Vesuvius

As usual, I was dying for some entertainment. I was helping mater clean that house, which had been acquiring dirt and mess for a week. Then I felt a sudden quake beneath my feet. Mater's mirror fell from the wall and smashed into tiny shards. More work.

Then came the knock at the door. I answered it as Felix -our goat- bolted and pater followed.

"May I take your daughter out for a while, Cassia?" my friend Tranio asked.

"Of course," she said, she loved it when any of my friends spoke like that; dignified and respectful.

We had been playing jacks for all of five minutes, when Tranio asked if I had heard a rumble, too. I was about to reply when I heard it too, low and quiet- but getting louder. He saw the smoke first. Slowly rising from the tip of Mount Vesuvius. I was confused. Had someone lit a fire? But no, the seagulls changed direction and headed for the woods. This was not normal.

"Follow me Domitia," I did as Tranio said, he was older and smarter and only used my full name when something was really wrong.

We ran to the shore and I could tell that something wasn't right although Tranio had fallen silent. It seemed like all anyone was doing was screaming or dropping their pots. Didn't they realise that this did no good to anyone? I was terrified. A tile fell from the roof of one of the larger houses on the shoreline. Ash drifted over the village. This was coming from Mount Vesuvius. The ash was coming quickly now, choking people and crashing down rooves. Everyone was horrified, and so was I. Wasn't Vesuvius the protector?

Everything was getting worse each second. I could barely breathe but I knew I had to keep going. Some houses were burning and others were just coated in ash and looked otherwise untouched. In some ways, this was worse. Shouting came from a cargo boat nearby. The captain was urging me on but I couldn't, not without Tranio. He was sitting on the edge of the beach. I saw him wobbling. He was going to pass out.

I grabbed him and dragged him over to the boat. He opened his eyes and inhaled. Good. When we looked back, we saw how much the city had changed. It was black-and-white. I wondered where my parents were. I didn't even have time for this. In seconds, I was holding the rope tying the boat to the shore and fumbling with the complicated knot; as per the captain's instructions. We had to be quick or we would all be choked and die on the boat.

We rowed until our arms ached and we were safe. The realization that our home was covered in ash and everyone we knew was probably dead hit me again and again. It hurt. We heard the last muffled cries of the people of our hometown and Pompeii was gone. Everything we had ever known was gone. Everything. We had nothing except the clothes on our backs and the shoes on our feet. And the food underneath us, of course.

Our families were gone. Tranio and I only had each other. We cried together and he kissed the tears off my cheeks. This was new. He laced his fingers through mine and squeezed. This made me cry more. He looked apologetic. I told him it wasn't his fault and we held each other tight.

By eight A.M, there was silence as we watched from our boat. There was nobody else coming. We could still see the city, but the devastation was hardly visible anymore. Lots of houses were still standing. It hurt, to see my city looking as if nothing had changed but knowing I could never go back.

Even from there, we could see the smog and smell the evil smell of a smoking city. Pompeii was silent. There wasn't even a bird in sight. The air was bitter and suddenly I was choking on tears. Tranio put his arm around me.

"We will start a new life together, Domitia," and he was crying too.