Ani has the best jewelry, and the second was that some amulets can really bring you lucky.
15th November, Saturday
Today, Ani’s servant came over and told me Ani was very sick. He said that Ani was too sick to move so he asked me to go to Ani’s house. I gathered up my medicines and tools, and rushed over to Ani’s house. When I got to his house, I saw Ani’s son, Neshi, putting a wet handkerchief on Ani’s forehead and his daughter, Teti, hugging Ani. I quickly went over and examined his body. His temperature was really high. I quickly got hold of a bowl, cut some herbs and mixed the herbs to form the medicine I needed to use. I quickly let Ani drink the medicine and put a wet handkerchief on his forehead. But his temperature didn’t drop; instead it was rising. It appeared that the problem was more serious than I had thought. I was about to mix the herbs again when Ani spoke to me. “Stop, I-I don’t think I will make it ...” I replied, “Don’t say that, I will definitely find a way to cure you.” He held my hand firmly and said “If I don’t make it, please adopt my children. There’s no one else whom I trust to take care of them.” I replied “No you will make it!!!” Just then his grip loosened and his eyes closed. I checked his heartbeat. Nothing, there was no heartbeat. Ani had died. I knelt down on my knees. I had failed to save him. My best friend was gone forever. He had always been there for me when I needed him but when he needed me most, I had failed. I looked back and saw Neshi and Teti crying together. Teti was only 10 years old so I knew this was hard for her. I remembered Ani’s last words. I said to them “Your father has asked me to adopt you children. I will treat you as my own and you can treat as your father too.” They hugged me and I said “We should have a burial for your father now don’t you think?” The children wailed even louder. “I’m sorry, what I wanted to say was ‘We must have a burial ceremony for your father now.’” I then said to myself “I really have to buy a book about how to be a father if I am adopting these children.” While the children went to get their stuff, I covered Ani’s body with a blanket and we brought it to Rennefer. After the burial ceremony, the children and I went back to the temple and prepared dinner for everyone. While eating dinner, I introduced my new children to the rest of the priests and we all had a really good dinner together. After that we cleaned up and I asked the children to help me make some medicine. We then put the medicine into some bottles and went to sleep.
16th November, Sunday
Today, I got up and decided to spend the day with my new children to keep their spirits up. I looked around the temple hoping to find something fun so I could play with the children. I looked into the store room and found a box. I blew the dust from it. It was a box of checkers. I took it back into my room. I said to them “ Hey, lets play this game.you are supposed to keep moving the pieces until you knock out all of your opponent’s pieces.” After an hour of playing checkers, I went with Teti to the market while Neshi went to the Nile River to fish. Teti and I came across a few stores when Teti pulled my sleeve. She pointed to a stall that was selling dolls. I asked her which one she wanted and she pointed to a doll that had blond hair and was wearing a pink dress. I paid the money and we went to an area where children like to play. The place was swarming with kids playing leap frog, tug-a-war and other games. She said that she wanted to join her friends who were playing leapfrog and I said yes. I told her that I was going to check on Neshi and she said okay. While walking to the Nile River, I saw what I wanted to buy just now. It was a book called “ How to be a good father”. I paid the money and continued my way to the Nile River. I reached the Nile River and saw Neshi talking to a woman. The woman looked very familiar. As I looked closer I saw that she was Aneksi, the dancer that entertains the pharaoh. I came closer and I heard some of their conversation. Neshi said “ Hey, how about you come and have dinner with my new father, Methyethy.” Aneksi exclaimed “ Your new dad is the famous doctor!!!” I was stunned, I didn’t know I was that popular and famous. I then walked over and surprised them. Neshi then introduced me and Aneksi, and we arranged dinner at the temple tonight. After walking for a while, I asked Neshi whether he and Aneksi was going out and he said yes. He said that they had been going out for 2 months. I asked whether they were planning to get married and she said no. He said that he still wasn’t ready to go that far yet. After that, Teti and I went back home to prepare dinner while Neshi sold the fish he caught at the market. I told the priests that I was going to eat in my room so I prepared a table and brought food to my room. After a few minutes of talking, Aneksi finally showed up and we then started eating. After dinner, Teti and I brought the dishes to the kitchen while Neshi said goodbye to Aneksi. Then we cleaned up and went to bed.
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