Decima awoke to a slightly chilly
dawn, the rays of the sun gradually creeping through her window. She stretched
languidly then arose to begin her day. After dressing, Decima gathered money
and a basket and set out for the market from her home atop Palatine Hill. The
streets were mostly empty except for a few other slaves that had been sent to
do their masters bidding.
As she briskly
walked down the hill toward the Velia, she reiterated her mistresses shopping
list in her head: Meat of the whatever
kind was least expensive, fish, and cloth for her mistress. Decima realized
that she had reached the Roman Forum when she was taken out of her reverie by
the shouts coming from a crowd listening to a political speaker. She smiled to
herself and shook her head at the speaker’s foolish words then spotted the
Temple of Vesta. She made her way to the temple, offered a quick prayer and
left to resume her walk. She entered the Basilica Sempronia and made her way
swiftly to her favorite vendor. Today, she would buy a sumptuous length of
white cloth that felt like the velvety wing of a butterfly. She paid the vendor
and departed with a smile. Her next stop would be the Forum Boarium.
She left the Roman
Forum and continued west, occasionally stopping to greet people she knew.
Eventually the coppery smell of blood, fish, and other questionable substances
assaulted her nose and she knew she had reached the Boarium. She walked into the Horrea and quickly
bought meat and fish. She knew if she did not hurry home, the cook would be
very mad, and with that thought she turned homeward.
- Rosa Martinez
