Under the Hands of Mercy

By André Luiz Ruiz and By the spirit Lucius

Upon finishing the trilogy started by "Love Never forgets you" and "The Force of Kindness", Lucius' present work, "

• Language: English
• Publisher: World Spiritist Institute
• Release date: Jul 29, 2023
• ISBN: 9781088232231

Book preview

André Luiz Ruiz

Under the Hands

of Mercy

By the Spirit

Lucius

Translation into English by:

Gabriela Zevallos

Iliana Ibañez Arangurí

Lima, Peru, January 2021

Original title in Portuguese:

Sob as Manos da Misericordia © André Luiz Ruiz 2005

Revision:

Karen Ramirez Chaquilla

Nibia Pariona

World Spiritist Institute      

Houston, Texas, USA      

E–mail: [e-mail]

About the Medium

André Luiz de Andrade Ruiz. He was introduced to the spiritist knowledge through the examples set by his parents, Miguel D. D. Ruiz and Odete de Andrade Ruiz, both equally admirers of the doctrine codified by Kardec.

He was born in the city of Bauru, State of São Paulo, Brazil, on August 11, 1962, he lived in Birigui since he was a child, in the same State, from which place he moved to Campinas in 1977.

Since1979, he been patronizing the Bezerra de Menezes Beneficent Society,having promoted the brotherly work of attention in the evolutionary path, dedicated to the Christian ideal together with many of his partners.

Contents

1.– Reviewing History

2.– A Doctor for the Sick

3.–  Claudius Rufus and  the Great Emperor

4.–  The Next Day

5.–  The First Meeting

6.-  The Approach

7.–  Decius’ Response

8.–  A New Job and New Joys

9.–  Marcus' Point of View

10.–  Confessions at Work

11.–  The History of Decius

12.–  The Passage of Time

13.–  Negative Forces and  Mean Feelings

14.–  The Plans of Good and  the Tricks of Evil

15.–  The Action of Darkness and Love's Response

16.–  Loving your Enemies

17.– Seeing Today, Recalling Yesterday and      

Preventing Tomorrow

18.–  The Fate of Decius

19.–  Everyone on their own way

20.–  Sad Realities

21.–  The Forces of Good

22.–  Proceeding day

23.–  A New Beginning  for Everyone

25.–  Spiritual Help During Sleep

26.–  Harvest

27.–  Unfolding of the  Spiritual Body

28.–  The revelations of Tito

29.– Marcus' Trial

30.–  Moving forward

31.–  Necessary rescues

32.–  Unexpected Difficulties

33.–  The Journey and the Quest

34.–  Advice and Farewells

35.–  Testimonies

36.–  Finally, the Reunion

37.–  The Return

38.–  Spiritual Care

39.–  Understanding the plans  of Jesus

40.–  Under the Hands of Mercy

1.–

Reviewing History

In order for the beloved reader to remember the main sets developed in the previous books "Love Never Forgets You" and "The Strength of Goodness", this story gives continuity to the evolutionary processes of the spirits Pilate, Fulvia, Lucilius, Livia, Cleophas, Simeon, whose lives were intertwined, in the first romance, to the emerging Christianity.

Thanks to Jesus' request, Zechariah assumed the task of protecting the governor Pilate in all the stretches of his walk, after the crucifixion of the Just One, in order for that important Roman ruler could feel aided in the difficult trials he would have to face.

Committed to the fulfillment of that spiritual mission to which he was led by the request of Christ Himself, himself, Zechariah gave up everything he owned and spared no efforts so that the governor would be taken care of to the outmost, whether material or of a fallen and fragile soul, ending up by ingesting the poisonous drink that, by order of Fulvia, the sister-in-law and cunning lover of the governor, had been sent through Savio, to be administered to Pilate.

With Zechariah’s death, the protector and unconditional friend, the exiled governor, imprisoned in the old garrison, was pressured by the Romans who served there, and by the guilty conscience, to give an end to his own life, in the shameful act of stabbing himself at the belly with the sword that was offered by the ashamed officers of that military post, who considered him unworthy and didn’t accept to have him there, in disgrace.

Time passed and in "The Strength of Goodness" we could observe the harmful consequences for the spirit that allows itself to be dragged through the dark strata of evil, intrigue and worldly behavior, knowing the sad conditions of Fulvia's disincarnating, confessing his horrible crimes to the filial heart of his son-in-law Emiliano, as we accompany his suffering and imbalance on the spiritual plane, where there was already Pilate, suicidal, and the other lover Sulpicius, transformed into a leader of disturbing entities who took over the custody of the disincarnated ex-governor and, now, of the former lover released from the flesh, keeping both locked in subway caverns in the threshold caves.

Beside this state of ignorant evil, we observe the effort of Jesus' followers who, from above, victims of abuses and violence committed in the name of the Roman Empire in combat against the Christian sect, had joined to seek to rescue the very executioners and prepare their return to the physical world, in future reincarnation.

So, we find Livia and Zechariah, Cleophas and Simeon protecting the recovery of Savio, Pilate, Fulvia, Sulpicius and Aurélia, and at the same time protecting with high energies and intuitions the generous effort of the centurion Lucilius, Reincarnated in the world alongside these characters, in the figure of the Roman Licinius, right arm of the irresponsible and wasteful Marcus, husband of Druzila and lover of Serapis, the same Aurélia and Fulvia reborn, now as the lady and the employee of the mansion, respectively.

Reunited on the world stage by the commitments assumed in the same mistakes, Marcus, Druzila and Serapis find themselves involved in the love conflict, in the bed disputes through which both seek to impose themselves on the interest of Marcus, Saviour himself reincarnated.

While they are lost in libertine struggles, Licinius strives to exemplify virtue, in the humble and dedicated service he renders to the lavish house of Marcus, his childhood friend. By the side of disorders and petty quarrels, we will find that spirit that was reborn to help others to shape themselves up and that, at a time, surrenders to save a simple slave, a servant of the same palace, from the injustice of being condemned without guilt.

And finally, in the absence of Marcus who had traveled far away, protected only by his faithful spiritual supporters Licinius/Lucilius delivers the physical body to the flames of the incandescent pole that illuminated the festive night of the Flavio Theater, singing as he did decades before, beside Juan of Cleophas, in the Circus Maximus.

Upon returning to Rome, Marcus confronts the friend, condemned to martyrdom in order to save the slave Lélia, whom he had blamed for the death of his wife Druzila, who was poisoned.

His lover Serapis is in labor when Licinius is being consumed by the flames, under the repentant look of the irresponsible friend who goes to the place of martyrdom to attend the execution of his faithful friend.

Returning home, he is surprised by the birth of two sons, as he always wished, who will come to serve as half-brothers to his first daughter Lucia, born from the marriage with Druzila.

His pride as a man, however, as if a punishment from the gods had reached him, is hurt by the miserable condition of the two children that come to him from the womb of his lover Serapis.

The first is blind and the second lacks both arms.

There, from the womb of the former lover Fulvia, today Serapis, his two most direct creditors are reborn, both equally indebted to the law of the Universe, Pilate and Sulpicius, sons of Marcus/Savio.

Now, Marcus/Savio will take the painful experience that may allow him the fastest evolution or lead him to get into debt again.

He is a widower, and nothing prevents him from taking Serapis as his wife. His daughter Lucia is very attached to the former servant of his palace, now mother of his two sons. Her wealth enables him to live lavishly, and the lover, now mother of her children, is the woman he always desired.

From here on, dear readers, after this short summary, the story will follow so that our souls may be in tune with the understanding of the spiritual laws and with the learning which is so important for our elevation facing challenges that we ourselves sow on our way due tounthinkable acts of former times.

It’s true that this short story, succinct and incomplete, as every summary ends up being, will not provide the reader with all the content that links the characters in these successive stages of their trajectory.

To understand well the whole process, it’s important to look for the reading of the previous works to takefrom them all the richness of examples and the full understanding of the operation of the perfect and absolute gear of the Divine Justice, as much as the function of the august Mercy can be understood.

In this work, however, dear reader you will be able to glimpse that love continues not to forget the afflicted and that, only with the strength of true propitious goodness, we will manage to gather the conditions to get up in front of the dawn of our faults and face the shining Sun of Mercy to bring the dawn of a horizon of immortal beauties and happiness, not only for us, but for all the brothers and sisters of the Earth.

And we will resume the work from that character that was presented in The Strength of Goodness out of the temporal context of that narrative and without having developed the part that was his responsibility in the context of the story, the young Claudius Rufus.

However, let us first accompany the spiritual encounter that involved the awakening of thousands of entities that had been gathered on the day of Livia’s execution and Juan of Cleophas, in the Circus Maximus, and that were sheltered in an environment of extensive proportions, under the care of generous entities, having Abigail as the center of light.

2.–

A Doctor for the Sick

While on Earth men followed their ways, inspired by ideas of Good, in the invisible world, where life is more dynamic and beautiful in its truest and deepest aspect, luminous beings of all hues were attracted to the core of the Roman civilization, in this empire’s period where higher values flourished, though mixed with inferior behaviors.

The so-called good emperors’ cycle was in progress, which didn’t free the nascent Christianity from trials and testimonies indispensable for its maturity.

Like any seed thrown to the ground, which needs rough trials of the dark and hot, oppressive, and suffocating cave, in the effort to break its cocoon and take deeper roots, before throwing itself to the day’s light and rising to the sky, Christianity could not stop facing such challenges that would prepare itself to rise on the moral heaven of mankind, rooted in examples of pain, resignation and courage that would be the support of the whole building of faith.

Doctrine of intimate transformation by excellence, those who professed it were called to demonstrate the grade of their assimilation by means of the capacity of renouncing to superficial things, making see to ancient religious patterns that the Christ represented a higher force than any philosophy or belief of his time, by shaping the character of his adepts in firm sure sincerity and joy before the sacrifice, whichever it was.

They spread over diverse planetary regions, contingent of reincarnated spirits with the purpose of being led to this trial, overcoming themselves, indebted to spurious behaviors of long ago and now, candidates for the victory over their weaknesses.

They were ancient religious men of countless ancestral religions, who failed in their fights against mean interests of wealth and power, regretting having led the multitude that followed them to the ignorance’s pool where better they could usurp their goods and take advantage of their misfortunes.

Entities that needed to put an end to their own evolutionary cycle were among them, having already conquered many virtues, but lacking even the supreme sacrifice of their own lives in favor of their fellows.

Others were summoned to the fruitful caravan of martyrs of Christianity because they possessed immense debts, accumulated throughout innumerable centuries of tragedies sown on human roads, an indelible stain on the soul’s consciousness except for their willingness to receive in themselves part of the pains that it propagated, only this time without rebellion, because at the service of a transcendent cause, that of paving the road that Jesus would have traced, from horizon to horizon, in the panorama of life.

For this reason, as candidates for the testimony, as we already saw in the previous story - The Strength of Goodness - thousands of spirits had been gathered in the bloody spectacle of the torment’s’ circus, and had been directed to their own awakening through the visualization of the immense crystalline apparatus that served them as a cinematographic screen, and that transmitted to them the welcome of the Christian martyrs by Christ Himself, in another environment, distant from there, receiving the protection of loving entities.

Thus, protected by Abigail and a great contingent of noble spiritual emissaries, who sustained them with love and care, thousands of spirits could visualize for the first time the figure of the Divine Planetary Ruler, humble and great, guiding one and other of the martyred in the Circus Maximus, awakening them in their comfortable nests for beauties and spiritual joys of the duty fulfilled.

And, if in that environment where Jesus was personally a serving his faithful followers, the strong emotion was naturally imposed by the presence of the Christ of light, in the secluded place where the multitude of disturbing and disturbed entities, who had been gathered that very day, attended the ceremony, the emotion of the environment was certainly greater and more dramatic, due to the explosions of shame and repentance, of pain and guilt, of notion of the injustice committed and of the loss of opportunity.

The rescuing entities were unfolding in the vast environment that congregated that half-awake multitude, of spirits that left human companions to continue in search of new paths, so that such manifestations of convulsive weeping, of self-shaming, of acidic and corrosive repentance would be contained and maintained within the acceptable patterns for the continuity of that first encounter with the truth.

Meanwhile, Abigail stood in prayer at the center of the great area, like an immense circular theater, whose translucent covering allowed those present to see the beauty of the chiming stars in the dark night of the spiritual cosmos, but full of wonders than any night in any quadrant of the Earth.

From every angle of that environment, the attendees had a vision of what was transmitted by the immense screen that was divided into as many parts as became indispensable so that they could accompany the unforgettable vision that would teach them what were the deep differences between those who remained faithful to the Good and those who appeared lazy, omitted, worldly adepts to the immediate interests of materialism.

On all sides one heard the crying due to emotion, of repugnance, of disgust at the acts that the consciousness launched into the indelible memory of each one’s behavior.

Transmitted without interruption, the figure of Jesus dominated the stage and, on the screen in front, thousands of unbalanced spirits that had been gathered in Rome on that day of the torment of Cleophas, Livia, Licinius and others, could see those poor condemned Christians that had fallen while singing hymns of praise, received by Him, the Generous Master.

In a few hours, those who seemed human scum and material of cruel delight in the tribunes were raised to the condition of chosen by Love, rewarded by the indisputable happiness of feeling the spiritual hands of that limpid and majestic soul touching their faces, smiling emotionally, and calling everyone by his name. Meanwhile those who shouted and exalted themselves in the circus’ pleasures, in the bloody fun, in the mocking cruelty, were now, a few hours later, reduced to the dross of painful consciousness, of the struggle against miseries that they could not hide because they were shaped around each one of them.

Wounds emerged or grew in the structure of the perispirit, masks of power and pride gave rise to stark facial structures, more like the horrifying skulls themselves. Men of muscular and arrogant appearance were withering as if they were old, brittle, arched and bald, tumescent and bony.

On contact with their own essence, those spirits that had been gathered on the night of the tragedy in 58 A.D., among which there were entities of ex-gladiators like the most needy, coming out of unconsciousness to be confronted with their own reality, from which they could adopt new directions for their destinies.

Without this bath of Truth, without this collapse of illusions and the verification of each one’s reality, no work of recovery could be carried out, starting from an illusion or from a lack of knowledge of the own spiritual situation.

Time went by and, every time Jesus addressed the innocent martyrs there where they were, a new current of emotions electrified the immense auditorium where the miserable mockers attended and were transformed.

Some pointed to the screen, implying that they knew the one Jesus kissed, that they had seen his figure somewhere in that Rome, that they knew who he was. Some entities identified known spirits, confirming their noble spiritual condition and, among those who were physically decimated in that macabre ceremony, several beggars of the imperial capital, tired of humiliations and miseries, had been taken to the final sacrifice, because they were among those who listened to the word of Juan of Cleophas in the catacombs’ subterranean, the only place where they heard something that gave them hope.

The scene was moving and painful.

Meanwhile, Abigail seemed to be the generator of radiant energies that sustained the energies of that crystalline screen, remained impassive in elevated prayer, as if connected to other planes, at the service of something superior, presenting herself as the emissary of that Jesus whom she loved so much.

In the distance, welcome ceremony to the heroes of the testimony came to an end, and it seemed that the moment of the farewell of that Christ Friend was approaching.

And while Stephen and the other spirits that surrounded Him were taking their rightful direction, in the sense of guiding the newcomers, for a moment it seemed that the enchantment would be undone, the melodious music ceasing and the screen of hopes and tears going out for those miserable and unfortunate foolish spirits.

Meanwhile, Abigail didn’t move, as if in prayers that removed her lucidity without depriving her of balance and control of the situation.

It was then that, to the surprise of all the spectators of that unfortunates’ caravan, the august figure of the Lord turned around for all of them, as if he were using the screen to transport himself from one environment to the other.

Without believing in what they were seeing, they observed that from that shinningstructure that transmitted the images, a solar form took shape and began to present itself in the middle of the auditorium, transfiguring itself in front of all those present, in the wake of light and strength that Abigail sustained, like a stage that linked the two ceremonies: that of the happy for the faith’s testimony and that of the unhappy for the desertions and faults.

Yes, that magical being that could only be seen at a distance by the excited spectres of that immense theater, now manifested himself personally in front of them, coming out of that screen that was transformed into a necessary plasma camera so that his manifestation in an environment of denser and more difficult vibrations could be witnessed by all those creatures without preparation for such a show.

It was as if a ray struck the tribunes, electrifying those miserable people who by far never imagined they could be worthy of being in the presence of that being of whom most of them had never heard of when he were on Earth.

The imposing presence and the sovereign simplicity of the Christ infused emotion and an almost dread in most spirits, dread before such nobility and elevation.

It’s simple forms didn’t demand any reverence, but there was no one on that location who who wouldn’t force oneself o kneel.

Abigail herself, as soon as she felt the arrival of the August Ruler of Souls, knelt, humble, before the screen/chamber, and this circumstance alone made the energies that shone around her even more intense and radiant.

However, as soon as he himself in their midst, as if directly linked to the halo of light that was melting in Abigail, that Master, barefoot and simple, bent down and, in a loving gesture, took the beloved daughter by the hands and raised her gently, caressing her face with spontaneous affection.

- How good, my Lord, that your presence here is among those unworthy of you -the young woman said, moved.

- Daughter, as before, I didn’t come for the healthy but for the sick. My joy is immense for those who will overcome death in the testimony of love, but there is more joy in my heart when a sinner is saved than when ninety-nine righteous people are confirmed in their virtues.

And understanding what Jesus was referring to, Abigail extended her hands in the direction of those who were listening to all that was being said among them and, pointing at them, she said:

- Well then, Dear Master, here we are, the multitude of the sick and sinners, waiting for the sublime physician of our souls.

Taking two steps away from the young woman who was excited and standing firm in offering her resources, so that this moment could be eternalized in the hearts of all those present, Jesus addressed all those who were in that assembly, most of whom left their seat to kneel down equally. Others prostrated themselves on the floor, hiding their cadaverous faces between their withered and skeletal arms, but all of them brought their eyes full of hope and tears.

- Sons of my heart, said the Christ, meek and firm, soft and thunderous, I come to your presence to guarantee you the happiness of the kingdom of My Father and Our Father.

Every walk is made with effort and sweat so that, in the end, only one joy is achieved - that of the arrival at the intended destination.

Don’t imagine, based on the mistakes of the past, that there is no hope for your future. Never forget that the most fruitful and productive trees are those that will take root in rotten and smelly substances, in garbage, which transformed will become fertilizer to bear sweet and abundant fruit.

The past is your fertilizer, but the future awaits you, in the sweet and numerous fruits of the Good that you will produce, without exception.

I come to tell you how much My Father needs every one of you and to ask your help for the Work, so lacking workers.

The harvest is vast, to guarantee work and payment to all who will accept it, renouncing their own interests. Have no more vain illusions about your earthly successes which, as you can see, were unable to accompany you so far.

The seed that My Father commissioned me to plant has beene launched, and its defense calls for courageous soldiers capable of accepting sacrifice.

I see in each one of you that soldier I need to expand the army of the workers of Good, no longer through the aggressions of ignorance, but by example in faith and in the sacrifice of one's life.

I ask for your help so that we can aid those who are lost on the roads. Think of your children, your mothers and fathers, your dearest ones. They are deprived of the blessings that you are receiving at this time because they simply ignore the Truths that were revealed to you.

Will you be happy to hear the cries of pain from your loved ones?

Will you be able to smile while they cry?

My love will accompany you always and all who offer themselves to be the fertilizer, feeding the seed of the Good News, will be rewarded with blessings greater than those of the sacrifice offered, for, in the Father's House, Gratitude is the currency of Recognition and Mercy is more powerful than Justice.

Accept my unconditional Love.

And saying that, accompanied by Abigail, Jesus went to the vibratory limit where the audience began, hypnotized by emotion and, in a symbolic gesture of his love, he addressed the gladiators’ group, the worst and hardest spirits who had accepted to leave with the caravan of the refugees of Good, on that martyrdom day in Rome and, approaching one of the most horrible spirits, who there remained isolated from the others, as in the old times in Palestine along with the miserable and ignorant, he sweetly placed his hand on the terrified entity’s forehead, saying:

- The blessing I offer you, my beloved brother, is the same one you will offer to all your walk brothers in my name ... and it’s the same one I am offering each one of you at this moment" he said, raising his voice so that all would understand that it was said for each one of them that Jesus also spoke.

And exactly at that moment, the gloomy and somewhat dull atmosphere of that auditorium of deformed ghosts, was illuminated as if by a miracle, as if a thousand lights were turned on without knowing from where, as if the firmament had brought all the stellar smiles to observe, from the top of the fluidic dome, the interior of that atmosphere.

Everyone looked at each other in fright, all perceived the new light dispositions of that place and, when they went to look for where so luminous emanations came from, they could notice that, starting from the heart of Jesus. Himself, they were embedded in the heart of all those present who remained united in the hope’s vibrations of that moment, illuminating the chest of each one of them, little suns that would go on to light up at the exact moment when He offered his blessing to each one of those who were there.

The emotion reached its zenith.

All of the almost twenty spirits of repentant gladiators prostrated in convulsive weeping at the feet of the Divine Master, respectfully.

- We will follow you, Lord... - said some of them.

- We will die for you," said others.

- I will never kill anyone again," exclaimed one more.

- We swear to accept the sacrifice for your Love

Jesus smiled, excited and silent, passing his hands over their heads prostrate before him.

A few more moments and the Master returned to the center of what we could call the stage.

The light that now reigned in the environment, which was the departure of the intimate part of every present spectator, let show all their miseries and tears, but alive in every heart, it penetrated their spirits and fed them with hope and strength for future tasks, when certain souls would need to accept the testimony’s pains to correct their own mistakes.

And that day many people decided to ask for a chance to be reborn in the most humble and extinguished condition, as slaves, poor people in rags, workers, and servants, with the possibility of living the Christian faith up to the limit of sacrifice of their own lives.

Going to the center of the apparatus that served as his arrival door, after having said goodbye to Abigail, Jesus left the environment without the light that illuminated the unfortunate ones was extinguished…

And the sublime music that accompanied all the steps of Jesus' passage in that environment became more intense, in notes of sublime harmony and inspiration, having just demolished the hardest intimate barriers of the most suffering spirits admitted there, transformed into a current of tears that washed their souls and prepared them for the future’s horizons.

3.–

Claudius Rufus and

the Great Emperor

As we have already described in The Strength of Goodness, the young Claudius Rufus was a man of trust in the Emperor Hadrian’s administration, responsible for the public buildings’ supervision, and was involved in the problems resulting from the organization and reconstruction of the ancient Roman temple that was previously remodeled by Marcus Agrippa, the right hand of the Emperor Augustus, who had ruled the empire from 44 B.C. to 14 A.D.

It was the Pantheon, a portentous and unusual construction in the traditional architectural style whose purpose, regarding the emperor's intention who would determine it, was to exalt the known stars, through the material gods that represented them in the Romans’ belief. He was a robust young man, with no obesity’s traces denouncing a life of gifts and facilities.

He had to face a series of problems, manage accounts, use resources well, organize workers, keep curious people away, prevent abuses, watch over corrupt officials, fight the unscrupulous who always tried to steal the goods that didn’t belong to them.

Anyway, he played an unenvied role in which the immense responsibility came into conflict with the few advantages he obtained, in addition to the satisfaction of belonging to the personal trust’s circle of the emperor himself whowas usually absent from the capital in that year of 126 A.D.

Surrounded by endless concerns that consumed his physical and mental strength, Claudius thought it was convenient to seek the protection of the gods of his Roman belief and, having gone to the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, there he let himself be carried away by his formal prayers and material offerings to find comfort for the tired spirit in the material protection of the gods of stone.

As we have already seen, on leaving the great nucleus of the Roman faith, he was surrounded by the rabble of infant beggars who, to all the wealthy frequents of the temple, extended their dirty hands, and pursued with their litanies, waiting for some crumb from the lavish bag of the rich usurpers of the Roman State’s coffers.

Claudius already knew those children and, whenever possible, he played with them in verbal games challenging the sagacious intelligence of children that, so early, were forced to mature in the great metropolis’ streets that, one day, would consume them in pleasure circuses where their hunger for human flesh was satisfied.

After having established a playful conversation with the little boys and having extended to them some crumbs of their little coins, as he returned to his path in the direction of the building he was administering, he was unbalanced by an obstacle on the ground, which produced a thunderous fall, for children’s joy who, seeing the scene, did nothing but laugh at their shame.

- Ha, ha, ha - the mousetrap builder stumbled upon the emperor... - said Fabius, one of the children known to Claudius.

- What is that, Fabius? - asked the young man, not understanding what he meant by pointing to the ground and indicating something to be called emperor.

- Look, Mr. Claudius, your fall was due, exactly, to the great emperor who was in your way and you didn’t see him, just that…

Seeing that it was no emperor, but a pile of dirty rags on the road, Claudius thought, at first, that it was a bad joke of the children themselves, placing stones wrapped in cloths so that he would lose his balance as it happened moments before.

However, after he got up, he could perceive that the rags were moving and understood that there was a living being there, more specifically, a creature of approximately ten years of age, absolutely deformed, without a face, since the flesh that covered the face’s lower part had been devoured by leprosy, exposing its rotten teeth in a macabre and terrifying smile.

That child was the great emperor referred to by the others, moments before, because the news was spreading that, at birth, he had received a meaningless conglomerate of important names from the ancient and adored Roman Caesars.

Domitius Nerón Octavio Cayo Júlio César was his name, which contrasted his horrifying condition.

Amidst infected and smelly clothes, a badly written wooden plate brought a request for help, as it was the case of many beggars who were not even able to raise their voices to ask for help by the Rome´s streets.

Inquiring more about the child, Claudius learned that he was brought every morning by a young woman in a wooden cart, who left him there and returned later to look for himas well as the coins she had received.

The young woman who presented herself as his mother was the one who, actually had given him the name of such a strongman, either because of his illusions of grandeur, or to ironize him in his misery, in contrast to such an important name.

On that hard and cold floor, a human being with a disgusting appearance was a commodity exploring the passers’ piety-by to obtain some resource.

That vision impressed Claudius deeply.

He put some coins in the container that was destined to such purpose and not being able to think of anything else, he went away in the direction of the Pantheon, meditating on the miseries of that soul forced to live in those conditions, without any perspective of growth and improvement.

In the same way, he was compelled by his generous way of being to look for some way to help that suffering child, whose lucid eyes spoke of his tragedies and pains.

His frenetic activities together with the construction were not able to take the Dantesque scene of that faceless being away from his mind , without hope and used solely as a mean to obtain money.

Claudius remembered his happy childhood in the company of his kind and concerned parents and, for a moment, he saw himself as that ten-year-old boy thrown to the ground, at the mercy of dogs, children and heartless men who only didn’t attack him for fear of the plague he brought.

While it wounded him, leprosy defended him from the most audacious and inhumane, who didn’t have the courage to approach him even to take the coins that were deposited in a container that was tied to the child's clothes, at chest level, so that no one would dare to steal them.

Claudius thought of nothing else but the great emperor, meditating whether this would not be an omen of destiny, placing the child in his path shortly after he went to the temple of Jupiter to present ritualistic offerings.

The young administrator of Hadrian's buildings was a boy of his time, living the moments of the Roman tradition, wrapping himself in one or another feminine adventure, but, deep down, of an integral and good character, not being able to be indifferent, like most Romans, to tragedies like the one he had under his eyes.

At the end of the work, on that day, he was interested in returning to the environment where the child should be in that same dark street where he found him in the morning, but it was a shame that when he got there, the child was no longer there.

- The great emperor’s imperial chariot had already passed by to take him back to the palace, Mr. Claudius - said Fabius from the morning himself, who continued there with his little friends, waiting for some passer-by to dare to deposit some coin on Domitius, trying to make him change his mind and give him the coin for them, since the mutilated man could not use it at all.

- Still around here? - asked Claudius, surprised by the little boy's presence.

- You know how it is... we must take advantage of every opportunity so that our day does not pass by without any gain - answered the boy.

- If you already know what I’m looking for, can you tell me where the great emperor will be taken? - asked the young administrator.

- Look, so interested in that pile of imperial garbage, you will end up making Adriano jealous, Mr. Claudius - answered, sarcastically, the young Fabius.

- Don't be insolent you little boy. If you tell me more about it, I promise I will remunerate your information with something that will reward you for a whole week of your services of grabbing the rich with your dirty hands.

In the face of the generous promise, the child's eyes will shine.

- Well, sir, I don't know much. I know that the woman who brings him every day, before the Sun begins to rise over the hill, and as soon as it sets behind those grounds, and when it begins to cast a more intense shadow over here, she comes to grab him and takes him to a place I don’t know.

- That already helps me, Fabius. I'm going to pay you what I promised you and I want you, starting tomorrow, to keep an eye out and observe everything about this child and the woman who brings him. I will know how to value any information and that is all you can gain from it. Besides, I want your presence here to prevent any evil from being done to that little boy.

- He's crazy, man - said Fabius, afraid. No one dares to go near that stinking little hell.

- I know, Fabius, but I want you not to let the dogs come near him, to put some water near him so he can quench his thirst if he wants, not to let the children throw stones at him, etc.

- Well, I can do that, but it's going to cost more because the other kids aren't going to like me doing that, since we have fun with the emperor every day.

- All right, I will leave a coin for each of you to help you protect Domitius, while his mother is away and, on top of that, you're going to represent me here, having to inform me of everything that happens with the child, when the mother brings him in, when she comes to get him, where he lives, all that. Is that all right?

Sensing that Claudius was serious and that this represented a significant material advantage, almost a paid job, Fabius, more quickly than immediately, accepted the proposal, not without first asking directly:

- Now, Mr. Claudius, why are you so interested in that rot’s pile? Is he your son? Your relative?

- No, Fabius. I remembered that when I was a child, I had a father and a mother who loved me and didn’t let me go through any suffering. You have legs to run, arms to defend yourself, house to return, you know how to talk, scream, ask, run away, cheat, negotiate. He cannot do any of that, Fabius. And if you were him, how would you feel?

Seeing himself called to reflect more deeply, Fabius lowered his head to think for a moment about the tragedies of that life in rags and felt a trait of emotion in his chest, used to the mischief and miseries of a poor childhood, but that had nothing monotonous, always allowing him some fun.

- All right, Mr. Claudius, I will do what you are asking me to do.

They said goodbye and promised to meet the next day when Claudius would go to discover Domitius's whereabouts and delve deeper into the story of his life.

4.–

The Next Day

The night went by quickly for the thirty-eight-year-old, who was already responsible for organizing such complex works and managing so many problems, especially now that the building was in its final phase. The break of the dawn would find him already standing, trying to plan the actions he had ahead of him in the fulfillment of his duties.

Leaving the premises of his comfortable home, Adriano's young official continued to work using a fast transport vehicle, pulled by a strong animal, and driven by a servant who also served as a simple escort, dispensing the most comfortable and much slower bunks, loaded by slaves.

He always tried to arrive before all the workers were already at their posts to prepare the orders and anticipate the problems, which made him better foresee and plan the necessary steps of each stage of the work already advanced and in its most delicate state, to know, the conclusion of the great suspended traffic circle.

For some hours Claudius Rufus remained lost in administrative concerns, not realizing how much time would pass quickly.

Feeling his stomach indicating the need for food, he realized that the early timing demanded the ingestion of something, which led him to look for it in his working rooms, which had been improvised around the building that was being reformed and enlarged, and where he usually held his meetings with his assistants and subordinates.

While he was serving himself some dried fruit and ingesting a significant quantity of mead, a common mixture of water with the product of the oily bees, he was informed that someone trying to contact him with certain insistence.

- Who wants to talk to me? - he asked in disbelief.

- He is one of those beggars who must be used to depending on your generosity and so well-known coins.

- Tell him to come in at another time, I'm busy, answered Claudius to his subordinate who, without leaving the place, returned the word, saying:

- I already did that, my lord, but the boy says his name is Fabius and he said he is your employee and needs to communicate urgently with you.

Listening to the funny reference that Fabius attributed himself, in the importance that he was facing by the task that had been entrusted to him by Claudius, the administrator understood what it was all about and remembered that he had really asked for information from that little street child who was certainly looking for him to bring him something that had to do with the little leper.

Acting surprised so that the subordinate would not be interested in what was going on, Claudius responded:

- Ah! those street kids always looking for some way to approach and get something! Well, since I’m in a rest’s moment, bring him here, Cneu, because by that name I think I know who he is.

It didn’t take long for the employee Cneu to make him reach the small and cunning Fabius, feeling important for being led into the immense field of work, as if he really had some relevance in the order of the world.

His surprise was great and, knowing that he wouldn’t have much time in there, he would look everywhere to record most of the details that he could, as a way of revealing them to his friends, in the conversations through which he would exhibit his virtue and superiority before the frightened and envious glances of his other companions in misery.

- Well then, I didn’t know that our emperor hired creatures of your age as employees’, Fabius.

- Well - said the boy, intelligent - it depends on which emperor we are talking about. If Hadrian cannot pay for my important services, I’m at his service because of the other one.

Fabius's intelligence was one of the pleasant satisfactions that led Claudius to waste his minutes with street children, who were always livelier and more active than most children of rich and capricious Romans.

- If you came all this way, on your work schedule, then, my employee, I hope it was worth the information you bring to me.

- As you asked me, I mean, you hired me - reinforced the child to remind him of his professional bond - I was present at the site since before the little monster arrived in his carriage.

- Don't talk like that, Fabius, it's a lot of suffering and we need to respect the pain of that little wretch - said Claudius to educate his insolent spirit.

- It's okay, Mr. Claudius, it's just a manner of speaking. Soon you are going to want me to dress up in some of those important people's clothes to come here and tell you about the monster... I meant..., the little wretch... as if I were a senator...

- The idea of better or, at least, cleaner clothes isn’t a bad idea - joked Claudius.

Making an insolent and disdainful face, Fabius continued:

- Then, Great Lord Administrator of the Giant Mousetrap of the Emperor Hadrian Caesar Augustus, etc. etc. etc... I was there in that hell’s alley when the mother of that little wretch arrived and threw away the garbage, I mean, deposited his skull, or better, positioned the wretch in the place.

He deliberately tried to flourish the poor words with which he was used to express himself, and ended up letting go:

- Ah, Mr. Claudius, if I had to continue talking the way you like, I would end up quitting my job as your employee because it would be very difficult.

- Calm down, Fabius - answered Claudius in a good mood with the child’s rebellion -. Talk as you can and explain me what happened.

Loosening up more, in front of his employer's authorization, the boy unbuttoned what he had to say in his singular language of a street child.

- Then, boss, that scoundrel, who calls herself the mother of the little monster, arrived and threw the poor thing on the ground as she does every day. She hung up the sign and left quickly so as not to be the shameless one who exploits the misfortune of the mound of bad smell.

There, I went after her and walked like a condemned man, taking care that she didn’t see me until I reached the place where she lives.

And when I was ready to leave, I saw her leave with another cart and I thought: - By Jupiter Capitolinus, isn't the devil the owner of a conveyor...?

In that cart she had two more children that she was carrying, while other older little girl was pulling her hand, helping to carry some little packages.

Feeling attracted to Fabius's story, Claudius was intrigued by the unusual situation of a reasonably young woman being involved with so many children.

- And then, Fabius, what happened? - asked the administrator, curious.

- I followed them to some very beautiful palaces and saw that the woman hid the cart somewhere and sat down on the floor with the children.

- And did she also stay there begging? - asked the listener of the story.

- Yes, I think that's more or less it. But what is more interesting is that this vagab...

- Fabius, mind your words - interrupted Claudius seriously.

- Excuse me, Mr. Claudius. What is interesting is that I think that that young woman with degraded habits - did I say it better? - must have a little factory of unfortunates...

- Why, Fabius?

- Well, because the two little ones are other two ugly and twisted devils, looking more like the dog from hell than human beings. One of them never opens his eyes and cries much, while the other does not have both arms.

And half concerned with his fate, Fabius asked Claudius, apprehensive:

- Could it be that you didn’t send me to spy on one of those old witches who use a potion to look young and who, inside her house, stays cutting off the arms and taking out the creatures’ eyes to use them as earrings?

- It’s true, who knows if it's not that? - exclaimed Claudius, sensing the child's fear.

- And if she perceives me and sees that I’m also a child, does she want to do something with me too? Rome is full of dangerous people who make poison, make magic to kill anyone...

- That kind of magic only works on creatures your age if they are employed by someone... – Claudius responded by playing with the child's fear.

Sensing that his boss was bullying him on purpose, Fabius answered with certainty:

- I don’t know if that is true or not. I only know that when you sent me to do this service, you didn’t say that it would be so risky and that I could wake up one day without my legs or my tongue because of a witch's spell. And if so, what you promised me is very little for the risk I’m taking - said Fabius, reaching the point where Claudius's macabre joke had allowed him to go.

- I understand, you scoundrel, you are trying to skin me with this conversation of mutilated and witch just to value your services...

- No, Mr. Claudius, it's true. The woman has a pact with one of those infernal gods, because it is not possible to have so many unfortunates in their service. My risk is real, I can show you.

- It's all right. When you take me to see where she lives, I will increase your payment for the danger you are exposing yourself to, for the service’s risk - said the young man, pinching Fabius's cheek, who smiled with joy at his employer's approval.

- Whenever you want, I'll take you to the house where they live. It's a small house, but it seems well arranged. Therelives the witch and her two deformed creatures, helped by another older woman. The only one who is safe is the little girl who is always with her and who, as far as I could tell, treated the two deformed ones very carefully.

- Well, Fabius, today, at sunset, come here after the mother picks up Domitius in the alley and we will go to the house where they live, okay?

- Is that where you are going to pay me my salary already with the raise?

Seeing that the boy knew how to negotiate with big people, Claudius responded:

- If everything were true as you are telling me, in addition to what I’m giving you now for the information, I will give you a raise when I find out where they live.

And saying that, he extended to the boy a handful of coins, which represented for him a small fortune, in the face of the difficulty of surviving in begging in that indifferent Rome.

Grabbing the coins, Fabius saw that it was true what Claudius had proposed and, from there, he began to devote himself even more faithfully to the requests that the administrator was responsible for executing.

Half disoriented, Fabius didn’t know where to go and, as the work requested the presence of Claudius in the solution of the questions that were attributed to him, he entrusted Cneu to take the child out, not without first recommending the fulfillment of the other part of his functions, in the defense of the little Domitius, abandoned in that dark piece of the city.

Promising that he would do everything possible to help the monster, Fabius left and, before passing by the board that surrounded the place, he remembered an important information that he had forgotten to tell his boss.

Asking Cneu's permission, and running in the direction of Claudius who was already on his way to the building, he grabbed him by the clothes to call his attention and, as soon as he turned around to see what was holding him, he found Fabius's little flushed face, who said to him, softly:

- Sir, I forgot to tell you that