The City of the Sun

She sat in the bed of the truck as it raced down the smooth road. She held tight to the boxes packed in tightly and looked up in wonder as they approached the city they’d all been promised they would call home. Towers reached up to lovingly caress the sky, formed all in stone that polished until it shone. One, the central spire, was such a brilliant gold that it seemed like the sun itself, settled onto the earth to give praise unto itself. The city itself had been named Memphis by the ancients, and that was the name it still bore. She watched as they passed by the honor guards at the gate with their leopard spotted shields and smiled as she saw children playing in the streets. Her mother opened the little window in the back of the cab and yelled back.
“You remember what I said, girl. You see the Pharaoh, and you get on your knees. We’re lucky to get a place in his city so we have to show our proper respect.”
“Yes, Mama. I’ll remember.”
The window snapped shut again and she turned her eyes back to the city spread out before them. Would they really have to give so much deference to Djedkare now that he was Pharaoh? Wasn’t he still her cousin? Mentuhotep closed her mismatched eyes and shrugged. She would just have to wait and see what the future would hold.