The Golden Ankh

Epilogue: The Exodus of the Misfits 

It began with an uprising no one saw coming—not from the royal court, not from the dusty temples of Amok, and least of all from the bureaucratic dung heaps of Sakkara's lower archives.

Mussa, once a slouching, poetry-quoting, sandal-shuffling nonentity, and Princess Naynah, a royal rebel with more brains than patriarchal tradition would ever allow, made a break that would alter history.

With the help of Kephri the scarab—who'd rerouted a labyrinth of guards using nothing but strategically placed dung balls—and the ever-snide Serious, the talking dead cat, they fled Egypt under cover of a lunar eclipse. They navigated through forbidden tomb tunnels, bribed border guards with embalming coupons, and rode atop a stolen sacred ostrich named Marvin.

In the land beyond the desert, on the shimmering shores of the Unnamed River, they founded a city called *Sekhem-Ubasti*—"The Strength of the Forgotten."

There, cats were not sacrificed but consulted. Dung beetles were not crushed under heel but elected to Parliament. Poets, dreamers, and the genetically confused were appointed judges, counselors, and sacred scribes. Everyone had a voice—even if it squeaked, meowed, or buzzed.

Princess Naynah, now simply called Naynah the Bright-Eyed, became the first monarch of this curious land—but only after insisting on the title of 'Facilitator.' Mussa, now High Oracle (and reluctant administrative assistant), composed edicts in rhyme and decrees in riddles.

The people? Misfits, all. Refugees from ancient traditions. Makers of new myths.

And every year on the Day of the Exodus, the citizens gathered at the Great Mound of Reflection, where a marble statue of Serious the Cat stood frozen in his usual disapproving hunch, a papyrus scroll under one paw. 

Below the statue, carved in clean hieroglyphs, read:

Let no one be forgotten.

Let no voice go unheard.

Let no dung beetle go unsung.

History, of course, never mentioned this city. The priests erased it. The pharaohs ignored it. Modern archaeologists dismissed it as a myth.

But if you ever find yourself in this Empty Quadrant and you see a beetle rolling its sacred burden across the sand under the full moon—listen closely:

You might just hear the whisper of a poet laughing.

From Invisible to Illuminated: My Reiki Awakening

It's eleven in the night and my ears are buzzing, my fingers are tingling and I feel like I want to dance in the living room. I've had a tiring day which started at 3:33 with my meditation alarm going off and I've even just watched a movie and had a massive dinner (unusual) but none of that is slowing me down. As I type my latest generation laptop has a hard time keeping up: I have been initiated as a Reiki Healer today. 

Me: 

This ordinary dowdy retired ex-librarian, a character I felt was so gawky and gray that I sometimes have to ask people who cut ahead of me in queues, whether they actually cannot see me. 

At the start of this year I was unseen, unheard, shy, fifty-five and ready to fade away into obscurity. And now, I feel supernatural. I've just been told that I have powers. That we all do. Whatever you believe in, whatever you think is real- the fact remains that we live in a world far more magical than we've been led to believe. And today, something ancient and powerful was initiated for me.

I met Master Gamini a few weeks ago in his airy minimalistic, healing room in Battaramulla that smelled faintly of lemongrass and sandalwood. At 70+ he looks a full 20 years younger. He doesn't dress like a guru. He doesn't perform showy rituals or speak in riddles. He doesn't ask you to come for a four-day, four week or four month course. He treads lightly on the earth with a soft smile and eyes that seem to shine straight out of the quiet heart of a forest. When he speaks, it's like spring water rolling over forest rocks: gentle, steady, transformative and full of latent energy. 

Healing is his passion and he earnestly shows us hundreds of whatsapp messages he has received from all over the world. He answers his phone even at midnight if someone needs healing or even just to listen to someone crying. When he performed a Reiki healing on me a week ago I ended up weeping quietly and then falling asleep as the pain and emotional blocks melted away. 

The Healer Training is even more powerful if that can be. Powerful in its sheer simplicity.

I didn't expect the simplicity. There were no elaborate chants, no cosmic theatrics. He told us plainly, "Reiki is love. Compassion. Gratitude." And then he bowed slightly, with his hands in prayer, and looked us in the eye like we were already healers. Already whole.

He gave us four attunements. Four silent transmissions where all I did was sit and receive. And although I didn't realise it... everything changed.

I cannot explain what happened during those attunements in any logical way. At first I felt warmth, like someone had placed a hand just above my crown. Then tears—strange tears—bubbled up out of nowhere. No sadness, just the body releasing something I didn't even know I was carrying. My hands buzzed. My heart expanded. I felt seen.

The other trainee with me reported that pain that he had carried around for a decade after a serious back injury, was gone. Master Gamini had narrowed into the exact location of this pain in his spine, and gently plucked it away, without a word said.

Master Gamini said something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life: "Even if you don't heal others, you can still heal yourself. That is one more healed person in the world."

I've spent most of my life giving everything to everyone else. I didn't know how to love myself. But now, every morning, I put my hands gently on my heart and say: Thank you, Pushy, for being here. Thank you, Reiki, for being here. Thank you. And I feel it. Not just the words. The truth of it.

We were taught to begin every self-healing with gratitude. To trust our intention more than any timer or technique. To sit with the energy like you'd sit with an old friend. The practice is beautifully slow. You place your hands over your chakras, over your knees and ankles. You don't force anything. You don't make an effort to focus. You care for yourself and in caring, you begin to remember yourself.

Tonight I am buzzing, yes. But underneath the wild electrical current is a deep, pulsing peace. Like the Earth is breathing through me. Like I'm no longer a stranger to myself.

I never imagined I would be the kind of person who believes in energy healing. I thought that was for others—more spiritual, more radiant, more whole. But Reiki doesn't ask you to be anything other than what you are. It just meets you. And then, if you're willing, it begins to reintroduce you to your own light.

I don't know where this path will lead.

But I know I've stepped onto it barefoot, raw, grateful.

Thank you, Master Gamini.

Thank you, Reiki.

Thank you, Me.

(Author's note: Master Gamini welcomes people who want to train as healers. There are no unnecessary complications, and the whole introductory process takes four hours from start to finish. If you are curious to see what it's all about please contact him at +94774590604 https://naturesgracehealing.com/

From Invisible to Illuminated: My Reiki Awakening

It's eleven in the night and my ears are buzzing, my fingers are tingling and I feel like I want to dance in the living room. I've had a tiring day which started at 3:33 with my meditation alarm going off and I've even just watched a movie and had a massive dinner (unusual) but none of that is slowing me down. As I type my latest generation laptop has a hard time keeping up: I have been initiated as a Reiki Healer today. 

Me: 

This ordinary dowdy retired ex-librarian, a character I felt was so gawky and gray that I sometimes have to ask people who cut ahead of me in queues, whether they actually cannot see me. 

At the start of this year I was unseen, unheard, shy, fifty-five and ready to fade away into obscurity. And now, I feel supernatural. I've just been told that I have powers. That we all do. Whatever you believe in, whatever you think is real- the fact remains that we live in a world far more magical than we've been led to believe. And today, something ancient and powerful was initiated for me.

I met Master Gamini a few weeks ago in his airy minimalistic, healing room in Battaramulla that smelled faintly of lemongrass and sandalwood. At 70+ he looks a full 20 years younger. He doesn't dress like a guru. He doesn't perform showy rituals or speak in riddles. He doesn't ask you to come for a four-day, four week or four month course. He treads lightly on the earth with a soft smile and eyes that seem to shine straight out of the quiet heart of a forest. When he speaks, it's like spring water rolling over forest rocks: gentle, steady, transformative and full of latent energy. 

Healing is his passion and he earnestly shows us hundreds of whatsapp messages he has received from all over the world. He answers his phone even at midnight if someone needs healing or even just to listen to someone crying. When he performed a Reiki healing on me a week ago I ended up weeping quietly and then falling asleep as the pain and emotional blocks melted away. 

The Healer Training is even more powerful if that can be. Powerful in its sheer simplicity.

I didn't expect the simplicity. There were no elaborate chants, no cosmic theatrics. He told us plainly, "Reiki is love. Compassion. Gratitude." And then he bowed slightly, with his hands in prayer, and looked us in the eye like we were already healers. Already whole.

He gave us four attunements. Four silent transmissions where all I did was sit and receive. And although I didn't realise it... everything changed.

I cannot explain what happened during those attunements in any logical way. At first I felt heat, like someone had placed a hand just above my crown. Then tears—strange tears—bubbled up out of nowhere. No sadness, just the body releasing something I didn't even know I was carrying. My hands buzzed. My heart expanded. I felt seen.

The other trainee with me reported that pain that he had carried around for decades after a serious back injury, was gone. Master Gamini had narrowed into the exact location of this pain in his spine, and gently plucked it away. 

Master Gamini said something that I will carry with me for the rest of my life: "Even if you don't heal others, you can still heal yourself. That is one more healed person in the world."

I've spent most of my life giving everything to everyone else. I didn't know how to love myself. But now, every morning, I put my hands gently on my heart and say: Thank you, Pushy, for being here. Thank you, Reiki, for being here. Thank you. And I feel it. Not just the words. The truth of it.

We were taught to begin every self-healing with gratitude. To trust our intention more than any timer or technique. To sit with the energy like you'd sit with an old friend. The practice is beautifully slow. You place your hands over your chakras, over your knees and ankles. You don't force anything. You don't make an effort to focus. You care for yourself and in caring, you begin to remember yourself.

Tonight I am buzzing, yes. But underneath the wild electrical current is a deep, pulsing peace. Like the Earth is breathing through me. Like I'm no longer a stranger to myself.

I never imagined I would be the kind of person who believes in energy healing. I thought that was for others—more spiritual, more radiant, more whole. But Reiki doesn't ask you to be anything other than what you are. It just meets you. And then, if you're willing, it begins to reintroduce you to your own light.

I don't know where this path will lead.

But I know I've stepped onto it barefoot, raw, grateful.

Thank you, Master Gamini.

Thank you, Reiki.

Thank you, Me.

(Author's note: Master Gamini welcomes people who want to train as healers. There are no unnecessary complications, and the whole introductory process takes four hours from start to finish. If you are curious to see what it's all about please contact him at +94774590604 https://naturesgracehealing.com/