Chapter 485: Alone
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At the age of 19 a year has passed since the death of his mother and Gustavo was striving forward, even though such incredibly harsh times were tearing down his insanity, only held up by his beloved siblings which he loved more than anything in this world and the faith to God, praying to him everyday soothed his heart from grievances and desperation, thinking that his parents were resting in the salvation of heaven before the lord was good enough to help him continue living, and smile a little bit.
Without religion a man is torn apart in such ages, religion, despite being so oppressive, was still important for the people of Italy, their harsh lives would only get even more desperate without faith to move them forward. Many nowadays would call religion a way to manipulate and brainwash others, but it is also a way to guide people and help them find hope where they cannot find it.
Not many have strong prideful and arrogant hearts that can find salvation in their own minds and decisions, many people in these times were desperate for something to hold onto and could not simply be confident on themselves because no matter how strong one tried to become the world and the nature itself would still one day devour you into the Hades.
Modern humans don't often recognize that human lives are extremely delicate, in such times where no technology existed and where medicine was just beginning to become more complex people's lives were extremely short. In such short lifetimes they had to hold dear into their lives and the precious little moments they had with their loved ones.
Religion led Gustavo to a salvation within his mind, thinking that there could be a way to find happiness in the afterlife and to meet his beloved ones was a beautiful dream to have, and perhaps many of the modern life citizens would never think of such a thing as they are now spoiled with technology and everything they could possibly think with just money. Even the poorest wage-salve citizen had the ability to eat several meals a day and have a warm house where they can sleep comfortably.
Compared to such ancient times, Gustavo would had wished to have been born in these modern times where everyone gets handled everything, they want in a silver plate, yet they ask for more and more as if it wasn't enough to be able to eat and live and survive with your loved ones. His mindset was that of a very old man that could comprehend how people were so greedy in these times, but in the old times when he was merely 18 years of age, a boiling wrath grew on his heart as he saw the aristocrats once more increase the taxes, now asking for 70% of the biannual harvests.
The people began to cry out of desperation, asking and imploring for them to reconsider, countless farmers tried to implore and kneeled before these fat pigs but the only thing they received were spits in their faces and the hard handles of the knights hitting their heads and scramming them off…
It was as if the aristocrats themselves just wanted of the people to die already, despite them being the ones producing them all the food they devoured gluttonously…
However, things were falling into even more tragedy as one of his little sisters one day never woke up.
He remembered her being fine the previous day, she was healthy, laughing, and eating happily.
But the next day she was not waking up nor bathing, her face was pale, and she had died out of this disease while resting peacefully.
Sorrow took his family as everyone began to cry for the death of such an innocent little angel, even Gustav barely held into his tears and gritted his teeth while gripping his fists, his little sister was carried away the next day. As she was burned into ashes…
Life was harsh, oh, so harsh…
Gustavo could only ask to God for salvation, for a miracle, for something to help them, but nothing ever came, not so long after, his little brother fell ill, he lasted longer than the little girl, and after half a week of struggling to live, he died overnight.
Gustavo's entire life crumbled apart as his siblings began to die one after another. The little boy after his bigger brother came after, he died in just two days after he threw up all the hard-earned food he had eaten, his little belly hurt a lot, and the little boy cried while dying, Gustavo's entire being was about to tear itself apart at the suffering of his own life, his little sister was the only thing left for him.
As if tragedies couldn't let him get away, Gustavo was assaulted by thieves over night, other farmers desperate for any kind of food they could find, or any of value. The thieves themselves held small knives and were trembling while doing this as they covered their faces, saying "I am sorry" while taking away everything the two little siblings had, and leaving them to die out.
People was desperate, and so he was.
He quickly began to steal crops too, and anything he could do to feed his little sister, and after accumulating a lot of food, he made his pack and decided to move out of this accursed land of sorrow and pain, leaving everything behind, the two siblings traveled to the duchy where the diseases began and lived as young pickpockets, surviving with whatever bread or apple they could steal, but eventually… his last sibling fell dead one night out of nowhere, the same death his other sister had… dying in the cold bed of a crumpled inn.
Gustavo walked through all types of sorrowful moments, and when he hit 20 years of age… he ended completely alone.
And walked alone, carrying the lives of all his siblings within his heart, and those of his parents too.
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