A World Beyond Rome
Rome, Italy: 2003
Everyone gathered around the tombs of both Juni and Nero at the elaborate burial site and the female guide said (in Italian and English). “There aren’t any surviving pictures of Juni, but ancient documents say that this lovely mutant slave was of Asian and European descent and tall with short, dark-brown hair, passionate dark-brown eyes and full, inviting red lips. There are stories that claim that she often visits this burial site and still awaits the return of her master Emperor Nero. Of course, Juni’s been waiting for over a thousand years!”
“That sure is a long time!", a woman exclaimed.
“It sure is,” the guide said, “now moving along to your left, we have the Roman Forum.”
The crowd followed the guide out of the tomb. However, a young man named Thieu Nguyen was probably more fascinated with the story than most of the group. In fact, he was so fascinated that he was going to return to the tomb tonight to try to see this ancient beauty.
Later that night, Thieu (carrying a flashlight) went to the tomb to try to see Juni, but he would get a surprise himself. A few minutes after he stepped into the darkness, he heard a voice:
“Master, is that you? have you returned?”
The Asian didn’t know where the voice was coming from but he remembered earlier that the guide said that Juni had been waiting for more than a thousand years for her master to come back. At this point, Thieu was a little frightened and quickly turned on his flashlight to have a better look around. No sooner after he had begun to wave the flashlight around than he saw a woman’s face looking back at him.
“Ahh!!", Thieu screamed, nearly falling over.
The woman was merely disappointed. “You’re not my master!", she exclaimed.
“Your m...master?", Thieu asked-still frightened.
“Yes, my master Emperor Nero. You don’t resemble him!”
“You nearly give me a heart attack and you’re concerned about whether I look like your master or not? Geez!", Thieu exclaimed.
“I’m sorry,” the woman said, “I didn’t mean to frighten you. It’s just that I miss my master very much, and I want so much for him to return to me.”
Thieu softened a bit and asked, “Are you the Juni that the stories speak of?”
“Yes,” she said.
He shined the flashlight on her face again and said, “You’re as beautiful as the stories say you are.”
“Thank you,” Juni said and blushed.
“You’re of Asian and European descent, right?", Thieu asked.
“Yes, I am, " she said.
“What’s your Asian ancestry?", Thieu asked.
“My Asian origins are of Vietnam and China,” Juni said.
Thieu was floored. “No way! Are you serious? I’m Vietnamese!”
“You’re Vietnamese?", Juni asked, “this means that I’m not alone after all!”
“Alone?", Thieu asked.
“Yes. I was born in Rome n 38 AD. I was the only one of my breed here-but now...now I know that I have a brother!”
“You have several brothers, and sisters too,” Thieu said.
“Where? Please tell me!", Juni exclaimed.
“Calm down Juni,” Thieu said and laughed a little.
She calmed down and he said, “I come from a place called America. There’s a place there called Little Saigon, where lots of Asians are.”
“And?", Juni asked.
“And...I’ll tell you more if you tell me about your life with Nero.”
“Aaah...life with Master,” the mutant fondly said.
“So do we have a deal?", Thieu asked.
“Yes,” Juni said.
“Then let’s shake on it,” Thieu said and extended his hand. Juni grasped it and they shook on it. Then Thieu said, “I have to go, but I’ll be back tomorrow evening at sunset. Remember your promise.”
“I will,” Juni said.
“Good. Goodbye and goodnight,” Thieu said.
“Goodbye,” she said.
Thieu came back the next evening with some Vietnamese food for Juni. He gave her some and at first she took small bites, then she devoured it. The mutant wanted more, but Thieu reminded her of her promise.
“Okay, I’ll tell you my story. In 64 AD, I was enslaved by the Emperor Nero. I can still remember it.”
“How did it happen?", Thieu asked.
“I was captured by Roman soldiers and taken to the emperor. My hands were tied behind my back and I was helpless. I couldn’t use my powers at all!”
“You were in a bad situation,” Thieu said.
“Yes, I was. That’s when the emperor enslaved me.”
“How?” He asked.
“Through hypnosis. Nero looked into my eyes and told me how tired and sleepy I was getting and how heavy my eyelids were getting. I felt so tired and sleepy. My eyelids felt so heavy and they finally closed.”
Thieu looked like he was going under and Juni exclaimed, “Wake up!". The Asian snapped out of his near-trance and said, “Oh, I’m sorry. I felt like I was being hypnotized by you. Please, tell me more.”
“Very well,” Juni said, “I shall continue.”
Then she said, “Nero hypnotized me every day. I was conditioned to be a good slave, but was forbidden to use my powers as they were of no use to my master.”
“So you were brainwashed,” he said.
“I do not understand the term ‘brainwashed’. What does it mean?", she asked, curious.
“What Nero was doing to you,” Thieu said, “when he was conditioning you through hypnosis. He was literally brainwashing you.”
“Really?", Juni asked-surprised, “I never really thought about it, but then again the world has changed. There’s so much that I probably don’t know.”
“True, things you can’t imagine,” Thieu said, “anyway, tell me more about your life with Nero.”
“I had a decent life with Master, but occasionally he was abusive towards me,” Juni said, “I wanted to leave him but I could not do anything of my free will.”
“Did you ever have sex with him?", Thieu asked.
“If you mean intimate relations, then yes,” Juni said.
“Interesting,” he said.
“Can I please have more food?", Juni asked, “after all, I did keep my promise. If you give some, I’ll tell you more.”
“Of course,” Thieu said, and gave her more Vietnamese food. Juni felt like she was in heaven when she chomped on it. After she swallowed it, the mutant continued “I fondly remember my days with Master in the mansion, eating very well and sleeping in his bed with him. I also kept Master sexually satisfied. All in all, it was a good life.”
Then feeling the urge to play a trick on Thieu, Juni said “Look over there!” and pointed. He turned around and the mutant reached into his bag and grabbed another piece of food. The Asian turned to her, who started eating it.
“Hey, that’s not fair!", he said-laughing.
“Well before Master enslaved me, I stole some food from a marketplace.”
“Oooh, you were a bad girl!", Thieu said and grinned.
“Well, not really. You see, Master gave the order of exile for mutants, but some of us went into hiding. It was against my moral principles to steal, but I did it to help both myself and some starving friends of mine.”
“You were a real friend,” Thieu said.
“Thank you,” Juni said, “of course I was always cautious of Roman soldiers when going to and from the marketplace.”
“You certainly were brave,” he said.
“I had to be,” the mutant said.
“Juni, do you ever get lonely here?", Thieu asked.
“Of course. Master isn’t here to comfort me,” Juni said, “in fact I rarely get visitors.”
“Does it help that I’m here?", Thieu asked.
“Yes,” Juni said and smiled. Thieu smiled back and held her hand.
“Now it’s your turn,” she said, “tell me about this place called Little Saigon. It sounds like heaven.”
“Well, it’s okay,” Thieu said, “but you’d love it. There’s great food, and it’s a great way for you to learn Vietnamese as well as Chinese. There’s this great place called Phuoc Loc Tho, and it looks like a palace.”
“A palace!", Juni exclaimed, “I love it already!”
“Well Juni, you can’t live in this palace, It’s a public building,” Thieu said.
“Oh okay,” she said, “but I’d love to go anyway.”
“Well, wouldn’t that be a little hard? I mean, you’re practically a symbol here.”
“Because of my relationship with Master,” Juni said sadly.
“Yes,” Thieu said.
“But for once, I want to say goodbye to this place. I won’t be gone forever and I’m sure that no one will miss me. Please, let me see a world beyond Rome.”
“Juni.”
“Please!!", she begged.
Thieu finally gave in and said, “Oh, okay.”
“Thank you,” Juni squealed and kissed his cheek.
“You’re welcome but if anyone asks, I’ll tell them you’re my girlfriend,” Thieu said. Then he looked at his watch and exclaimed, “Whoa! Look at the time; I gotta go!”
“Where are you going?", Juni asked.
“To my hotel,” Thieu said, “but I’ll be back next week to get you, then we’ll be on the plane to America. I’m leaving next week anyway.”
“Okay, goodbye!", Juni exclaimed-extremely excited.
After he left, the mutant was elated. She hoped that Little Saigon was ready for her.