In Your Name

The hippodrome in the city of Constantinople was more than just part of the usual Roman bread and circus; it had become part of Constantinople's culture. Chariot races would be held there every week, mainly. The majestic hippodrome was four hundred meters long and it could fit more than twenty thousand people. In the center of the track there were two obelisks; one of the obelisks had been brought from Egypt and made from pink granite and the second obelisk was made of rocks and covered in bronze plates. On the north side of the hippodrome, there were boxes for the horses that had four horses in gilded copper on the top. On the south of the hippodrome, there was the balcony from which high class citizens and officials, even the Emperor himself would watch from. Underneath the hippodrome, there was a tunnel that would connect the Great Palace to the hippodrome that was strictly used by the Emperor and his close friends. On the east and west of the hippodrome, there were the seats for the people to sit. The lines of rocks, empty, look endless from one perspective and when they were full there was nothing to see but faces. The hippodrome was used for occasional events like coronations and celebrations but it was also used regularly as a circus and a place for executions, to which all Romans in the city would attend. The hippodrome was always crowded leaving a few inches of free space in every row to watch the chariot races. There were four teams that would compete with two chariots each; the reds, the Blues, the Greens. and the Whites. The Whites and the Reds lost popularity over the years and left the power to the Blues and Greens. With each group, there was an incredibly large group of people cheering the team. Sometimes, the chariot races would be taken too seriously by the fanatics and would be taken out to the streets. The mayor groups of fanatics, the Blues and the Greens, had become more than just fanatics; they had become mobs that would fight each other for political or religious differences. The Blues and the Greens were unsteady groups in the city of Constantinople and whoever was in charge of the city had to be really careful not to anger either of the groups, or much worse, both.
One day at the hippodrome, the Blues and the Greens were facing each other in a chariot race. The Whites and the Reds were also racing but were simply not catching up. The hippodrome was completely full. The place roared every time a chariot passed one of the sides. Almost no one cheered for the Reds or the Whites because whoever did would be thrown hard bread to his head. The sports fanatics in the stands were getting impatient with the race; the Reds and the Whites were losing by four laps and the Blues and the Greens were extremely close, almost to a tie. The Blues were throwing their bread and wine to the chariots of the Greens and the Greens did the same to the Blues. The men in the chariots of both teams were having a lot of trouble controlling their horses for the bread and the wine that were being thrown altered them. One piece of bread hit a chariot racer from the Whites and knocked him off his chariot, leading the horse racing by itself. The race was getting simply out of control.
The Emperor was supposed to be seeing the race from the balcony on the east of the hippodrome but he had not been to a race for about four weeks. The first two races without the Emperor had gone smoothly but the next two had been chaos. The Emperor began sending his personal advisor, Herious, to make sure everything would stay in order but the groups had seen Herious' authority as a joke and began to create havoc inside the hippodrome and twice outside of it. In this race, Herious decided to stop the mayhem by calling the soldiers from the streets into the hippodrome.
"Send me the soldiers!" Herious demanded the messenger on his left.
Herious was not sitting in the Emperor's throne, he was sitting three seats to the left. The left side of the Emperor was considered his friends and the right his political friends. Always, to the left of the Emperor's seat sat Empress Theodora and by her, other members of the nobility along with Herious. To the Emperor's right sat only men. Cato and Tutor were the most important men who sat by the Emperor. They were very wealthy men with a lot of influence on people of every social ranking. Many of the Emperor's decisions for the Empire were influenced by Cato and Tutor. Both men were relatively handsome but were not ravishing. They always wore the best robes and hats, and their beards were very peculiar; they were long in their chins but the rest of the mandible was shaved as well as their mustache. In the streets, Cato and Tutor were basically recognized for their beards. They knew many ways to persuade high ranking officials and noblemen and women for economical and social causes. They were also very clever with their planning; if they had a plan, because they always worked together, Cato and Tutor would have everything meticulously planned. They were somewhat cocky and snobby but they were necessary, politically speaking. Cato and Tutor had been watching the race from their seats but watching more carefully Herious and his authority while the Emperor was gone. They were not surprised by his reaction to the situation; in fact, Cato, while watching the fanatics and their havoc, was thinking of calling the soldiers himself.
"Took him an awful lot of time to do so," Tutor whispered to Cato.
"Agreed," answered Cato with a scoff.
Tutor and Cato left the Hippodrome through the passage that connected the Hippodrome with the Palace before the soldiers came. When the soldiers showed up, Herious was standing in the balcony watching carefully as the soldiers pushed through some of the mob. Most of the people in the hippodrome left when they saw the soldiers coming but the few drunk and reckless stayed for the fight. Not much damage was done to the people or the hippodrome, only bruises and bloody noses.

The city was very big but the most important places were around the cathedral; all the markets, important streets and other churches, also some parks. Closer to the cathedral was Emperor Justinian's palace. His palace was not very big compared to castles in the middle ages but it was highly decorated with gardens and religious paintings. Inside the walls of the palace, there were secret passageways and doors to nowhere. Also, in the palace, there were meetings; the nobles met up with the Emperor and spoke about their concerns, hoping Justinian would do anything about them, which was very rare in some cases. Most people discovered Justinian listened more to Empress Theodora, more than to the state administrators and consultants, even more than Herious. This was strange in a time as the Byzantine because women did not have much of a status. However, Justinian loved his wife too much to ignore her wise words. He would listen and analyze, then he would decide.
One day , Emperor Justinian and his wife were at one of the palace gardens; they talked. The garden was not the biggest garden of all but it was, certainly, the most beautiful. It was like a collage; it was a canvas painted green in many tones but mostly a dark green, alike to the green of a frog. The flowers varied in kinds and colors; mostly on the ground there were roses and tulips usually blue and red. Most of the trees were brought from other parts of the known world, there were trees with thin trunks and branches that would stretch for several feet making it look like an umbrella that in the rainy days worked just as one. There was one tree that had purple leaves; this tree would stretch high in the air, about ten or fifteen feet, and it would look dry and very thin with the lack of leaves, but the few leaves on it would amaze anyone with their color. There were walls of bushes and small trails of sand, some benches and some fountains. In this, the spring in Constantinople, this garden would be easily confused with the garden of Eden.
Justinian and Theodora were sitting on a marble bench in the garden, holding each other's hands and looking at each other's eyes. Justinian did not speak in much of this conversation, he seemed to have been asking questions and she was probably giving important opinions and ideas to the Emperor of the Byzantine Empire. Justinian, however, continued to cough and to sneeze and to this, Theodora would look concerned.
"Are you alright, love?" Theodora asked getting closer to Justinian.
"Oh, yes," Justinian answered after coughing, "why, it is just a cold."
Their conversation was interrupted by a man. The man had a very slim figure and a long mustache. The man was walking cautiously towards the couple.
"Emperor," the man bowed, "there is a man, a messenger, who would like to speak to you immediately." The man said gravely yet respectfully as he lifted his head up and looked at the Emperor in awe.
The emperor had not been well for a few weeks, already, but he was seeming to be getting worse by the moment. His eyes were swollen and his nose red, his skin was pale but his face was green. Justinian looked at Theodora after the man spoke and asked her if she would be upset if he would talk to the man, but Theodora shook her head and smiled.
"Let eem in." Justinian said with his nose definitely stuffed.
The man bowed again and left with his hands on his back walking at a quicker pace. Theodora looked at Justinian, again with concern after he coughed. Then, the messenger entered the garden in loud screams.
"Emperor! Emperor!" he yelled as he ran from the door of the palace to the bench, "the Blues and the Greens!" Justinian had the man yelling out in his face and that bothered Theodora greatly.
"Sir, please! Respect, I demand! Bow and step aside, my husband is not feeling well." Theodora said standing in between Justinian and the messenger. The man made a quick bow and gave Theodora a face of disgust. Justinian grabbed Theodora's hand and sat her by him.
"Emperor," the man began more calmly, "I have a spy in the city, and he has told me something frightful about the Blues and the Greens."
"What could it be?" Said Justinian frowning.
"They plan a rebellion, sir." The man answered. "My spy has told me they are not satisfied." He added.
Theodora's eyes widened and Justinian quickly stood up, letting go of his wife's hand. Justinian put one hand in his mouth and ran it down to his chin as he thought. Theodora and the messenger looked at him anxiously, waiting for an answer or a reply, maybe a solution.
"Did your spy specify when?" Justinian finally answered and then sniffed.
"No, sir. I am afraid not." The man replied.
"Then we must be-" a cough interrupted Justinian, "Mhmhmm, excuse me. We must be careful," He ended.
The messenger stood by the emperor waiting for a command. Maybe something about bringing troops to the palace and surrounding it, or killing them all, or maybe keeping everything secret but Justinian was walking in circles around the green grass of the garden as he continued to cough.
"Justinian, are you thinking about?" Theodora asked him. Justinian looked back at the bench quickly.
"Well, yes, of course," He said as he kneeled in front of Theodora, "I must make this palace safer for you and for me, and for everyone in it that might be at risk."
"Messenger, tell all my guards that no one is to leave the palace. No one is to enter it, either." Justinian said as he pointed severely at the messenger. The messenger had gotten what he wanted, he nodded and left after a much better bow and an "Immediately, Emperor".
"When will it all end?" Theodora asked worried.
"I really do not know," he answered honestly, "but until the Blues and Greens calm down, I do not want anything in or out of this palace."
Theodora hugged Justinian tightly and then Justinian began to cough, once again.


Three days had passed since the last time Theodora had seen Justinian, that had been at the garden. Theodora was worried about her husband, she had not seen him anywhere in the palace. Justinian confidant was a man named Herious. Justinian told everything to Theodora but next in line was Herious. Theodora decided to ask Herious about her husband so she walked around the wide halls of her palace asking servants where he was. Finally, she found Herious at the chapel in the palace. Herious was very faithful and he liked to spend his afternoons praying at the chapel.
"Herious?" Theodora called the man from across the chapel.
"Empress." he answered. Herious walked out to the garden where Theodora was waiting. He bowed and said:
"How may I help you, Empress?" He said.
"I have not seen my husband in three days, do you know where he has gone?" Theodora asked. The man looked grave after her question.
"Oh, madam, I thought you had been told, I beg you pardon," Herious said, "Emperor Justinian received a letter from Rome, where he was needed immediately and left in secret. However, we do not know when he will be coming back, madam." He explained. Theodora felt she had been hit by a rock; she could not think of one reason why Justinian would be so needed in Rome all of the sudden.
Theodora turned around, still thinking, without saying anything else to Herious and left. She headed to the gardens, once again. The gardens were her favorite part of the palace because of the colorful grounds and the sweet scents of the flowers. She sat on the marble bench to think about the travel. Night fell and Theodora continued to spin around in circles, still not finding a reasonable explanation for Rome sending an urgent letter.
"Psst."
Theodora jumped from the bench and looked around her barely capable of doing so for the moon was not out.
"Who is there?" She asked the air. No one answered.
"Psst, over here!" Said a voice behind Theodora. Theodora looked around and saw a small girl hiding in the bushes. She walked towards the girl quickly.
"What is it that you want?" Theodora asked the girl. The girl had big brown eyes that looked rather innocent but her face was dirty and her hands and feet were, too.
"The Emperor did not leave, madam." The girl said in a whisper. Another shock hit Theodora.
"What is your name, child?" Theodora asked the shy kid.
"Sura, Empress," she answered, "I need to show you something." The girl jumped out of the bush and took Theodora's hand and pulled her as she ran.
They crossed the garden and a long hall of the palace towards another garden. In that garden, behind many trees, there was a small house that had light on its windows. The girl slowed down and peeked inside house through a window then signaled Theodora to do the same thing. Theodora did the same thing and peeked. Theodora's jaw fell in amazement. She saw Justinian laying down on a bed with a few men around him.
"Herious, liar!" Theodora thought. Her husband had been terribly sick and he had said the was in Rome, Theodora was furious. She stood up with the intention of entering the house and talking to the men around Justinian but Sura caught her robe and pulled her back.
"Shh! Not yet," Sura said, "wait until they leave."
They waited a few minutes until the men left the room and then entered in secrecy. Theodora saw her husband laying on the bed, once again. She felt useless and began to cry.
"They did not tell you, madam, because they were afraid the Blues and the Greens would take this chance to rebel," Sura explained, "Herious has brought several doctors but none of them seem to be able to see what he has or how to cure him."
"No one knows?" Theodora said as she took a deep breath.
"I am afraid not, Empress." She answered sadly.
Theodora looked at Justinian in his sleep and she felt scared. She couldn't see what would happen if he died and that scared her more than death itself. She didn't know what to do. Doctors had come but if medicine couldn't help him, what was left?
"Madam, may I suggest something?" Sura said. Theodora was desperate, anything, even a child's idea would be taken, "Have you thought, perhaps, of the witch?" Theodora raised her head and looked deeply into the child's eyes. The big brown eyes were looking as sincere as it was possible.
"What witch?" Theodora began to consider the idea.
"Dalal, she lives in the forest west from the city." Sura said.
"How do you know this witch?" Theodora asked wiping her tears off her cheeks.
"She helped my mother, Empress, she really did," Sura answered, "she was sick, too and a man in the streets told me about her, and then I went to see her and now my mother is with me." Sura smiled.
Theodora stood up from beside the bed and walked towards Sura, who was still standing by the door of the house.
"Thank you, Sura." She said. Theodora patted the girl's head and walked out of the house.
Theodora had her mind set and now nothing was going to change it. Theodora put on a black velvet cloak and ran to the stables. She took her horse and escaped the palace walls through a secret door in one of the gardens. She rode off in the night heading east.

Theodora stopped in a small house by the sea walls of the city. No one answered the door. Theodora knocked several times before a man yelled from the other side of the door:
"Eh, who knocks so late?" The door opened and Theodora smiled.
"Hello, Timothy" She said. Timothy rubbed his eyes and looked closely at Theodora.
Timothy was a historian, a man around his late thirties, with a big belly before him and a long mustache. Theodora had met Timothy long before she became Empress; he had helped Theodora escape when she was a slave and they had been friends since.
"Oh, heavens! Theodora!" Timothy said surprised, "Oh, please do come in!"
Theodora and Timothy went inside the house. Timothy's house had papers everywhere and ink spilled on the floor.
"Theodora, what brings you here?" Timothy asked merrily.
Theodora told Timothy what had happened, starting with the messenger at the garden and ending with Sura.
"Do you think you can come along with me to this witch?" Theodora asked Timothy. Timothy stood up from his chair and twirled, for the room was too small to "walk in circles, thinking", as he thought. He left the room and then metallic clanks were heard. Timothy came back in the room with a sword in his hand.
"I will come, Theodora." He answered.
"Thank you, Timothy!"
"We should leave tomorrow, when the sun begins to set," Timothy said, "that way, no one will recognize you." Theodora agreed and Timothy, then, offered Theodora his bed as he pulled a blanket out of an oak chest he had so he could sleep on the floor.
The night went by fast and when the morning arrived, Timothy went out to the city market to buy food for their quest.
"You have no idea where you are going, Theodora! You do not know how long it will take you or what you might find there!" Timothy said, "We must bring food and water, maybe a blanket." He added scratching his belly.
And so he went off to buy some bread and a little bit of wine. Theodora was told by Timothy to stay inside the house. Theodora obeyed and sat down in front of a desk and looked at the papers in it. There were several papers that seemed to be a journal. Theodora read a few of the papers and discovered Timothy had been traveling around the known world. He had been to Alexandria and Rome, Verona and Crete, and even to some cities in the Empire of the Visigoths. Apparently, Timothy had begun his travels when he was just thirty years old. Timothy and Theodora had met when she was twenty six, only three years before she had married Justinian, and Timothy was twenty eight. Theodora thought is was very interesting he had chosen to travel about the world after they had said good-bye.
"How lovely the weather!" Timothy said as he managed to open the door of his house with the bread in one hand the the wine in another. Theodora ran to help him and put the bread on the table.
"Thank you" said Timothy.
The afternoon slowly passed by while Timothy and Theodora conversed about everything that had happened to them after they had parted and remembered the times when they met. The sky began to turn orange in the horizon and Timothy began to put his long robe on as well as his round purple hat. Timothy looked at Theodora for a second; he saw that Theodora simply looked too royal to be going about the forest.
"Here," Timothy said as he handed Theodora a dress, "you should put it on, that way there will be no suspicion." He explained.
"Where did you get this?" Theodora wondered where did a man like Timothy had a dress in his house but Timothy didn't answer and simply blushed. Theodora figured it was a bad idea to continue the conversation so she didn't complain and did as she was told.
"What about the ruby?" Theodora thought. The Empress was supposed to wear a ruby that meant that she was the Empress. Theodora was afraid of losing such a valuable piece and decided to cover it with her cloak without mentioning it to Timothy.
They began to walk out of the house and headed west towards the forest. The twilight was still as warm as the day had been but it slowly began to get colder. Both Theodora and Timothy covered most of their faces with their cloaks because of the cold air but it was helpful to avoid recognition. The city was almost empty. A few children in the streets were being called by their mothers and mother were welcoming their husbands, and priests walked to the monasteries in silence with a Bible under one arm. Gradually, the tall and thin buildings began to fade, the city was transforming into simple plains of grass and then into an enormous forest.

Theodora walked slowly into the forest followed by Timothy. They used the bright moonlight to guide them into the dense forest. The forest had a great variety of trees with all heights and all thicknesses. The thin trees of the forest looked like sticks with more sticks as branches but with a vivid green color, even at night. If the trees were human they would look like an under-nourished men with rough and dark skin and very bright hair, much lighter than their skins and barely strong enough to resist the mild wind. The thick tress were the complete opposite of the thin trees; they had broad trunks and branches, perfect for climbing and strong enough to support anyone. The trees looked most majestic at night, especially the ones with small trees around them, it made them look powerful. The ground of the forest was covered in small hills and covered in the dry colored leaves of the trees that had been there since the winter, the leaves that make one think he or she is being followed but then looks down to ground and notices the sound coming from their own feet rather than from around.
Theodora knew that she was entering a dangerous zone and she knew that she could not defend herself from any harm, particularly the ones deep in this forest. Theodora felt especially thankful she had brought Timothy with her for he could fight anything with his sword and well defend her. Many servants in the palace had talked about the forest and what lies in it; Theodora had once heard of minotaurs and dangerous archers as well as demons and chimeras. Theodora personally did not believe in these creatures, at least not within the walls of her safe palace but now that she found herself in the forest and at night, she felt most superstitious; she began looking around herself with every step she took. She looked at her feet, she looked at the darken tree tops and behind the thin trees and around the thick trees. As she looked around, she began to notice the beauty of the forest instead of the danger in it. Theodora payed attention to the scent of the forest, very humid and fresh. The sound of the rustling leaves she stepped on and the murmur of the wind with the leaves still on the branches of the trees. She looked back at Timothy for a moment and noticed he seemed scared.
"Timothy, do you find yourself alright?" Theodora asked.
"Oh, yes, Empress. Most definitely, I am... very well," Timothy lied. He heard a strange noise and he quickly put his hand on the hilt of his sword, followed by a grin.
"I am just a little tense, Theodora." He finally admitted.
Theodora nodded and began walking by Timothy. They continued walking for a few hours, it was probably midnight when the began hearing a voice. The first time they heard the voice, Theodora shuddered as she stopped and Timothy pulled out his sword. They looked around themselves looking for the voice and the source of it. Their sight was challenged with all the trees and small hills surrounding them but the voice seemed to come from underneath the ground.
"What is that?" Theodora said as the leaves in the ground began to fly in circles and the ground began to open.
Timothy and Theodora backed off but did not take their eyes off the spiraling leaves and the ground. Timothy put his arm in front of Theodora and held his sword high in the air, brave and very sure of himself. There was a rumble in the air and the voice got louder. In an instant, from the hole in the ground began to appear a body; a young woman sitting with her legs crossed and her hands laying gently on her laps. Her eyes were open but the color of the eye seemed to have disappeared, they were white and did not seem to be looking anywhere, though the girl's face was facing Theodora and Timothy. The leaves continued to spiral around the woman that had come from underground and through the leaves Theodora and Timothy saw her lips moving; the young lady was very small in size and her lips were thin but the voice that came from her mouth did not sound like a woman or a man, it was a strange monotone that spoke. The spiraling began to slow down and the voice to disappear leaving the girl moving her mouth without making any sound. Finally, everything stopped moving and she closed her eyes. Timothy, who still held his sword in the air and his arm in front of Theodora, took a step closer to the woman. The young woman let out a long sigh that was accompanied by a small cloud of vapor. She opened her eyes and looked straight at Timothy; her eyes were big and sapphire blue that seemed aggressive as she looked at Timothy who approached her with a sword in hand.
"Timothy..." Theodora warned with a quick whisper looking at the young lady's expression, "... come back."
It was too late, the girl had stood up in a heart beat and was now holding Timothy's sword and had the tip of the sword put against his back, barely touching him.
"Who are you?" The woman said.
Theodora froze for a second and shuddered again. The girl's voice was familiar, she knew the voice.
"I am Timothy, I do not wanted to hurt you, please." Timothy told the woman.
"And you?" She said to Theodora as she put her arm around Timothy's neck and turned him around with her to face Theodora who now had the sword pointed at her. Timothy felt a firm pressure on his neck but did not move because he was afraid to show weakness. Theodora looked straight into the young lady's blue eyes and she felt the girl doing the same to her. The girl loosened her grip on the sword until she dropped it and also loosened the pressure in Timothy's neck.
"Are my eyes lying to me? Comito, sister?" said Theodora carefully.
"Theodora?" The young lady replied insecure. They looked incredulous as they inspected each other.
Theodora knew the girl standing before her was her sister, but she was still young, just like before she had left the circus.
"Theodora it is you!" The girl exclaimed.
"Yes, yes! Comito!" She answered as she ran to hug her sister. They hugged each other for a few seconds, gripping each other quite firmly.
"Theodora! Look at you, my younger sister." Comito said as she broke from the hug. She held Theodora from her shoulders and looked at her eyes.
"I always envied your eyes, to be honest, so green and full of life." Theodora gave her sister a warm smile.
For a moment, Theodora's head ran crazy; she had found her older sister in a forest outside the city of Constantinople after no less than twenty years but her sister looked very much like she did when she had left, like a normal fifteen year old girl. A million questions ran side to side in Theodora's head but she could not organize them and ask about them. Her questions ran all to her mouth at the same time and led her to a series of babbles that were impossible to understand. She took a step back and took a deep breath to organize everything.
"How did you get here?" She finally asked her sister. Comito's smile began to fade and then she took her sister and sat her down by her on the ground.
“That night I discovered I did not know where I was going or what I was going to do; I slept cold that night on the ground of the grand city of Constantinople. I remember tears running down my cheeks and shivers down my spine but in the middle of the night, out of the night came a man. He walked slowly towards me and told me to follow him.” Comito paused a second grinning.
“I was scared of the city so I followed the man. I walked by him very fast as we passed a place in the city I had never seen before," she looked at the sky and frowned as if she was trying to picture it again, "there were many people, they were all different to us. The man said it was a circus but it did not look anything like our circus. They had a lot more people but the people were peculiar.
"I began to travel with them and one day, a woman told me she could grant me eternal beauty" she continued, "I was young and vain so I agreed. I do not age anymore," she explained.
"I can still climb trees and run and swim..." she paused and looked at her hands, "But along with these miracles comes a curse: once every week, I am dragged into the ground and I have to look at the future and the past."
Timothy was standing behind Comito and as she said this, Timothy's jaw dropped.
"How is that a curse?" Timothy argued. Comito looked at Timothy very grave.
"Not everything in the past and future is perfect," she said, "I always see violence and terror everywhere."
Theodora understood what Comito was saying; it must be dreadful to see the horrible things that happen in the world.
"What have you seen?" Theodora asked.
"I cannot say, I am forbidden to do so." Comito replied. There was a long silence and avoiding of eye contact between the three people.
"Come, sister. It is cold out here and it is very late, it's not good." Comito said to break the silence. She stood up and taking her sister's hand she guided her through the forest with Timothy right behind them.
They walked for just a few minutes when a part of the forest before them began to color itself with a yellow light. It was a camp; there were several tents of different colors and sizes, some were big and round for more than three people, others were small for one person. The tents were put around the fire on after the other. The fire was enormous; it was big enough to illuminate the tree tops of the forest. There was a merry tune in the atmosphere played by a man with a lute and sung by a couple of women. Some people had strange physical features; Theodora saw a man who had a lizard's tail and a woman with the eyes of a cat. Timothy found himself most surprised when he saw a woman with small wings on her back, wings that looked like an eagle's. Many of those people were dancing around the campfire and drinking wine. There were some children chasing each others and playing with a dog. What impressed Theodora and Timothy the most was the dragon that was laying down in the back of the camp. It was about seven feet high and it had pale red scales that were glowing with the fire of the camp. The dragon was tied up to an immensely thick tree with a metal chain around it neck. Theodora looked closely at the razor sharp teeth and claws of the dragon and the wings on it's back.
"Welcome to our circus." Comito said merrily.
She made a sign with her hand to Timothy and Theodora to follow her. As they followed her, people and children waved "Hello" and Theodora and Timothy waved back. Theodora and Timothy entered a tent where Comito had entered; the tent inside was bright red and very spacious; with a lot of height. The tent had a smell of lavender and smoke in the air; the smell appeared to come from a small bottle in one side of the room. There were two mats on the floor and a small fire surrounded with small rocks in between them. On the sides of the tent, there were various artifacts with different colored stones and strings. By one of the mats, there was a small golden statue of a man sitting down with his legs crossed and his left arm laying down on his lap with the palm open and facing up, his right arm was put in front of his bare chest with his palm open and facing left. The statue's eyes were closed and so was his mouth.
Theodora observed the small golden statue with awe.
"It's an idol from other lands." Comito said when she saw Theodora's interest in the idol.
"From where?" Theodora asked as she looked at different things in the tent. There were jade necklaces and porcelain vases with navy blue details on them and everything was glowing dimly in the candle light.
"We do not really know; we move from place to place very often." Comito explained.
"This is unbelievable." said Timothy. Timothy, too, had been observing the artifacts in the tent with more interest than Theodora. Timothy had been observing closely more than speaking; he was speechless.
A man entered the tent before Comito could answer; it was a man with mighty height, barely fitting in the tent and with very dark skin. His face was looking very tough when he showed up, he was looking at Timothy.
Naturally, Timothy was frightened; Timothy was no taller than six feet and this man, standing next to him was two feet taller than him and had much more muscle than him, too. Timothy felt out of place for the man was bare on the chest while Timothy had many layers of clothing and a cloak.
"Hello, Duna. How are you tonight?" Comito directed to the giant man who had been looking at Timothy's hat.
"I am very well, I am glad to see you back. How was your journey?" Duna's voice was extremely deep; it sounded like the thunder in the sky but his tone was more affectionate that Timothy and Theodora expected. His voice also had an accent that clearly meant that he was not from around.
"I will tell you about it later," Comito said gravely, "This is my sister Theodora and her friend Timothy." She pointed out the small figures in the tent and the man grinned.
"I am Duna, hello," Duna said to them warmly. Both Theodora and Timothy smiled and nodded in response.
"Duna, would you mind staying with Timothy? Maybe you could tell him a little more about our colony and what we do." Comito suggested.
Timothy was very interested in knowing about the colony but he was certainly still intimidated by the great size of Duna.
"Not in the least," Duna agreed as he smiled at Timothy, "I will show him around, I will introduce him to many people and I will talk about what we do."
Timothy lost his fear for Duna after his kind smile and a pat on his back. Duna took Timothy by the shoulder, which was close to Duna's elbow, and took him out of the tent. Timothy's face of shock slowly changed into a gigantic smile as he left.
"Come," Comito said as she left the tent, "don't you want to see it, too?"
Certainly, Theodora was wondering several things about this; she wanted to know where her sister had gotten all the artifacts, where she had met Duna, how she joined a colony that travels around the world as a circus, where she had been, why she was still young, and why she had appeared from underground. There were just so many questions that she would have to wait to ask.
They walked outside, again, and the color of the fire gave everything a sunny look at night. Other than the warm colors around them, the music and the laughter added to the warmth of the colony. Theodora and Comito walked around the tents for a while. Comito explained Theodora who Duna was an what he could do.
"Duna was a slave in Alexandria but he was not from Alexandria," she said, " 'West' Duna told us but we never thought too much about it; he had joined us because he had escaped and he had become part of the family. Duna once showed me what he can do, he is very private about it, he usually shows his strength but there is more."
Comito did not exactly tell Theodora what Duna could do but for that reason, Theodora's imagination was freed.
"Just like in the old days." Theodora thought. When Comito would tell Theodora stories and she would follow them all in her head and change the endings or beginnings, sometimes she changed the characters.
They continued to walk around the tents, meeting people; Comito introduced Theodora to many people, all very rare yet interesting. Theodora was most impressed when she met Proba. Proba was a necromancer, she talked to the dead but she was strictly forbidden to talk about the future. Then, there was Mancus, who they found with a glass of wine in his hand.
"Mancus, how do you do? This is my sister. Theodora." Comito said.
"Oh, hello," he said as he stood up. He looked at Theodora closely for an instance and smiled, "it is a pleasure to meet you." He said and then took another sip of his wine.
"It is a pleasure, too, Mancus." said Theodora.
"How has the hunting been?" Comito asked Mancus.
"It's going well, I suppose," He said moving his hand with the glass of wine in the air, making circles and tilting his head to one side, "But once we get to Constantinople, it should get much better. It is an enormous city." He added.
Theodora and Comito left after small conversations with everyone; most of the conversations included some kind of prey and "journey". Whatever that meant.
"Mancus drinks blood," Comito said, "he is dead already but he lives around us and hunts in the forest for people. He promised he would never drink the blood of someone in the circus, and that includes you."
"I am part of the circus?" Theodora asked.
"Yes," she answered, "is that not why you came?"
"No," Theodora replied, "I am
*****
Dalal walked away.
"Theodora..." l

Short Story

I exaggerated events, here plus I know my ending is terrible.

I took a cracker out of the package and put it all in my mouth. I walked from one corner of the kitchen to another, jolly.
“Where are you going?” My mom interrupted from behind her laptop in the kitchen table. She had been all afternoon in her laptop, as usual. My mom began an obsession with Facebook after she added dozens of her friends from college and high school, even middle school. I have a Facebook account but I cannot spend more than ten minutes on it. My mom, on the other hand, she can spend hours looking at pictures and doing what we call “playing flashback,” which is basically that, getting flashbacks from looking at pictures, that usually brings along some laughter and nostalgia. Something similar happened to my dad, but his problem was with YouTube; he searches everything on YouTube, from 80’s TV shows to motivational speeches.
“I am going to finish my homework,” I said as I walked back to the crackers. I took three more crackers and headed to the door.
“That will not be your dinner, you understand?” She said strictly. Yes, I know, I told myself.
My parents had developed the idea that I had some kind of eating disorder a few weeks before. Since then, they had been watching my every move; they kept track of my lunch account and small meals.
“I know, Mom, I’m just going to go finish up my homework.”
“I want to see you eat something before you go to bed, alright?” She added.
“Okay.” I agreed. Yes, okay, mom, I thought, but I’m not hungry. To be honest, I do not believe I have any type of disorder, at all. I am not even skinny, believe me. I am simply small in size, petite. I do eat, too. What worries my parents, I think, is that I am usually not hungry. I have a glass of milk in the morning for my breakfast because I’m really not hungry in the mornings. For lunch, I usually eat whatever nasty and plastic meal they have. Well, some; I don’t eat much of the meat because, once, the meat on my plate slipped off my plate and bounced off the floor; I never ate school meat again. I also don’t like to eat the shrimp or the French toast; I find breakfast for lunch quite disgusting. My very favorite, however, is mozzarella cheese sticks. Then, I get double lunch and share a little. Then, when I get home, I eat dinner with my family, and I eat everything, always. I don’t believe I have an eating disorder. It just doesn’t look like I do. It doesn’t even feel like I do. Besides, there is nothing to support their idea but the fact that I’m not always hungry.
The next morning in school, I told my two friends how my parents still thought I had an eating disorder.
“So, last night, my mom made me eat something in front of her before I went to bed, just so she could see I ate something.” I told them.
I, honestly, didn’t imagine any reactions from them to this, but their reactions surprised me; they looked at each other for a second and then looked back at me and shrugged. I wondered if they also thought I had an eating disorder. Did they think my parents were right? That I really have some kind of eating disorder? But… how? I eat every time I am around them. I mean, they see me eat! I wonder if they were judging me by my size? I am small but so are they; I was very confused about this. If they thought I had an eating disorder, as friends, they would have already said something about it. As friends, they never said anything, so I just concluded with the idea that if they were worried, they would sure say something and because they had not said anything, nothing was wrong. We moved on to other subjects, the ones that usually have no relevance in our lives. For example, one of my friends mentioned how her jeans were tight and she liked it; we usually talk about things only we care, or “care” about. The bell rang and we went in different directions to our first hour classes.
I didn’t eat lunch that day; it was shrimp. I also didn’t talk to anyone during lunch because I got to the lunchroom late and the few people that I knew were surrounded by people that I didn’t know. So I sat down in the same table were I didn’t know anyone and pulled out my iPod; I listened to few tracks from Mew and some acoustic and violin covers. Ah, nothing makes me feel better than some good Mew, I told myself. Lunch went by slowly and when the bell rang, I ran to the pillar where I usually meet with my friends. I waited a few seconds before one of them got there; she told me about something that had happened to her during her last hour, something about a guy. My other friend got to the pillar and we started another conversation. During this conversation, I began to feel something under my ribs. I reached down to my ribs and started digging under them with my fingers as if I wanted to put my whole hand under my ribs, which I didn’t want to do. My friend saw me and said:
“What are you doing?”
“I feel something under my ribs,” I answered.
“I think she does have an eating disorder, like anorexia.” One of them said to the other.
“Yeah, I do think so,” My friend agreed.
I don’t remember my exact facial reaction to this but I do remember that my mouth dropped. I pulled my hand from my stomach and babbled a “why do you think so?”. They understood my question even though I didn’t.
“Well, you are feeling your ribs right now,” One of them said.“Yeah, and you are so much more obsessed about your collar bone than we are.” The other one replied.
They did believe I had an eating disorder. Now it wasn’t just any eating disorder, they had categorized it; anorexia. My friends said it and my parents said it, but I still did not believe I had a problem. One, I was just feeling my ribs. I wasn’t trying to see how much skin I had, and anorexia? Where did that come from? I must say, right away, I do not think I am “fat”, no. I don’t feel “fat” or look “fat”. The whole word “fat” just doesn’t go with me or in my head. I don’t even use the word “fat”. I hate it, it is so deceiving. Why anorexia? Had they said anorexia because that is the only eating disorder? Are there any other eating disorders? My head began to scramble itself but, thankfully, the bell rang and I walked away from them as fast as I could. Even when I got stuck in the mass of people, I pushed everyone in my way just to run from the situation. How brave of me.
I walked home that day and while I walked, I thought about my supposed “problem”. Maybe it was true, maybe I did have a problem, I thought. I got home after walking twenty minutes in the chilly weather. My mom was in the kitchen, doing something on Facebook. God knows what, really.
“Hi, mom.” I said to her making a pretty good attempt to hide what I was feeling.
“Hi,” she said. “How was your day?” She asked me as I reached the top cabinet to get a cup.
“Well, it was another day of school; it was okay.” I lied.
“Oh, very well. Do you have a lot of homework?” She asked me.
Everyday when I get home, we begin a conversation with the same questions; “how was your day?” and “do you have a lot of homework?”. My answers usually vary depending on my mood and my day but it is always the same.
“The usual.” I replied as I gave her a warm smile. I stood in the kitchen for a few seconds and then I decided to go to my room and maybe lay down for a while, I felt really tired, but not hungry. I plugged in my iPod on my speakers and played some music while I laid down. It was very easy to relax in that moment, my day had been, in a way, stressing and confusing.
I had a horrible dream that afternoon. In my dream, I was standing in a hall, looking at a picture of a woman at the end of the hall when I heard people coming near. The sound of the familiar voices woke me up from the trance I was in and I automatically looked around to see the people. I kept moving my head around but I couldn’t see anyone, only voices. I tried to walk away and find my family and friends but I couldn’t move from my spot. Then, I looked back to the poster of the woman at the end of the hall and there they were, my mom and my dad along with my two friends. They stood about ten feet away from me but they were slowly walking towards me. They were saying something to each other but I couldn’t hear clearly. As they came closer, I began to understand what they were saying.
“You have a problem but you are just denying it.” They repeated over and over, like robots and as they came closer, looking straight to my eyes. They got very close to me but I realized that I wasn’t looking at them anymore, I was looking at the picture at the end of the hall. My parents and friends disappeared when I focused on the picture. I was surprised to notice what the picture really was; it was an anorexic woman. Her ribs were boldly marked as well as her collar bone. Her face was long and pale with really marked cheek bones and chin. Her arms looked like straws, very bony. It was like looking at a skeleton with a thin layer on top.
“You are just denying it.” I heard once again.
I woke up grasping for air. My heart was beating out of control and I instantly began feeling my ribs. I sat up and felt my collar bone, bony. I ran to the bathroom to get a good look at myself in the mirror. I lifted my shit up to see my ribs and my hip bones. I realized I had never stopped and looked at it carefully, like I was doing that moment. I never worried about it, either. My hip bones and ribs were slightly sticking out but my stomach didn’t seem to be there. I got nervous and took a last look at everything. This is not right, I whispered. I shook my head as I moved my fingers slowly through my skin. Wait, I thought, I am doing the same thing everyone else did, I’m making conclusions by just looking at myself. The problem might not be in my body. What if the problem was in my head? I looked at myself one last time and left the bathroom. I decided to do some research on eating disorders so I headed to the computer.
I googled “eating disorder symptoms” and ended up on a site called “something-fishy” which I thought was a funny name for a website. The site listed a few symptoms of anorexia and bulimia. I read through them one by one. “Dramatic weight loss in a relatively short period of time.” No, didn’t happen. “Wearing big or baggy clothes to hide body shape or weight loss.” Again, no. I don’t like to wear anything baggy, I really don’t. “Obsession with calories and fat content of foods.” I’m not obsessed with calories, I look at calories sometimes, but I never give it any importance. “Obsession with continuous exercise.” Really, no. I am really not into sports or exercise. “Use or hiding of diet pills.” No, like I said before I don’t feel or look fat, why diet? I continued to read all the symptoms and realized I didn’t have a problem; all that made me think I did was my family and friends saying it. The only thing that I had to change was my eating habits. Maybe if I ate normal meals, even when I am not hungry, at least a little. Maybe then, this whole “problem” would end and I decided to do that because that would make me feel much better.

She Became a Quiet Woman

It has been about a year since the last time I saw her. I have know her for more than two years; we were been best friends. Sometimes we talked for hours and giggled at silly things. We stopped seeing each other after I moved, of course. But we still talked, at least on instant messaging.
Last night in my dreams, we talked face to face again. Silence invaded our converstations and our eyes followed almost anything to avoid eye contact. I wondered if she had simply become a quiet and shy woman. I knew she was not shy or quiet and then it struck me; we had both drifted. She was a whole new person and I was, too. Nothing in our pesonalities overlapped anymore... We were complete strangers.
I am afraid this is true, it was not only a dream. We don't talk anymore and we don't even try to. The things we think and do are extremely different. Now, I can't see her the same way as I did before. It's funny how a few changes in so little time make everything so different. I believe it was time and most importantly, people. They changed us and now, the only thing between us is the mere fact that we were once friends.