Nero’s mother was concerned that he would lose his
will to live simply because of some girl. Therefore, she thought that it was
best if Nero and Nona spent time together because Nona was always able to
entertain Nero and uplift his spirit. Nona, who was six years old, was a
charming young girl who was able to entertain her family and friends with her
humor. Nero rested in bed all morning refusing to eat or leave his room. His
mother, who was worried, called Nona and told her to waken her brother so that
he could take her to the theater. Nona quickly rushed into Nero’s room and
began shaking him; “Hurry, hurry! I want go to the theater and watch play!
Mother said for you to take me and I want to go NOW,” stated Nona. She threw
the blankets off his bed and grabbed his arm. She began pulling him but Nero
got up on his own and made his way towards the outhouse. After he changed, Nona
took Nero’s hand and both began to make their way towards the amphitheater.
Once they were down the Palatine hill, Nero realized that there were several
hundred people all going in the same direction towards the theater and was
scared of seeing Julia, his lover, somewhere in the crowd. Nero and Nona walked
through the great arches of the theater and made their way towards their seats.
Nona saw Julia in the mass and suddenly let go of Nero’s hand. Nona started
running towards Julia before calling her name several times. Julia, eventually,
turned around and saw that it was young Nona running. Julia ran and hugged
Tulia in her arms; Nero had finally caught up with Nona after sprinting through
the crowd, only to see that it was Julia who was with his sister. Nero and
Julia both said hello to each other but were silent afterwards until Nona asked
Julia if she wanted to come sit with them. They then made their way to their
seats and Nona sat in the middle of the two lovers. Nona turned toward Julia
and said, “I’ve always wanted to see a mime theatrical and I’m so glad that
they finally came to Rome. I heard the play is about gods and falling in love
with humans.” The curtain was pulled up and the male actors made their way to
the stage with their masks. Venus, the goddess of love, had come on stage and captured
a young man’s heart with her beauty. While watching the plot advance, Nero
could only think about how it reminded him of his own personal romance with
Julia.
