by Paul Howard
The road was quiet and almost free of travelers as we made the journey. The air grew cool and very dry as we approached the place of meeting. The sun was just kissing the horizon as we arrived at the grove and the sky was a brilliant shade of pink.
We stopped and I got off of the cart, looking all around for the one who had sent the message. Primus and Dariox both accompanied me like two shadows I could not lose. We waited for several minutes but no one was to be seen. Finally I cried out.
“I am Lucillius Pollanus and I have come. Show yourself!”
After a moment, a hooded shape rose into view on the hill above us. With the light of the failing sun at his back, he was only a dark shape silhouetted against the sky. He looked down at us silently and gestured with one arm for me to come to him. Primus slapped the hilt of his sword and Dariox reached for his bow. I stopped them with raised hands. “No, my friends,” I said, “Do not move.”
“It may be a trap, Little Roman!” Primus said quickly. “You should not go up there alone.”
“I must go alone,” I said, “There is something familiar about this man. Wait here!”
I turned from my friends and walked up the hill toward the stranger. He stood in silence and made no move at first. But the closer I came to him, the more I felt as if I knew him. When I was only twenty feet away, I heard him sigh and he drew back his hood. Against the failing light I could see the shape of his head at last and knew at once who he was.
My father had found me.
I shouted for joy and ran into his arms which were outstretched to hold me. We enfolded each other in a long embrace.
I am not one for kissing men, but many kisses were exchanged. Finally he held my head in his hands so he could study my face. He expressed his satisfaction in a voice I had not heard in years.
“Yes, it is you,” he said, “My sweet son, it is truly you!”
I pressed my head into his chest and began to weep. He held me just as he had when I was a boy. No more words were spoken on that hill. He closed his arm about me and we walked down slowly to our friends, who stood with moistened eyes waiting for us.
The ride home was one of the most pleasant experiences of my life. At length he asked me to tell him of my experiences and my new found friends. I told him what I could in brief and introduced my friends one-by-one. They treated him warmly and with great respect, expressing some envy at our reuniting and joy for our gladness. He was equally pleased to know them and thanked them for their friendship to me.
When we arrived at the farm there was great happiness and celebrations among our family and friends. Father expressed great joy when he saw Chinus and he liked Calpurnia at once. “She is a great treasure, my son,” he declared after dinner, “I am very happy for you. Now three generations of our family are united again. You have done well.”
A popular beverage with the locals was made from a bean called: coffee. The beans were roasted and crushed, then cooked in boiling water. Sarah made us some as we spoke.
“How did you find me, Father?” I asked. He told me the story of his search for me. He had learned through his political contacts that I had been sent to the Septimus Galleys. After the battle, bizarre rumors began to circulate about a strange conflict at the Strait and an even stranger outcome. Through his commercial shipping contacts, which encompass the entire Empire, he had heard of a giant warship seen along the coast of Africa near the time of the battle he had heard about.
My Father was a clever man and it did not take long for him to see the connection. He searched for over a year until he found me at last.
As we spoke we were joined by Primus. On the hill nearby, the Greek set up his new refractor and began to study the stars through it and taking notes. He continued to do this all night long.
As we spoke late into the night, I finally recounted the journey of Antonia and our many adventures upon her. He listened with intense interest and occasional shock as we told of the new weapons and our battle with the Septimus Fleet. Primus would add an occasional detail when needed and we finally told all. It was the middle of the night when we finally retired to our beds. My father said nothing. I do not know if he believed all of it or not.
We awakened in mid-morning to a house already alive with activity. I finally joined my father at the table. Chinus was set into his lap and he began to give him some bread, when a messenger came from our friends in town. He inquired if we were alright. I told him he we were fine and he recounted a strange event from that morning.
“Just after the sun came up,” he said, “A great black bird seemed to fly into the town from nowhere. It came to rest upon the topmast of the ship that brought your father to us. When the sailors tried to approach it, it took off and flew into the sun, when we lost all sight of it!”
After the messenger departed, my father noticed the expression on my face and asked if anything was wrong.
“No,” I said, “Nothing is wrong.”
A few moments later the Greek came in and joined us at the table. He had been up all night with his new invention and was exhausted. He asked Sarah to make some coffee and she obliged him. He had just finished putting the refractor away and was bursting with excitement.
As the room filled with the heavenly perfume of the brew, Calpurnia set before us a breakfast of fresh bread and fruit. Once the coffee arrived we sat and talked.
But it was the Greek who did most of the talking, about all of the amazing discoveries he had made during the preceding night. Over breakfast, we gathered at the table and listened to him as he told us stories of swirling pools of stars and planets with golden rings.
In Loving Memory
For My Father
May 1, 2011
Paul Howard
If you enjoyed this novel, please
Check out Paul Howard’s other book,
The Beethoven Incident at:
http://goo.gl/Zj5ga
