When In Rome
Rome, Italy-2003
It was a beautiful sunset evening, and 26-year-old Juni was at the Colosseum with her Italian friend Gennaio Martino, also 26. Gennaio, or Gen as Juni called her, was a trim, white attractive woman, who was 5′7″ with chin-length red hair and blue eyes. She also wore glasses. Juni was an attractive, trim Eurasian with waist-length black hair, which was always tied up in a ponytail, and like Gennaio she also had brown eyes but didn’t wear glasses. She was also 5′7″. However, unlike Gennaio, Juni had unusual powers and one of those powers was that she could see things that other people couldn’t, but all in all, she tried to act normal. The last thing Juni wanted was to be deemed a freak, especially by Gen.
The two young women were at the Colosseum with a crowd of tourists, chatting and looking around. Everything was so fascinating, but it wasn’t new to Gen. She had seen this landmark thousands of times. Juni, who was from the US, was absolutely spellbound. For her, it was a magical experience. She started imagining what it was like so many thousands of years ago-with the screaming crowds, the gladiators fighting, the animals roaring, and the emperors deciding who would live and die. It was both an exciting and tragic time in Roman history.
Moving on, Juni and Gen continued there obeservations until Juni turned around and bumped into a man dressed as a Roman emperor. At first, she thought it was a re-enactor. However, she thought it was also strange that if it was freezing and everyone was bundled up, why a man dressed as a Roman emperor be out in these temperatures. It was insane!
The man smiled and said, “What a beauty you are.”
“Oh, thanks,” she said, “by the way, I’m Juni” and extended her hand.
The man took her hand and kissed it. Juni was shocked.
“Juni, my name is Nero,” he said.
The Eurasian was amused and tried not to laugh. She asked, “What’s your name, really?”
“I just told it to you,” the man said.
Juni was slightly embarrassed and then said, “Umm, wait just a minute. I’ve got to tell my friend.”
She went to go find her friend and excitedly said, “Gen , you won’t believe who I just met.”
“Who?", Gen asked-excited herself.
“There’s this guy that I met who’s dressed like a Roman emperor. When I asked him his name, he said that his name was Nero, but I didn’t believe him. Come on. I want you to come meet him,” Juni said.
“Uhh, I’d love to J, but I don’t see anyone dressed like a Roman emperor around here.,” Gen said.
“Of course he is!,” Juni exclaimed, “at least he was when I was talking to him. Maybe we should go find him. I can’t believe he’d disappear. I told him to wait!”
“Juni, I understand that being in the Colosseum fires up the imagination, but I think that your imagination is in overdrive. Trust me, when we get out of here we can get back to the 21st-century. Heck, we’ll even go grab some burgers.”
Knowing that she could never convince her friend that she had seen a Roman emperor, Juni said, “Okay, I’m starving. Burgers would be great.”
“Great,” Gen said, “we’ll be leaving soon. Look around for a few more minutes, then we’re out of here.”
“Sure thing Gen,” Juni said.
A few seconds after Gen walked off, Juni heard a voice behind her:
“Are you leaving soon? What a shame.”
Juni turned around and saw Nero again. He said, “I’m surprised that you can see me. Very few people can.”
“Well I can see things others can’t,” Juni said nervously.
“Don’t be afraid of me Juni. I won’t hurt you,” Nero said. Then he took her hand and caressed it a little. Juni seemed hypnotized until she heard Gen’s voice.
“Juni, come on!", she called out.
She snapped out of her trance and exclaimed, “Coming Gen!” Then she pulled her hand away from the emperor’s and hurried towards her friend. For the first time, she was glad to get out of the Colosseum. Juni wanted to be as far away from the place as possible.
When the two were outside the building, they got into Gen’s car and drove a few blocks to a burger restaurant. It was a good thing that it was such a short distance, because the two were starving.
The two ordered burgers, fries and two large Cokes, which they devoured to the surprise of the other people there. After their meal, Gen drove Juni back to her hotel and told her that tomorrow they would finish their Colosseum tour as well as see other parts of Rome. Juni wished that Gen hadn’t mentioned the Colosseum. It was enough that Nero had tried to seduce her, and tomorrow would be no different.
How she wished tomorrow wouldn’t come!
Tomorrow came, and the two went back to the Colosseum. Gen and Juni stuck together until some of Gen’s friends showed up and called her to them. Gen said, “Oh, those are just some friends of mine. I hope you don’t mind if I go hang out with them for a little while.”
“Oh no, just go ahead,” Juni said- trying not to sound uncomfortable, “I’ll be fine.”
“Great,” Gen said and ran off.
Things were silent for a few minutes, and then Juni heard a male voice:
“Hello.”
She jumped and quickly turned around. Nero was standing behind her.
“What the...you scared me!", she exclaimed.
“I’m sorry,” Nero said, “but I’m glad that you decided to come back.”
“Actually, I didn’t want to,” Juni said, “but Gen wanted to.”
Meawhile, a short distance away, Gen and her friends were huddled together and one of them noticed Juni. She asked Gen, “Who is that?”
“That’s my friend Juni,” she said.
“Why is she talking to herself? Is she crazy?", the woman asked..
“It’s a long story,” Gen said, “and I really don’t want to discuss it.”
Then her friend Pietra took a look and said, “She’s not talking to herself. Someone is with her.”
“You see a Roman emperor too?", Gen asked.
“Yes, and I’m pretty sure it’s Nero,” Pietra said, “I know, because I’ve encountered him before too.”
“Pietra, I don’t see anyone,” Zelda said.
“Neither do I,” Anna said.
“Well, very few people can, and a lot of people can’t. Hmm..I wonder what they’re saying,” Pietra said.
“Honestly, I don’t want to know,” Gen said, “all of this is wierd enough as it is.”
“Juni had better be careful,” Pietra said, “Nero is quite the seducer. I should know because he’s worked
his charm on me before, and from the stories I’ve heard, other women have been seduced by him too.”
“This has to be a dream or something. I’ve been to this place more than a thousand times and I’ve never seen anything out of the ordinary,” Gen said.
Meanwhile, back at Nero and Juni’s conversation:
“Juni, will you let me get closer to you this time?", Nero softly asked.
“How?", Juni asked.
“Well, I’d like to kiss you this time,” he said.
Juni grew nervous and said, “Nero, there are people here, and although some can see you, other’s can’t and the ones who can’t see you are going to think that I’m crazy!”
“What if there was no one here but us?", Nero asked.
“Well, that would be different,” Juni said, “we would be alone. No one would bother us.”
“Could you come back alone tomorrow evening at sunset?", Nero asked, “just don’t tell your friend.”
Of course,” Juni said, “she won’t even know.”
“Good,” Nero said.
“See you then,” Juni said-grinning.
Then she heard Gen’s voice calling her.
“I gotta go,” Juni said. Then she ran off to join Gen.