It was a crisp summer morning. Merchants were lining up on the cobblestone streets1, selling freshly caught fish, beautifully decorated pottery, and spices of all different kinds2. The shops and cafes were as busy as ever, and the ships were beginning to come into the port with their regular stock of goods3. The sound of birds chirping and distant waves of the ocean meant that it was daybreak here in my hometown of Pompeii.
I was on my way to the marketplace, taking the shortcut through the city courtyard as I do every week on my commute. Though, this morning was different. It was the morning of my sixteenth birthday. When I finally arrived at the marketplace, my friends Irene and Clara were gathered underneath the…show more content… How could we forget your sixteenth birthday?” Clara said sarcastically. “We even got you a present.” Clara continued, reaching into her bag.
She took out a parcel wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine. I slowly ripped off the wrappings to reveal a set of beautifully crafted wooden paintbrushes.
“They’re beautiful!” I exclaimed, “You couldn’t have gotten me a more perfect gift! You didn’t have to-”
“Well of course we did!” Irene interrupted. “We knew how much you love to paint, so we thought they’d come of good use. But it was the least we could do, especially on your birthday!”
“I can’t thank you two enough.” I said, smiling. And with that, we all made our way inside. You can never know what you’ll see when you visit the marketplace, as new traders come through daily from the various ocean ports on the island4. As we walked through the intertwining paths, we saw everything from lustrous gemstones to mouthwatering pastries and even herds of livestock towards the outer corridors5. I took out the list of goods my mother said she needed me to pick up: olives, apples, milk, and cabbage. We then made our way over to one of the produce booths, from which I have become a regular…show more content… Mother had given us our tea and began to tell Gabriel his bedtime story, when suddenly both of them stopped for a moment and looked at me. Then my mother suddenly got up and went into the kitchen. I gave Gabriel a perplexed look, and watched as my mother returned with a package wrapped in brown paper.
“We almost forgot.” she said, looking at Gabriel. “Happy Birthday, sweetheart.”
She handed me the wrapped package and took her seat back next to my brother. I unwrapped the package and felt the smooth touch of a leather book cover. As I opened it, there were hundreds of blank pages, just waiting to be written in. It was a diary.
“This means so much. I cannot thank you enough.” I proceeded to hug them both goodnight, and then blew out the candle as we all fell asleep. “Pssst. Psssst. Adelaide.” Gabriel whispered.
“Gabriel, what is it? It’s still dark outside.” I said, whining.
Then suddenly I felt it, the ground was shaking again, except this time much worse than before11. It was still dark out, and by my account around 9 pm12. Mother was still asleep on the
