Our Eternal Curse I Read Online Free Page A

large even multistory buildings.  It was all too much for a
girl raised in a hut.
    After a long wait, the door was
sheepishly opened and a pretty, motherly face illuminated by a flickering oil
lamp appeared.  The centurion conducted a brief conversation in the language
Julia could not understand; then returned to the chariot to make gestures which
seemed to indicate that she should step down.  Walking to where the women held
the door open, Julia was beckoned inside and as it closed behind her all
external noise ended with the snap of a bolt.
    The chariot, the centurions, and
Sulla were all gone, almost as though they had never existed and the security
they represented was now totally removed.  The fear of being so completely on
her own overwhelmed Julia and just a hair’s breadth from screaming in total
panic she apprehensively followed the woman to a small silent chamber.  The
stranger made signs to indicate sleep and as her eyes adjusted to the light cast
from the hand-held lamp Julia saw something that she assumed to be a structure
made for sleeping on.  Too tired to think about anything, even her hunger,
Julia lay her head on the unfamiliar pillow and for no apparent reason, dreamed
of herself standing next to a handsome young man on the deck of a ship crossing
a deep blue ocean.

Learning
     
    The next three years of this
country girl’s life was spent growing up in the strange house without any kind
of security.  Every day Julia fought back the feelings of panic which began on
the eve of her arrival.  She had not seen Sulla since the chariot ride; not
even a message had arrived and day after day, she longed for him to come back
to her.  The domestic slaves told her that Sulla’s sumptuous house was a secret
place which he used only as an escape.  He used to visit regularly but these
days he was always away from Rome, “In the East,” they said, “teaching upstart
kings and princes how painful rebellion against Rome could be.”
    No one asked her to do anything
and the house slaves kept her fed and clothed in fine garments made of brightly
dyed wool and linen.  It seemed that all she was expected to do was wait.  As
time slowly passed Julia became more convinced that she was unattractive,
unintelligent and completely worthless.  Even the man who maintained her upkeep
couldn’t be bothered to contact her.  Every day she brooded over the terrifying
consequences of becoming homeless, never knowing how long she would be allowed
to live in Sulla’s house.  Her parents would never take her back; they must
surely hate her for leaving during the harvest and with absolutely no friends
or means of supporting herself, the only companions Julia could rely on were
her terrible insecurities.
    To pass the endless hours and
take her mind away from the constant fear Julia developed an insatiable thirst
for knowledge.  Every moment of her time became dedicated to education, and the
senior house slave she now knew to be called Cecilia marveled at her ability to
learn.  Julia became fluent in Latin within months and because so much of her
time was spent with a knowledgeable Greek house slave her learning was swift. 
The peaceful old man who the other house slaves nicknamed Homer, after the
ancient Greek poet, had once been an educator and he enjoyed teaching such a
keen mind.  Within one year Julia had a grasp of many subjects and the ability
to read even the work of the real Homer in both Greek and Latin but as always
she could not give herself credit for what others saw as incredible achievements,
because for her it was so easy, surely anyone could do it.
    Over time Julia’s Homer
explained the wonderful subtleties and meanings held within the scrolls which
contained stories from antiquity, and she became captivated by the accounts of
Jason and the Argonauts, the pharaohs and pyramids of Egypt, the Persian Empire
and even Greek philosophers like Plato and Socrates.  Books of all kinds were
consumed at a