Creative Writing Project
The themes and facts displayed in this piece are inspired by actual events, but may not necessarily actual events.
My husband died yesterday. It was one of the most tragic things ever to happen to me. He was old, very old. Dear Claudius was 64 when he passed away. And to think, my second husband is gone and I'm only 39. Everyone is blaming his death on me. All of them, even my own son Nero, say it was me who gave Claudius poisonous mushrooms at dinner. But they all lie.
Claudius and I had a wonderful relationship together. We did so many things with each other. Last month we went to the arena. Oh! The many exciting things that we witnessed! There were great battles between the supreme gladiators and the wildest of all beasts. One man even came close to being victorious over the lion. This man was the strongest, most well-built man that I have ever seen. And the lion was incredible too! This battle of the fittest went on for such a long time. They were both twisting and turning in positions that I never knew to be humanly possible. This gladiator put up an extraordinary fight with the lion, but then in an instant, it was over. The lion, with two strong paws and one fierce jaw, took a monstrous bite out of the gladiator's left leg. There was blood spurting everywhere, and in that moment the gladiator died. Another man we saw that day had his head bit off just like you or I would munch on a chicken leg. Just the other day we went again to the arena. This time it was to watch a naval battle being acted out. They had flooded almost all of this huge arena, and the battle was breathtaking! All of the men were in their boats and with a starting shout they were off. Swords were thrust into the air. People were collapsing at every turn. It was gruesome, yet thrilling!
Claudius was always nice to me when we were together. We sometimes strolled through the courtyard with each other. That is when he would reveal to me what he was writing about. Claudius loved to write! He absolutely lived for it, but I was the only one that he told these things to. Early on in our marriage I had to swear to never tell a soul about what he was writing. That is why I cannot go any further into this topic now.
On our walks through the courtyard we would also tell each other how much we loved one another. In public we were not outwardly emotional, but in private we were. I believed that Claudius truly loved me more than any of his previous three wives.
The favorite thing that Claudius and I did together was watch plays. Claudius loved all of these things that had to do with art and theater. We went to huge open-air theaters to watch beautiful plays be acted out. They were stunning! The large open-air theaters gave one the feeling of joy, especially when the time can be spent right next to their husband as I did. Sometimes we went to small theaters that only seated about 7,000.
Claudius and I did not go out all the time. Many times we would stay in. At dinner there would be an entertainer, or after dinner we would just spend our time together talking about things. Dinner was a very important time of the day in our house. After sundown we would all gather. Dinner was served in the triclinium. Claudius and I ate opposite the empty side of the table on the couch of honor. Every night before dinner the slaves would wash my hands and feet upon entering; therefore I could be nice and clean when I ate. My hands were also washed again after each course because I certainly don't care for dirty hands entering my mouth. Usually we had at least seven courses. On the night of Claudius' death we had one of my favorite meals. It was the first entree of the night. A tray was brought out by one of the most honorable slaves, and on the tray there was a basket that contained a wooden hen positioned with her wings spread as she does when landing. Then two of the slaves came and hunted in the straw surrounding the hen. They then served peahen's eggs to everyone at the table. Mmmm! My mouth waters at just the thought of spiced egg yolk.
But I don't think that this will continue to be one of my favorite dishes anymore, for the very night that it was served my husband died. My dear husband. My dear, dear husband. He was fine until just after dinner. That night Claudius woke up screaming in agony. My heart skipped a beat with terror. I didn't know how to react. My husband was dying before my very eyes and I was at a loss! In a panic I called for the doctor who came immediately. I wasn't sure exactly what he was doing but finally he walked away from a body that did not move. He turned to me and just hung his head low. For at that moment, Claudius' personal doctor was the only one to know that the emperor had just died. But then that secret was shared with me, and by morning everyone knew of my husband's death.
Claudius had been getting old, and it may have been his time to go. Claudius was 64 years old and definitely showing signs of his aging. Last week he fell down the steps. Now, he didn't injure himself. but Claudius had walked down those steps hundreds of times and this was the first occurrence when he had ever fallen or even tripped the slightest bit.
Claudius had been getting forgetful too. He put his shoes down in one place and then when he decided to go out of the house there was yelling and screaming. "Where are my shoes!? What have you lousy slaves done with my shoes!? Why aren't they here!?" Claudius would forget other things too, such as his son's age or what he had for dinner the previous night. All of these things combined put Claudius almost regularly in a bad mood. Claudius was constantly grouchy and irritable. Some people didn't like this new, old Claudius, this forgetful, mean, and clumsy Claudius. But I had nothing against him. I saw this different Claudius as just another man that was aging. I had seen it happen in other men too. For me, this Claudius was just as acceptable as the other Claudius. To me, he was still nice and compassionate.
As I write this, tears are rolling off my cheeks and dropping down onto my paper. These are not tears of remorse. I loved my relationship with Claudius. Oh, how I miss you so. These are tears of sorrow and sadness, for I will never again be able to enjoy a play, or delight in joyous walks through the courtyard with my dear husband, Claudius.
By Rachel D. '02, Germantown Academy