“See you tomorrow!”
“Yeah, see you!”
Young, lively voices—strong enough to stand up to the salty sea wind—rang out across the stone-paved pier, already slipping into dusk.
“Don’t forget to come to schola tomorrow, Luke!”
“You’re the one who better not skip, Theophilus!”
The two friends walked off in opposite directions. After a little while, they both turned around and shouted again.
“See you!”
“See you!”
When they had grown so small they were almost dots, they shouted once more.
“Seee youuu!”
“Seee youuu!”
Waving his arm high in the air, the boy turned the corner into a narrow alley. He walked up a gentle slope lined with two-story stone houses. At the very top stood his home. Against the evening sky, its dark shape formed a silhouette—a large, Roman-style house with three stories. From a wide window on the second floor, warm light spilled out. The boy stopped and looked up. For just a moment, a faint shadow of sadness crossed his face.
When he opened the large front door on the first floor, he stepped into a courtyard surrounded by walls. In the center was a square pool decorated with all kinds of water plants. On either side stood matching square flowerbeds, each filled with tropical plants rarely seen in this region. Two slender Abyssinian cats came running toward him. They were very fond of the boy.
“I’m home, Socrates. Good boy. Hey—don’t bite, Plato. You’ve got quite a temper. Are you hungry?”
A maid working in the dining room on the first floor greeted him with a smile.
“Welcome back. Did you study properly today?”
“More or less,” he replied cheerfully. “But I’m starving.”
With that, the boy climbed the stone staircase to the second floor. At the top was a wide terrace that looked out over the entire harbor. On the surface of the sea, ship lights sparkled in the fading light. The western sky glowed orange, colored by the sun that had just slipped below the horizon. The sea, deep navy blue, rocked the ships gently, like a great cradle.
The harbor of Troas was a grand one. Merchant ships came and went from Greece and Rome, from faraway Spain in the west, Israel in the east, and Egypt in the south. The proud winds of Greek civilization crossed the Aegean Sea and breathed constant change and energy into this ancient port town. One could never grow tired of looking at the ships, each one decorated more cleverly than the last. A vessel with a golden carving of a swan’s head and neck on its bow looked like a giant bird flying with white wings spread wide. A merchant ship from Spain bore a beautiful goddess with hawk’s wings, standing calmly atop the central mast, guarding the ship from the dangers of the sea. Roman warships were especially eye-catching—the long line of oars along their sides cut through the water in perfect rhythm at the captain’s command. Red, gold, white, blue, yellow… the brilliantly colored ships, each proudly showing the strength of its homeland, made anyone watching forget the passage of time.
Even at a small pier a little distance from the busy, multinational harbor, local fishermen went about their daily work, shouting cheerfully to one another. Sardines were the most common catch. Freshly fried sardines or sardine marinade—tastes of God’s blessing—appeared on ordinary family tables every day. Now, in the evening, simple little boats were returning, as if drawn back by the prayers of women and children wishing for the fishermen’s safe return.
Watching this harbor at dusk with his father and mother had once been part of Luke’s daily routine.
But now, his father was gone.
Mother… I wonder how she’s feeling today.
Luke pressed his lips together without meaning to.
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