20AD, around early January, Palatine Hill
*Pitter-patter* *Pitter-patter*
''Is it possible for the sky to mourn?'' Lepidus wondered, gazing up at the dark sky.
*Pitter-patter* *Pitter-patter*
He squinted against the rain, his eyes red-rimmed from crying.
His broken heart tightened. ''The sky is dark, and it''s weeping.'' He touched his chest, as if to soothe the ache within.
The sound of the raindrops hitting the cobblestones created a melancholic melody that echoed Lepidus''s sorrow.
*Splosh* *Splosh*
The ten-year-old boy stood in the rain-soaked streets of Rome, where citizens of every social class rushed past.
His dirty red tunica clinging to his thin little frame. His brown tattered cape offered little protection from the downpour.
He was barefoot and shivering. His teeth chattered, and his lips trembled as he spoke to himself.
"The sky is crying like me," he whispered.
*Splosh* *Slosh*
As he started to walk, Lepidus''s thoughts drifted towards his mother.
He recalled the times she''d protected him from the cruelty of his father''s other wives, who often berates him.
How she used to embrace him whenever he was crying and lonely.
And how she''d tell him she''s alright while her face is red and swollen when they hurt her.
The memory of her warm touch and gentle voice brought a fresh wave of tears to his eyes.
''Liar'', he bitterly said, stopping in his tracks. And bow his head down. Wiping his tears with his right arm.
But she had died. She died last night. Leaving him alone and vulnerable.
*Pitter-patter* *Pitter-patter*
His father''s behavior wasn''t helping either when he found out she had died.
He told him to take care of it. Like the one who died was not his beloved wife once.
''Well, he did love her at first but turned sour when he found out how the Cornelli family deceived him.''
Having him marry a daughter of a slave and not telling him beforehand, just because they didn''t have a suitable daughter but wanted power. ''Greedy people''.
Those greedy people are his relatives. The Cornelli''s.
When his father found that out, he immediately changed. From a loving husband to a cold stranger.
He said he''d become the laughingstock of the nobles. The memory of his father''s angry and disappointed tone still lingered in Lepidus''s mind.
Lepidus''s stomach twisted with a familiar ache as he thought about his father''s words: "The only son that i have is a half-ling! Vae! A son of a dirty slave!"
The sting of those words seemed to seep into his bones, making the chilly rain feel even colder.
*Pitter-patter* *Pitter-patter*
As he walked through the city, the usual bustle of Rome felt muted, like a ghost town, save for the constant rainy sound that was enveloping the whole city.
The eerie silence was oppressive, weighing heavily on Lepidus''s shoulders.
He can see a lot of people out and about in the streets doing nothing. It''s as if they are waiting for something.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
The usually noisy thermopolia vendors just around the corner were even closed.
''That''s unusual..'' Lepidus thought. ''I remember always going there with my mother.''
A faint smile crossed his lips as he recalled happier times with his mother. He stopped walking and, as if imagining the scene..
Whenever he wanted to eat something hot, he and his mother would walk from his father''s family estate to the mouth-watering smell of thermopolia.
Those carefree days seemed like a lifetime ago.
His stomach growled, he remembered he hadn''t even eaten since last night as he was busy holding his mother''s hand while in her dying breath.
He looked at his dirty muddy hands that he used to bury his mother earlier this morning.
He opened his palm and caught some rain water.. but it only slipped his hands.
Washing the mud away, ''It stings..'' ''I''ve gained some scrapes'', he thought.
*Pitter-patter* *Pitter-patter*
His eyes started to tear again, it was cold.
He can feel it in his bones, but his eyes and his insides are burning.
The conflicting sensations of cold and heat mirrored the turmoil within him.
''Why? Why does mother have to be a daughter of a slave? Why? Then what does that make me? A slave too? I''m neither a patrician nor a pleabian. Is this my fate?'', he felt like he was drowning.
''Anyone please come save me.'' .
A desperate cry for help was lost in the rain-soaked streets, leaving only the echos of his own despair.
His knees buckled, and he crumpled to the ground, scraping his knees. The weight of his reality comes crushing down on him.
A few people are throwing glances at him, but nobody cares to ask.
He is only ten years old.. but he''s been forced to grow old faster because of his circumstances.
Still kneeling on the side of the road, lost in his despair, the sound of approaching chariots and litters broke the silence of the city as the rain gradually stopped falling.
The sudden cessation of raindrops created an eerie stillness.
The dark sky started to lighten up bit by bit..
Suddenly, the air fills with the scent of incense and wet stone.
He heard low murmurs from the crowd. He looked up and tried to make sense of what was happening.
Interrupting his emotional monologue. He is so engrossed in his own thoughts that he forgets where he is.
He looked at the crowd of people. Their attention is distracted by the group coming into the city.
Lepidus''s eyes scanned the crowd, he slowly got up, taking in the somber attire and downcast eyes.
He could barely make out the words, but he thought he heard "Germanicus".
Right, he heard about it when one of the wives was flogging him many nights ago, before her mother died. His father is talking to his other wives, saying "Germanicus has finally died."
He smiled bitterly, the famed general, loved by all, commoners and nobles alike, ''Right, he died in Antioch. He was sent there by the emperor, to build friendly diplomacy between Rome and the provinces of the East. His family will be returning today with his ashes.''
The thought of Germanicus'' death seemed to weigh heavily on the city''s atmosphere.
''It''s like the sky is also grieving for him''
The woman riding in the luxurious litter caught his attention. Her face was carved with so much grief her eyes looked half crazy as she held an expensive-looking urn.
Once the group passed an area, the people followed, resulting in a long line of procession to the Mausoleum Augusti.
''A funeral procession..''
The procession''s slow pace seemed to match the beat of Lepidus''s heavy heart.
The world is unfair. When his mother died, it was only him and her and the one who dug her grave.
Nobody cares about the daughter of the slave.
As Lepidus watched the mourners, a pang of jealousy struck his chest. He remembered the lonely burial of his own mother.
That person is not even mourning, it''s only Lepidus. The man just stood there and watched him cry.
Why did Germanicus deserve such an outpouring of grief, while his own mother''s passing was met with silence?
''The world is so unfair..'' Lepidus''s gaze then wandered to the children accompanying the woman.
One girl, about his age, possibly a daughter of Germanicus, stood out to him.
She has a striking beauty. Piercing clear blue eyes, and slightly long wavy blond hair that it''s almost gold, it made her seem so otherworldly.
''A goddess''. He felt all the hair on his body stood up.
She''s so beautiful! But it was the goddess''s empty expression that really stood out to him.
It sent a shiver down his spine. The goddess looks like a statue.
''Well, so what if she''s that pretty?'' Lepidus shrugged. ''I''ve seen better, especially my mother.''
My mother is the most beautiful of them all!
He turned his back and was about to make his way home. Suddenly, a sound so lonely stopped him in his tracks.
It was a sweet voice. ''Singing?'' He was a bit confused. Who was it? He turned his head back and scanned the crowd and his gaze finally found the owner.
It was the goddess.
It''s so lonely that it''s soul-wrenching.. It makes his soul want to get out of his body.
The goddess''s angelic singing voice seemed to draw Lepidus in, like a magnet, as he turned his whole body.
And it was just in time for them to pass by him. He was starstruck when they got closer. His breath faltered.
He felt like his whole body had turned on fire. ''The goddess is prettier up close.''
''Why? Why do you sing like that? Do you also feel like me? Like the world has ended?'' The question hangs in the air, unanswered.
Without thinking, Lepidus found himself following the procession after they had passed by him, his fatigue, his heartbreak, his loneliness, momentarily forgotten.
The procession''s rhythmic pace seemed to lull Lepidus into a state of numbness.
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INDEX:
tunica - Roman youth clothing
Cornelli - one of the prominent family in Rome
Vae - damn
thermopolia - food store/tavern
patrician - Roman nobles
pleabian - commoners
Antioch - city in Roman Syria
Mausoleum Augusti- Emperor Augustus tomb