ANGELACN

The bracing breeze in the city of Pompeii stroked Linus’ cheeks while he stood at the end of the sun-kissed stone path bathed in the aroma drifting in from the bakery. He stared at a familiar cabin, a stream of sweet memories flowed before his eyes while he vividly pictured the ethereal smile of his fiancée, Cecilia. After the relentless ten years of war and separating, he was finally back.

Holding his breath, he pushed the squeaky door open, trembling with excitement as he poked his head into the slit in the door.

The valuable items in the house had been packed into packages. On the chair where Linus used to spend time with his bride-to-be, sat a tall, well-dressed man who was affectionately hugging the woman he had longed to meet for a decade. A glorious ring was shining on her finger. 

Linus felt his stomach hollow and empty as his cold, aching heart. This is not happening, he denied. He shut his eyes and buried his head deeply into his hands…

Storming out of the house and running towards the dock, Linus was desperate to flee away this city that has torn his heart into pieces. 

The sky that day was grim and with his blurred vision, Linus could still clearly see the bright lightning flashing in the sky as if to remind him of the searing pain inside him. A few minutes later, gusts of silver ash clouded the sky and everything started to quake. The sky was in complete darkness. At the remote side of the vulnerable city, the dormant volcano of Vesuvius glowed an eerie scarlet and lit up Pompeii. Horror took over the city in a split second.

Followed by exasperating yells of men, the screaming woman and children were guided out the quivering buildings which were ready to collapse in no time. The elderly choked in the haze, and so did the poor livestock. Linus stood beside the water and saw the panicked villagers swarming towards the dock. He hurriedly leaped on a boat. 

Upon hearing a sickening thud, he saw another shadow diving into the boat. Linus could not believe what his eyes served him. The man in front of him was Cecilia’s husband on his own, urging him to row faster. 

The top of Vesuvius exploded in a deafening blast. The ground lurched, letting the wave tear off the remaining buildings and caused the mayhem on the land.

Linus crawled out of the boat and dashed straight into the ruins. He went back to the cabin which was already a part of the rubbles. A weak cough tapering off beneath the debris lit up his hope. He dug as fast as he could, even though the toxic gas in the air was sucking out his strength little by little and illusions were clouding his mind. He tried with all his might and finally pulled Cecilia out.

Cecilia froze for a minute. Her cherry lips slightly parted with her voice lost in the howling wind. Thick dust on him dimed the sparkling eyes of the once mischievous boy. She threw herself into his arms and the two cuddled as she looked into him, drops of tear glimmering on her long eyelash above her glittering eyes.

The air in Pompeii turned the whole place as suffocating and scorching as a heated stove. The lava sloshed about the streets and smothered the homeland of the Pompeiians, leaving them nothing but colossal despair and terror. The acrid smoke left their lungs in great distress. As lava seeped closer, the writhing pain they had to endure showed no mercy to the Pompeiians. Their blood boiled and their skin was vaporizing under agony.

The two held each other, looking deeply into each other’s eyes while sharing the last moment of their life together.

The eruption got the better of the once peaceful village. Yet, the hope soldiered through and lasted for all eternity.