Progress Under the Sun

"Her water broke!" Isamu shouted, urgency thick in his voice as he burst through the hospital doors, cradling his wife in his strong, calloused hands.

A doctor quickly approached with a hospital bed, assessing the situation with swift precision. "We've got her. Please, head to the waiting room for now."

Isamu hesitated, confusion clouding his eyes. "Why can't I stay with her? She's my wife!"

The doctor maintained a calm, yet firm, tone. "We need to concentrate on the operation. It's best if you wait outside."

Reluctantly, Isamu backed away, discomfort settling in his chest. "Fine," he muttered, turning toward the waiting room.

A few minutes later...

"He was persistent, but we can pull this off. This test won't be like the last ones!" a male doctor declared, his voice tinged with excitement.

A female doctor approached him, her expression laced with doubt. "Are you sure doing this while she's in labor is the best way to produce another Ra?" she asked hesitantly.

"YES! It's the only way to get different results from the previous experiments," the male doctor insisted, confidence radiating from him.

The female doctor frowned, her voice filled with unease. "We're almost out of Ra's blood. We only have enough for three more experiments if we use an equal amount."

"We have enough for one—if we put all of it into this experiment," the male doctor said confidently.

Her voice rising, the female doctor responded, "Are you insane? The Pharaoh will kill us if we fail again!"

The male doctor turned to her, his expression softening as he touched her cheek. "We won't fail this time. Prepare her for the incision."

"Y-Yes," she stammered, fear creeping into her voice.

"Be careful. We can't afford to waste any of it. Remember, our lives depend on this…"

Minutes later...

"WHA—WHAT? NO, NO! THIS SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING!" The male doctor's panic was palpable, his earlier confidence shattered. The experiment was spiraling out of control.

The woman, who had been in labor, suddenly began to levitate, her belly glowing with a fierce yellow and orange light, as if she were a living sun. She screamed, her body contorting in agony, and then—she exploded. Blood splattered across the walls, and the explosion obliterated everything in the room, including the doctors and the woman herself. The newly born sun had been given life like a dying star.

Isamu rushed into the room, drawn by the screams and the sense of impending doom. He looked around frantically, but all he saw was a baby, lying alone in the middle of the hospital bed.

"Honey? Honey? HONEY! NO, NO, NO… Oh God!" Isamu's voice broke, grief flooding him as tears streamed down his face. He picked up the baby that looked so much like him, wondering how it had survived the nightmare that had claimed his wife.

Six years later...

In the depths of Egypt, where commoners grovel for food and money, where houses are made from ground and mud, and where children wear rags and have never seen clean water, a man walked into his home. This man, Isamu, had a rough face, small wrinkles marking his brown skin, and brown hair and eyes. His muscular frame spoke of hard labor, his clothes drenched with sweat, his face exhausted.

"Magnolia, I'm home!" Isamu called out to his son.

Magnolia, a child who resembled Isamu with his long, brown hair spiking at the ends, heard his father's voice and jumped off his bed, running excitedly toward the front door. He embraced his father, a bright smile lighting up his face.

"Father, I've been waiting for you for hours! Did you bring it?" Magnolia asked eagerly, looking up at his father.

"Of course. I could never forget," Isamu said with a tired smile, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a piece of limestone, worn and light brown. "Here… just as you asked."

Magnolia's eyes lit up with excitement as he took the rock in both hands, holding it as if it were a treasure. "Thank you, thank you!" he exclaimed.

"No problem, Mag. Now, go add it to your collection," Isamu said with a chuckle, watching as his son ran off.

As the boy disappeared into his room, Isamu made his way to the kitchen, preparing to make dinner. It had been six years since the tragedy at the hospital, the day he lost his beloved wife. The memory still brought tears to his eyes. His thoughts were interrupted by a small tap on his leg. He looked down to see Magnolia staring up at him, concern in his young eyes.

"Father, why are you crying?" Magnolia asked softly.

Isamu touched his face, surprised to find it wet with tears. He forced a sad smile. "It seems I miss her more than I realized."

Magnolia didn't know what to say. He had only heard about the tragedy from his father and had no clear memories of his mother. "Father, it's okay. The gods will protect her soul in the afterlife," he said, trying to comfort his father.

Isamu nodded, still lost in the memory of that night. "I suppose you're right…"

Not wanting to make things worse, Magnolia returned to his room.

Later, as dinner was ready...

"MAG! Supper is finished, come and feast!" Isamu called out.

Magnolia entered the dining room, still worried about his father. He didn't know what he could do to help, but he wanted to try.

As they ate, Magnolia broke the silence. "Father?"

"Yes, Magnolia?" Isamu responded.

"How did you and Mother meet? And what was she like?"

Isamu paused, surprised by the question. "What makes you ask?"

"Well, you never really talk about her, and I want to know what she was like," Magnolia said, his voice sincere.

Isamu sighed deeply. "If you insist. Back when I was a slave, your mother and I met when we were 17. I had been working on a pyramid for a few months, pushing myself too hard. I didn't realize how much I had drained myself."

"I was sent to the Swnw's—healers—where your mother worked. She took care of me, helped me regain my strength. Over time, we grew close. I would often end up back there after exhausting myself at work, and each time, we connected more and more. Eventually, we married, which freed me from slavery. And then, she became pregnant... but sooner than expected, the accident happened."

Isamu took a deep breath, his eyes distant. "After the accident, I returned to work on the pyramids…"

Magnolia felt a mix of joy and sadness. He was glad his father had shared the story, but the weight of it made him feel something he had never felt before.

Suddenly, Magnolia's eyes widened, as if remembering something important. He quickly excused himself from the table and ran to his room.

When he returned, he held his prized rock collection, built from the gifts his father had brought him from the pyramids. The rocks shimmered, clean and shiny, as if they had been polished by something beyond the natural world. Holding them in his small hands, Magnolia rushed back to the dining room and presented them to his father with a bright smile.

"Father, can you carve these rocks for me?" Magnolia asked, his voice pleading yet happy.

Isamu looked down at his son, then at the rocks, noting their unnatural shine. He didn't understand how Magnolia had cleaned them so well, but they gleamed like gems and jewels.

"Sure, Mag, just let me finish eating. Then I'll get the tools to carve them. By the way, Mag, are you ever going to tell me how you did it?" Isamu asked curiously.

Magnolia simply smiled up at his father, his eyes full of secrets.