Chester (Part Three)

Eve and I took an immediate liking to Chester and wanted to help him.  He was one of those rare people in this time and place that had empathy for those around him, causing him to try and fix the pain and suffering exuding from people.   He had given away most of his money and gold, but had considerable wealth in livestock and land.  We supposed he really didn’t understand that he could sell off the land and livestock and remain comfortable the rest of his life.

“Chester, who are the caretakers of your father’s land and livestock?” I asked.

He replied, “The old woman’s husband and four sons.  They take care of those things.”

Eve and I realized this family of caretakers was taking advantage of Chester and hiding this from the authorities that protect the ruling class families in Rome.  The old woman is sent to keep him happy while the others pilfer his live stock holdings and farming properties.  She keeps him fat and immobile while the others steel from this defenseless young man.

“Chester, we want to help you.” Eve said in her moist consoling voice.  “We believe there are people that are doing bad things to you and keeping you from the truth.  Where do the old woman and her family live?”

He thought for a moment. “I really don’t know. I haven’t thought about it.  She comes here and takes care of me and that’s all I know.  I usually provide fifty denarius a month for her to take care of everything.”

When Eve heard this I saw her beautiful face go red, then ugly. She had that dangerous look she gets when she feels someone has been wronged.  I would always call her my “avenging beauty”.  She was always getting into trouble  . . . .

We asked around and found that Marianna, the old woman and her family lived about two miles down the main road that leads out of Rome.  I convinced Eve that we should wait for the old woman to confront her about Chester’s father’s land and livestock before we go marching into their home to cut off heads.  My “Avenging Beauty” agreed --- late one evening we waited for her to visit Chester’s house.  That was the beginning of some bad things for all of us.

We surrounded Marianna and confronted her for the truth.  She wasn’t very happy with the fact that she and her family’s integrity were being questioned.  And it didn’t help matters that Eve grabbed her by the chin and pushed her against the wall to pry out the truth.  Marianna’s motherly demeanor disappeared and a horrid old woman’s anger emerged, slapping Eve’s hand away and while kicking her in the groin in one swift movement.  Eve fell to her knees as the woman ran to escape us.  While she was running we could hear her threats, “My sons will come back and take care of you and the fat man.”

Rome in 80AD was a good place to take these threats seriously.  We knew that we would have to gather our household men to protect Chester.  Eve was fuming about the old woman’s kick to her groin and wanted to grab a blade and remove her head that same night.  I calmed her with some wine and soft words and after, I told her to run back to our house to get help in case of a fight, while I stayed with Chester.

I sat with the young man, not letting him know that a grave situation was about to occur, but this didn’t matter.  Marianna’s family descended upon us with a group of twenty men. They first grabbed me (I was without a weapon), as ten of them pulled Chester from his bed and began to viciously beat him.  He screamed and cried to have mercy, but here was none.

The old woman’s husband came to me and spit on me, then called me a filthy “Roman whore.”  After I spit back he took his blade and ran it though my heart.  I was really enraged that I was caught so unaware.  As I lay dying for the thousandth time, I knew Eve would be back, she would be outraged at what she would see.

“Oh well”, I thought as I heard the assassins leave. It’s time to die and wake up again . . . .

To Be Continued . . . . .

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Greetings From Rome!

Hello everyone.  I thought I would remind you that I will post the third part of the story "Chester" next week when Eve and I return home.  We want to be with all our friends back in the Midwest in time for Christmas and New Years Eve. 

Thanks to all of you that read this blog and go to our store House of Ancient Coins and Curios at http://www.ancientscoin.com .

Remember to read all of the comments that accumulate while the current blog is posted.  

And Jago ----- quit being an ass to everyone. Nobody likes you when you drink and talk.  Mona, keep him as sober as you can :-)

Until next week, my friends . . . .

-Joseph-

Christmas Vacation

Hello my friends.  I am sorry, but Eve and I will be out of the country for Christmas.  We want to visit the places we called home many years ago.  I will return with Chester (Part Three) next week.

**Don't forget to read the comments below the blog for hints to future stories.**

In the meanwhile visit  House of Ancient Coins & Curios (http://www.ancientscoin.com) for great and unusual gift ideas.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday with your family and friends.

-Joseph-

Chester (Part Two)

The elderly woman that pleaded for us to help the young man disappeared as soon as we took charge of the situation.  Eve found a clean cloth, dipped it in some nearby water and wiped the blood out of Chester’s face.  I pulled him around and laid his head gently on my knee.  He began to weep in frustration, not caring that two strangers attended to his dilemma with grace and compassion.

“Thank you my friends, thank you!” He wept. “My servants have long since been gone and I cannot fend for myself due to my illness.” (He referred to his obesity as an illness).

“There now”, Eve said in her most comforting voice, “we won’t abandon you. My name is Eve and this is Joseph.  When you feel ready, we will help you to get inside your house and find you a comfortable place to rest.”

He introduced himself and carried on about how his family was once rich and how he didn’t understand where all of his wealth had gone. He explained about helping as many people as he could, whenever they would ask, but he was sure the wealth his family had amassed was much larger than it seemed.  He could no longer pay his servants and the old woman that brought us to him, checked in on him because she felt obligated to his parents after working for them for so many years.  He had just enough funds to sustain him and to his pay taxes and tribute when needed.  He was all alone. . . .

After he calmed and we finished cleaning him, I began to seek more answers. “Who gathers food for you and tends to the house?” I asked.

“Marianna, the old woman . . . she takes care of me --- but not as much as she used to.  I can no longer pay her, so she either comes here or sends her son takes her place.  He is very cruel to me.  He calls me names and spits on me, but I have to take it or suffer.”  He stared into my eyes for a moment and burst into tears. “I don’t want to die.  Not like this.  I am only twenty years old…what am I to do?  What can I do?”

Eve and I looked at each other.  We didn’t have answer for him.  We wondered if he was born this way or if his entire family was like him.  It seemed there were more and more large people in Rome these days.  Most died at an early age and some fell down, broke a hip or a leg and infection set it, causing their death.  We didn’t know how we could help Chester become healthy again or if he was ever actually healthy.

After we assured Chester that we would check on him in the morning he closed his eyes and went to sleep.   We made our way back home and discussed his situation.

“Eve, I feel very bad for this young man.  He is twenty years old, but might as well be a hundred.”

“I am sad for him too, Joseph --- but what can we do?  We can’t keep watching over him day after day, night after night.  He will be living in the streets soon and he is so large that he makes almost three of me in girth --- he won’t survive alone. If he tries to walk he will fall due to his size.  If he tries to move fast it will burst his heart.”

“Well, either way,” I said, “there is no future for him.  He will die young and no one will remember how generous he was and how he saved other families from slavery.”

(He told us stories about some of the people he had helped).

“I have been curious about something, though --- what if we gave the medicine to someone like him?  Would it cure him? Fix him like it did Mona?”

“Joseph, what if the medicine kills him?  If he drowns in his own fluids like the others?  There are already five of us, should we make another?  Do we have that right to decide on our own, now that there are more of us?”

“It’s for me to decide, Eve.”  I said sternly. “I made the potion and I will distribute it as I see fit.”

“What ---by killing an innocent young man?” Eve replied with equal force in her voice.

I looked into her eyes.  “I love you. And I hear what you are saying, but Chester deserves life and he will also help us understand the medicine and how it works.”

“If it doesn’t kill him.” Eve snapped.

"If it doesn’t kill him.”  I snapped back.

(To be continued . . . .)

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