Daughter of Rome by Tessa Afshar

Author:Tessa Afshar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: FICTION / Christian / Biblical, FICTION / Romance / Historical / Ancient World
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2020-02-03T16:00:00+00:00

In the morning Priscilla sent Marcus to buy bread for breakfast while she prepared a thick porridge. Benyamin and Aquila had departed early to deliver a couple of awnings, leaving an indignant Marcus behind so that he could have his Greek lesson with Priscilla. He lingered over the food as long as he could, wiping the bottom of his bowl with a piece of crust.

Not for the first time, she wondered how he had survived months of homelessness. “What did you eat when you lived on the streets?” she asked, wondering if he would avoid answering the question.

It was this or study Greek verbs, however. For once, he deigned to explain. “Sometimes I found things in the garbage outside the taverns. Eventually I learned that the best way to obtain food was to help the local sellers. The ones who set up their stalls for the day and leave in the evening.

“If you offer to move their baskets in the evenings, when they are packing up and tired, they may give you a bruised fruit or a bit of old bread in appreciation. I could not lift as much as the bigger kids, but the women liked me. I knew how to sweet-talk them.”

Priscilla grinned. “I can imagine.”

His eyes twinkled. “You would not have lasted half a day selling food on the streets, Priscilla. As soon as someone like me came along, you would have given away all your food and gone hungry yourself.”

She nodded in agreement. Her smile vanished as a thought occurred to her. “Were the sellers ever mean to you?”

“Plenty. Sometimes they would curse you and scream obscenities. Others let you do lots of hard work and gave you nothing in return. Those were the times I collected my pay without permission.”

“You stole?

He shrugged. His eyes went dark and flat. He had done what he could to survive. But survival had come at a price. A price he was not proud of.

“Where did you sleep at night?”

“Often I did not. Nights were dangerous. So I kept moving, staying in busy streets, especially near the warehouses. Those remain open at night while workers load wares on carts. If I could find a private little shed like yours, I would sneak a few hours of sleep. But mostly I slept during the day. I took naps near fountains, bridges, or aqueducts, where crowds lingered.

“I could never stay asleep for very long. After an hour, I would have to move and find a new place. Bad things happened to kids who slept too long and forgot to watch their backs.”

“Marcus.” She had to clear her throat and start again. “Marcus, you will never have to stay awake again because you are afraid to close your eyes. Not as long as I breathe.”

A slow flush started at the boy’s neck and worked its way up to his cheeks. He dropped his head and swallowed. When he lifted his face, the old guarded look had returned. “Does that mean I don’t have to practice Greek?”

“It means you have to practice more.

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