A Journey to Fill a Lifetime

Hello my name is Monica Veruso. I'm a 12 year old Roman girl that has green eyes, brown hair and lots of freckles.

I have two younger brothers and an older brother and sister. My father, a blacksmith, has arranged a marriage for me to a young 16 year old Roman merchant. All that my father has told me about my fiancée is this: His name is Marcellus Drusus he has dark hair and blue eyes.

Well I better go my parents have a big surprise they want to tell me.

Part 2

I clatter down the stairs skipping every other one. I just can't wait to hear what my parents have to tell me. I know it's good because they didn't yell my name when they called me to tell me their surprise and my mother has been extra happy this week. When I make it down stairs I find my parents sitting in the main room. My mothers eyes are twinkly and my father has a big grin on his face. I sit down on our cream couch and wait for my parents to tell me their suprise. My mother begins to talk. " Monica your father and I just can't help but notice how well you've been doing in your sewing and cooking and we thought we'd reward you and your siblings with a trip to Greece for the Olympic Games."

I'm so suprised I hardly know what to say but I manage to control myself and thank my parents, and ask when we will be leaving, my mom tells me that we will be leaving in one week. One week, boy do I have lots to do to get ready. I race up to my room to start packing. This week will be very hectic and I hope I have enough time to tell my best friend Claudia about my up coming trip. After I pack my clothes I run down stairs and ask my mother if I can tell Claudia that I'm going to Greece for the Olympics. My mother says that there is far to much to do. She tells me to go help my to younger brothers pack. When I finally get my brothers packed I start packing food for our journey. As I pack my mother tells me about our journey. She tells me that we will travel three days by foot and seven days by boat.

Oh my I can't believe a week has already gone by and it's almost time to go. My mother is making sure we have every thing and my father is making sure everything around the house is taken care of before we leave. My brothers and sister and myself stand anxiously waiting outside the front door hoping we will be leaving soon. My parents come to the front door smiling and asking us what we are waiting for. Ha, ha we all say and then with a slam of the door we are on our way.

Part 3

Oh! I never new walking could be so hard, we are only two hours into our two day walking trip and my legs feel like they could fall off at any moment. My two younger brothers Patric and Mark are still not tired and they been running the whole way and are still showing just little tiredness. My sixteen year old sister Fulvia walks slowly with her husband Lawrence and their two year old daughter Amy. Right now I'm walking with my twenty-one year old brother Fabian, his wife Amanda and their two children Anthony three years old and Alban one years old. I like walking with Amanda because she always has funny stories to tell me and I like playing with my to nephews Anthony and Alban.

The time has gone by so fast because Amanda has told me some very funny stories. We are now stopping to eat next to a beautiful little stream. Mother is passing around berries, bread and fish to all those old enough the eat them. We are back on the road after a very pleasant night. We should reach our destination by the end of the day and spend tonight on the boat. Well I better go help carry the packages.

It was a horrible first night, the boat is hot, it stinks, and there are rats every where and the boat rocks so harshly that I vomited two times and the food they serve on the boat is still and has bugs in them. I can't wait to get off this boat and I don't know what I'll do till then. The babies are crying and I over heard some sailors talking about a storm coming that means the boat will rock very harshly. I thought the sun would never shine again, the storm lasted for five days and the boat rocked furiously. I felt sick the whole time. Now I can see shore and we should land today. Then we have one more day to walk to walk to Greece. We're finally off the boat and in Greece. I just can't wait to see the games it'll be so exciting.

We're walking to our seats in the coliseum and the view is so amazing that I feel like a bird. The crowds are so load it sounds like a giant lion. The games are almost ready to begin, my parents, family and me were split up because we couldn't find enough spots in one place. There was one space next to me that I was planning to save for Amanda but a young man told me that he was saving that seat for his brother. The first game is about to start the short dashes. The crowd is so tense you can feel the anticipation and then all of a sudden a man yells Go! And there off.

Well it's almost time for lunch and then back to the games. So far I've seen the short dash, long runs, and jumping but now it's time for lunch. As I'm walking out of the coliseum I bump into a nice looking man, we both apologize to each other and start a conversation about ourselves. He told me his name was Marcellus and that he was from Rome, I then told him that I was from Rome also but Rome is so big that it didn't surprise me at all. Then he asked me to eat lunch with him, I told him that I had to eat with my family. I then heard my father he was calling me I said good by to Marcellus and followed my father.

Lunch was delicious, we had berries, bread and honey and everyone ate all they were given in cluding my nieces and nephews who usually eat nothing. I wish more then ever that I could play with my little nephews and nieces but father tells me that I should go back inside so I don't lose my seat. I reluctantly walk back inside the coliseum to my seat.

When I get to my seat I find Marcellus sitting in the spot next to me talking to the man(his brother). Once Marcellus saw me he jumped up and introduced me to his brother. The rest of the games we talked about our dreams and ambitions.

When the games were over we were about to tell each other our addresses when I felt a hand on my shoulder I spun around to see my father standing behind me with a big grin on his face, then he told me something I would never forget he said," I see you've met your fiancé." My jaw dropped and Marcellus looked like he was in shock. We both stood there for some time and then my father said it was time to go as if nothing happened, I said good by to Marcellus and told him I'd see him back in Rome. Then I walked with my father to our camp site and prepared for dinner and our trip home tomorrow.

Part 4

Then me and my family prepared for my trip back home. As I packed I think of our trip back home, the dreadful boat ride, and the three- day walking trip. This thinking makes my head spin. I think I'll go to bed now; without dinner.

It's breakfast-time now. My mother, sister-in-law, sister, and I are preparing the meal. We are having bread, jam, and water. It is a very small meal, but mother insisted that we save the rest of the food for the trip back home. Oh, I must go now – Mother is calling me. Breakfast was delicious, but I should have eaten supper last night, because I am still hungry from the small breakfast, but my mother won't let me have any more.

Oh, we had quite a scare this morning! While Fulvia was washing the breakfast dishes in the stream, her daughter Amy (two-years-old) was playing tag with Alban, Mark, and Patric. Alban was "it" and he was chasing Amy. Amy tried to run to her mother, but missed Fulvia and ran into the stream. Although the stream was not very deep, it was fifteen feet wide, and the current was strong. The current swept her about fifty feet down the stream. Lawrence jumped into the stream and started to swim after Amy. Patric and Mark ran down the bank next to Amy trying to get her to grab a stick they had found. She finally got the strength to grab the stick and Patric pulled her out of the water.

Fulvia grabbed Amy from Patric and wrapped her in a blanket, and rocked her back-and-forth. Mother frantically ran around trying to get a fire started to heat some water and find as many blankets as she could. Right now we're about half-way into out one-day trip. Amy is doing well, but has a bit of a cold.

It's the middle of the day, and we're now off the boat, and waiting for everyone to get off also. The boat trip was like the first trip, except the storm was much milder, but everything else was the same. Now we have two more days to go. I just can't wait to get home.

I can't believe it – we're finally home! When we got home we found a thin layer of dust on everything, but it feels good to be home. I'm in my room right now unpacking and let me tell you I'll have no time to sit down the next couple of days because I'll have too much cleaning and cooking to do. I hope though that I will have some time to talk with Marcellus.

Epilogue: Marcellus and Monica did get married. They waited two months after the Olympics to get married. They lived in a somewhat rich house. Marcellus did poorly as a merchant and soon took-up silversmithing and did well.They were also blessed with two children Adrian and Sophia and they all lived a wonderful life. They were also blessed with two children but sadly no more because Monica died during an influenza outbreak when their baby was one year old.