Long Live Us

Caelius

Caelius tried to comfort himself as he walked the long dusty road that lead him away from Pompeii. Away from his home. Away from his family. Away from his life. It had only been three days since the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius, the monstrous volcano that had destroyed Caelius's city and killed his family, leaving him to fend for himself.

As he continued on, step by step, inch by inch, Caelius realized with a start that he had never been alone before. With five little brothers and sisters, it was impossible for anyone to have any privacy in his house. Memories of his family filled Caelius's mind as tears rushed to his eyes. His mother quietly singing to herself as she was cooking dinner, one of the twins at her side, the other clinging to her leg. His father coming home from the bakery with two fresh loaves of bread for dinner. His sisters laughing and running around as he and his brother were trying to get their homework done. The memory of their voices haunted his thoughts.

Caelius reached into his tunic for a handkerchief; the tears were flowing freely now and it was becoming hard to see. As he covered his face to wipe his tears, he was violently reminded of that fateful day when everything went wrong. He moaned as he started shaking and dropped to his knees, memories filling already scarred mind.

Darkness filling the sky. People panicking and screaming. "Caelius! Grab your sisters and join your mother. Your brother and I are going after the twins!" That was his father. This isn't right, Caelius thought to himself. I shouldn't be here. Why am I back here? I-I have to go. Have to escape. "Caelius go!" His father and brother started running toward the market. Before Caelius could even begin to think, he saw another version of himself run into his house. "Mother! Where are you?" he heard the other Caelius yell. "Anonna! Flora! We have to go!" the boy ran about the house, frantically looking for his mother and sisters who were nowhere to be found. Caelius tried to call out to his past self, "They're not here! You stupid boy, can't you see they're not here? You have to save them! Please you have to-" but his counterpart couldn't hear him. In his panic, he continued to search the house in vain. No. No. Caelius didn't understand what was happening to him. Why was he seeing this again? Was he being punished? I deserve it, he thought to himself. I could've saved them. I could have saved them. I could have-"

Caelius was so deep in his trance that he barely noticed the footsteps coming up behind him. A voice, he was too out of it to make out what it was saying, slowly brought him out of his trance. The young Roman slowly picked himself up and turned toward the newcomer. "What is your problem?" the man said, eyebrow raised as if Caelius's pain was an inconvenience to him. Caelius just shook his head and mustered up all the strength he had left to utter one single word: "Eheu"*

*Eheu is a Latin exclamation meaning "alas"