from Slave to Soldier to Servant by William Furman

Author:William Furman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bill
Published: 2021-12-23T00:00:00+00:00

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A Second Beginning

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s the first rays of the sun broke over the horizon, Titus was up and dressed for the day. He started toward the dock when he saw a young boy sitting beside the road. He told the boy he would pay him to go to the dock and watch for a ship. As soon as he saw one, he was to run to the fortress and tell him.

After the boy agreed, Titus went to perform his daily duties. He was so anxious that he had trouble concentrating on his duties. The day passed and the sun was touching the horizon, there had been no word from the boy. Titus walked down to the dock and found the boy still there. He gave him a coin and said, “If you come back tomorrow and do the same thing, I will give you another coin.” Then Titus walked slowly to the place his family would call home for the next few years. Disappointment could be seen on his face. The ship, if there was one, was more than a day away.

Had Emericus been misinformed? Had the ship developed a problem? Was the ship in some danger? Many questions kept going through Titus’ mind.

The night was long, and Titus couldn’t sleep. Finally, he gave up trying and sat outside, looking at the moon. He wondered if Drusilla was looking at the moon at the same time. He said aloud, “Since we have been separated, I realize how much I have missed you, Drusilla. I keep seeing you in my mind. I just want to lie with you and hold you close. I want to be with Alexius. I wonder how much he has grown. Where is that ship?” There was no one to hear his words. The morning could not come soon enough.

The next morning, he left early for the fortress, wanting to keep busy doing something. It did not matter what he did, anything that occupied his mind would do. Later, when Primus reported, Titus told him, “I expect the ship carrying my family will arrive today. When it does, I will leave to greet them and escort them to our home. Please take charge of things for me.”

Primus replied, “There is very little going on right now. If something happens that needs attention, I’ll take care of it.”

Every so often Titus would walk outside and look to see if the boy was coming. Around the middle of the day, he saw the boy running toward him. The expression on Titus’ face changed in an instant and he ran to meet the boy.

“There is a ship coming into the dock!” He gave the boy two coins and hurried to the dock. By the time he got there the ship had come along side of the dock. Men were securing the ship with ropes and the gangplank was connecting it to the dock. His eyes searched the ship's railing and they were rewarded. Drusilla and Livia were waving to him. He waved back with a big smile on his face.

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