Synergy (See #3)(33)

“We met in secret,” I said as I closed my eyes tightly in an effort to see the memories more clearly.

He nodded. “You were seventeen. Your father had tried to wed you three times before, but each time you found a way to talk him out of it. You would uncover secrets about the men that you knew your father would despise, but you’d come to the age where he felt he could wait no longer to give you to a man. You were to marry a man that was a stone maker, an architect. He was a widower, twice your age. The only reason you had to not marry him was that you didn’t love him, but that reason wasn’t good enough for your father.”

I felt grief and anger as memories of pleas to the man that was my father went unheard. I saw myself pray to the goddesses...I prayed to Isis, and she responded. Each and every time.

“I thought the trembles of the ground were the answers to my prayers ... that the goddess had heard me and was honoring my request.”

Silas’ hand tightened around mine. “Everyone ignored the rumbling ground. They saw it as annoyance, but you’d smile and bow as your eyes gazed and met the heavens.” His eyes captured mine. “The night before August 24th, you told me that you’d rather die than marry anyone you didn’t love. You were praying for an escape from your marriage, and you didn’t care where it came from.”

“I asked you to take me away, but you refused,” I said as I remembered the words leaving my lips.

“You didn’t love me...not the way I loved you. You wanted your independence; not the heart of a man.”

I gazed forward as I watched the memory of our encounter under the stars that last night. Silas was wrong; I did love him then. I’d never taken the notion of love at first sight to be true until I laid eyes on him. I thought he was a gift from Isis, a strong man that could not only love me fiercely, but protect me; a man that respected and adored my independence. As strong as that emotion was, I couldn’t tell him how I felt about him that night. Even today, the words escaped me. Maybe it was because I didn’t want to give him hope that I could love him in this life, or maybe it was because it was an emotion that words couldn’t clearly describe in any language.

“So you refused me out of pride,” I said, feeling anger and rejection that seemed all too familiar.

“I said no, out of love. I couldn’t have given you a life you deserved. In my mind, you deserved all the jewels of the world. A home, a family - I couldn’t give that to you. I told you that I’d always be there, in the dead of night when you needed to speak your mind. That I would make the years of your life as peaceful and pleasant as I could - but you must marry the man your father had chosen for you.”

“I told you Isis would deliver me ... she would bring me my independence,” I said in a trembling voice as that memory became mine once again.

He let out a sigh. “You didn’t tell me that; you promised me that.” His eyes met mine, and I saw regret there. “You left me at dawn and went to the temple. I had to fight that day. Just as my victory came and my freedom was earned, the ash climbed out of the mountaintop ... the ground rumbled. While others looked on, stunned at Mother Nature’s display, I ran ... I ran to find you.”

I could see it, the ash, how powerful it was. I was in awe of nature’s display. Rational fear came to the people around me. Some people grabbed what they could and ran from the city, others sought shelter in their homes. I couldn’t make myself go home. I wanted to stay in the temple. It wasn’t long before the ash was so thick that it covered the sun – darkness was born in the middle of the day. Then the hollow rocks began to fall.

The peaceful balance of the city left as terror came. Slaves that were meant to protect their masters began to flee to find their own families, their own safety.

Silas, still in all of his armor, found me on the streets urging women, children, and slaves into the sanctuary of the temple. He tried to get me to go to my father. He told me they were escaping, that he’d promised my father that he’d bring me to the man I was meant to marry. As I argued with him, he picked me up and carried me down the streets.

When the falling rocks became heavier, he put me down, fearing I would get hurt. As soon as I was free, I ran, but he caught me again and forced me to walk forward. We’d almost reached my father’s home. I could see the servants loading wheel barrels with goods and pushing them through the crowded streets. Bodies of those that had fallen victim to the push of the crowd and the falling rocks were along the streets ... the cries of the children ... their mothers ... it was heartbreaking.

I looked up at Silas. “This is my fault! I must stop it. Because of you, precious minutes have already been lost!”

With those angry words, I ran from his side, toward the temple. Tears were streaming down my face as the reality of the moment came to me. I asked to be saved from my marriage; I told the goddess I would prefer death. I feared that she took my words too literally, though, and now my city was perishing.

As I ran to the temple, women, children, and slaves began to follow me. They knew that I’d always shown a connection to the goddess, that when I prayed to her on their behalf in the past, their troubles had been relieved.

When I reached temple, others had to help me open the doors. The rocks that had fallen were at least three feet deep. Just as the door opened, I felt Silas’ strong hand on my shoulder. I turned and looked fiercely up at him. “If you’d loved me enough to take me from here, this wouldn’t have happened. Let me speak to my goddess, let me ask for forgiveness – for the lives of the innocents in this city!”