Pompeii, a Short Story

By Tina Concetta Marzocca

An action-packed, fictional account of the dramatic final hours in the lives of the Merchant Valarius Cotta and his wife Livia. This short story moves quickly as it draws you into the life, the terror and finally, the acceptance of a man facing his final moments in the wake of the fury of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. “Pompeii, a Short Story” is the prequel of a soon to be released novel by Tina Concetta Marzocca called “The Merchant’s Daughter.” A bonus five chapters of the novel are included at the end of the story. Here you will get a taste of the remarkable and compelling turn of events which foreordains the fate of both children and propels them toward a powerful, climactic struggle.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tina Concetta Marzocca
• Release date: Jun 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311614551

Tina Concetta Marzocca

Tina Concetta Marzocca was born and raised in the New York City area. She lived many years in Chicago and holds dual citizenship with both The United States of America and the European Union Republic of Italy. Although her last position was as a paralegal for a franchise consulting firm in Chicago, she worked extensively in page design and research marketing for most of her working career. She is now retired and lives in the Languedoc-Roussillon region of southern France with her partner, Ian Mitchell. The Merchant’s Daughter is her first novel.

Book preview

POMPEII

A Short Story

By Tina Concetta Marzocca

and

The Merchant’s Daughter

(Five Chapter Bonus)

By Tina Concetta Marzocca

Registered and Copyrighted 2014 Tina Concetta Marzocca

Smashwords Edition

Smashwords Edition, Licensing Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

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For my parents, Cosmo and Gloria

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Cover Design: Tina Concetta Marzocca

Cover Image:

Sappho

Roman fresco from Pompeii of a woman with wax tablets and stylus.

Museo Archeologico Nazionale (Naples)

This image is in the public domain because its copyright has expired.

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Author’s Notes:

This story is a work of fiction. Though the incident is based on an historical event, the characters, dialogue and work as a whole is the product of the author’s imagination.

Whereas I have referred to names of modern cities using their names during this period of Ancient Rome, as well as some terms used during this period, I have included a Glossary of Terms at the back of the book. I have also included a Character List.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

POMPEII

Valarius’ Story

THE MERCHNT’S DAUGTHER – Prologue

THE MERCHANT’S DAUGHTER – Five Chapter Bonus

CHAPTER ONE ~ The Festival of Vulcanalia

CHAPTER TWO ~ Under the Umbrella Pine

CHAPTER THREE ~ The Wrath of the Gods

CHAPTER FOUR ~ A Circumstance of Providence

CHAPTER FIVE ~ Miracle in Capua

About the Author

Glossary of Latin Terms

Character List

POMPEII

There is no reason for optimism. The roof groans under the weight of a ceaseless rain of rock and pumice. I sit on the dirt floor with my back against the hot stone wall. My wife lay in my arms, coughing and gasping for another breath of the foul-smelling air. The room is nearly airless now. The lamp swallowed its flame long ago due to the suffocating space of this unventilated room. We had to batten down all openings in the room or we would have been smothered by the rush of stones and ash. These putrid, accursed rocks of fire are accumulating at an alarming rate, moving and pushing into every cavity or fissure it could find. Any air that filters its way into the chamber burns our lungs with each malodorous breath we inhale.

I look down at my beautiful wife, Livia. Even through this murky darkness, I see her dark curls hang softly down one shoulder; falling in such a way that a few luscious, thick ringlets cradle her neck. The tidy upswept arrangement is piled at the back of her head. It was skilfully created by her handmaid, Asenath, earlier in the day. It now hangs in loose strands. I brush my hand lightly over the soft braiding which had been intricately woven and held with pins and ribbons. It is now badly disheveled by our scramble to safety from the pandemonium in the streets. One small, delicate hand holds mine tightly as I watch her struggle for each breath. Her other hand clutches a once white palla now wrapped around her like a blanket. It’s very warm in here, but she is shivering. I notice the clasp designed to hold the palla at her shoulder is bent and hanging precariously to the cloth. I unconsciously reach for it, straighten the pin and reposition it so that it holds the two pieces in place as it is meant to do.

I should never have brought her here. I should have known her intuition would be right.

I’m so sorry, Livia. I whisper. She squeezes my hand in acknowledgement. She doesn’t have the strength to reply. I don’t want her to, she would forgive me. I need to claim the guilt I feel.

A tear rolls off my cheek and hits her blue stola. It makes a dark stain that spreads into the fine Egyptian cotton. I touch the stain and notice the neckline of the new tunic beneath her stola.

She just bought this at the forum. It was the one with the North African beading she and Tullia just had to have. Mother-daughter tunics, she called them. Was that just the other day? It seems like a lifetime ago. My mind strays back to the events of the past week; when life was still promising and full of good hope. In my head, I offer, to no one in particular, my story.

Valarius’ Story

I am Valarius Aurelias Cotta, a Roman merchant. I came to Pompeii with my family to combine a business trip with a summer holiday. A respite from the hot city of Rome to this famous holiday destination was an exciting proposition for us. It would be our first visit to this city and we delighted in the thought of the cool summer breezes off the Bay of Neopolis. My family business is in beautiful glass pieces, most particularly in gold glass. This technique fixed a layer of gold leaf with a customized design between two fused layers of glass.

We created an exceptionally fine piece for an art dealer here in Pompeii. Octavius Quartio came to Cotta Glass upon the recommendation of a friend while in Rome for business. He was so delighted he invited me down to visit him and talk about producing them for the finer families here in Pompeii. The possibility of striking a deal with Octavius could have brought enough potential business that we would need to buy a home here and travel back and forth between Rome and Pompeii during the year. This delighted my wife because her sister Aelia lived in Neopolis and she would get to see her more often. We pass right through that city to get here. Livia’s sister had three children, so my two children, Tullia and Marius loved the idea of spending time with their cousins.

It all seemed so perfect. The gods were smiling upon us and we gave thanks to Jupiter the Benevolent for our good fortune. The trip down the coast was easy and uneventful. We took only 4 slaves with us. Phoebe, who was wet nurse to both Tullia and Marius, attended the children like a mother hen; Felix was my most trusted man, built like a gladiator he was always by my side. Asenath was Livia’s handmaid and constant companion. We brought Hanif because he is an educated young man and great with numbers. I may need him to help work out the numbers when we strike a deal with Octavius. By Roman standards, we traveled light. The visit to Livia’s sister Aelia went well. The children enjoyed playing with their cousins and Aelia and Livia were joined at the hip the whole time.

It was during our stay in Neopolis when Livia started having terrible nightmares. She would awaken at night crying in terror that fire rained from the sky and she couldn’t find her children. She had a constant sense of impending doom and didn’t want to leave her sister’s house in Neopolis to continue the trip. I told her she was being ridiculous. We had to proceed with the trip. Everything was arranged. Everything was falling into place for us. One day I found her standing in front of an Umbrella Pine, just staring at the tree, tears streaming down her face and trembling so much she could barely remain standing.

What is the matter with you, Livia? her face was ashen and her eyes filled with angst. She turned and looked at me. I noticed she was wringing her hands; obviously agitated and worried.

"I don’t know, Valarius. It just doesn’t feel right. Something