https://Voice.club - I’m not just a serial dater but also an interested traveller through time…
Once I arrived in Milan in 1629, what a bad timing that was! Apparently, they had cases of the plague, and many physicians warned the Governor of the spread of the disease, but he didn’t do anything about it. They even organised a big party for the people in the city to celebrate the birth of the Infante. By then, it was already too late as the plague had taken root.
The Governor finally ordered to close the gates, and nobody could enter or leave the city. We were all prisoners inside those walls, but nobody took any notice of it to start with. Freedom is like air: you take it for granted and don’t realise its value until the moment you find it’s not there anymore, then you start gasping for it. When you can’t do what you want to or are used to, that’s when it becomes heavy and then unbearable.
What I saw in Milan during the pestilence was worse than what I’d witnessed before. If I had to imagine hell, that’s the way I’d picture it. No shred of honour or decency was left. Fear blotted humanity out of everybody. People deny, accuse and blame everyone, except themselves; that is what fear does to anyone.
One night, I ventured out and somebody hit me on the head to rob me, leaving me for dead. When I came to, I was on a cart! I don’t even know how I managed to crawl from under the pile of corpses and escape through those dark alleys.
Later, I stole a monk frock and joined a group of friars who were allowed out of the city to dig graves.
Even after centuries, I can still hear the noise of those cartwheels in my sleep. I dream that I am still buried under a mountain of dead people. They hold on to me with their rotting hands and when I wake up, I can smell death, and no amount of washing can take that away…
Wow, Greene. Your time traveler came back with a bang. What a story about the plague and escaping with the monks! I was hanging on the edge of my seat.
I think we all look forward to more of his adventures through the ages. Great writing!
Thanks Julie! I’m so glad you enjoyed my eldritch’s new adventure! I’m trying to put together different stories featuring him and maybe a book? Who knows? It’s just a fun sidetrack from the book I’m writing at the moment.
My being has no name…any suggestions?
What a great description of Medieval life during plague years. I taught this time period to 5th graders for 15 years and would have loved to share your story with them. You included so much of what I tried to relay. Well written and quite enjoyable (can one say that about the plague?)
Thank you Susan, so glad you liked it. Archaeology & History as a consequence are my main interests as culture goes, so I enjoy imagining the times after I read about them!
What a horrific experience! I don’t believe your time traveller is strange or frightening so referring to him as an eldritch is unfair. He seems a benevolent personality. He is more of a Dr. Who. You could give him a non-descriptive name like The Time Traveller or Dr. Time.
I guess that anything that a wizard does has an Eldritch element in it, he doesn’t need to be evil, he just is himself…this guy is a creature steeped in magic. I never perceived him as an alien like Dr Who, he is too much of this world and dimension. I guess he can assume any name, depending on the time and situation…
Thank you, Margarida, you hit the nail on the head and help me decide that this guy doesn’t need a name!
