21 June 20XX +1
My Dear Lucilius:
This message is written in haste.
Young Xerxes knocked on my door early this morning; we would be departing in three hours hence from his visit.
Suddenly there was a wealth of things to take care of and not enough time: not just the practical morning chores of course, but now that I have a wife, prepping her on the same – thankfully she has seen much of what I do, but not everything, which necessitated sketching out notes as well.
And, of course, updating my will, appropriately witnessed by Young Xerxes while I had him there. A one-page document, essentially saying “I leave everything to Pompeia Paulina. In the event of her death, I leave it to Young Xerxes and Statiera. In the event of their deaths, I leave it to the community. Find a nice home for the rabbits, quail, and bees. Signed, Seneca.”
To be honest, I have no idea where my last version of my will is. Certainly it has passed beyond any point of being useful.
Although we are getting a ride closer to where we will need to be (as I am informed), we will be walking some fair amount of distance – so my packing was as minimal as I could make it. It has been some long years since I actually hiked out into the wilderness, but apparently the skill in packing light does not fully leave one.
And weapons. I have never before hiked with weapons. More than I had anticipated carrying.
This journal I am leaving in the care of Pompeia Paulina against my eventual return. I will take a second journal with me to document as I am able (or willing), but there is no sense that this entire correspondence series disappear.
Somewhere here, I suppose, is where I am supposed to comment on how much your friendship has meant to me over the years and say anything I had left unsaid and things of this nature – but like most things, if it has come down to speaking those words only now, I have failed. Not that I believe I have – we have spoken in the past of those things that need to be spoken of; the rest, as they say, is a series of news updates.
Pompeia Paulina reminds me I have 30 minutes left and there are still things to attend to.
Your Obedient Servant, Seneca
Hitting the road........with weapons.......hmmmm. Carrying a handgun 24/7 gets you used to that weight, leaving the property without it (several times) is like not buckling that seatbelt when moving the vehicle, feels unusual/odd. Course toting long guns, more weight. Good luck Seneca.
ReplyDeleteNylon12 - Outside of hunters, shootists, and military personnel, I suspect most people do not know what it is like to have to carry long arms for considerable periods of time - unless it is a practiced activity, it is novel (and not something pre-Collapse that is likely to have happened for Seneca).
DeleteI am pretty sure Seneca feels he needs all the luck he can get.
Off to war. That is a sad sick feeling. I know. Woody
ReplyDeleteWoody, I cannot even imagine - or perhaps more accurately through Seneca, I am trying to imagine. It is not a happy feeling at all.
DeleteThat song "Billy don't be a hero" is running through my mind.
ReplyDeleteDude just because Chant du De'part is taking a war story break....
Frankly I'm going to be annoyed if this series dies soon.
I’m on the same fiction addiction. OAFS installments and the Collapse here. Good writing TB. Franknbean
DeleteIf your on that addiction then here's one I got from another's blog who had enjoyed the story. proboards.com - story Repacious (spelled this way)creditor. I was very engrossed in this one and thoroughly enjoyed the story. But note the date on it.
DeleteMichael and FnB - High praise indeed being included in the same sentence as OAFS; he is a master of his craft. No intent to take a break (to be fair, I did take one of over a year) - but I do write much slower than he does. At this rate, I could be writing of Seneca the rest of my life.
Delete