A Better Life

The old lady's eyes grew large as she passed the great walls of the city of Florence. As a peasant from the countryside, she had never been inside the city of Florence.
"Oh my goodness! Just look at all these people, donkeys, and buildings." the old lady exclaimed to the young man walking next to her. The year was 1636 and Florence was again hit by the bubonic plague. Despite the threat of the deadly disease, people were still busily moving around in the city. Rowan, the young man, was not surprised. After all, it was Florence. Located on a peninsula, Florence was the center of trade. Merchants led donkeys pulling carts of goods through the streets. Townspeople hurriedly weaved around the donkeys and carts as craftsmen of different kinds yelled out their services and products.

"Yes, mother. This will be our new life now. No more hunger. No more hard labor. With this new position, I can provide for you and the young ones." Rowan proudly smiled to her mother. Rowan was the newly appointed plague doctor of Florence. As a peasant from the countryside, he had developed a wide knowledge of herbs. With the strong recommendation from a Florentine whom he had worked for, Rowan had applied for the position and was hired by the municipality of Florence. "Florence will pay my wages," Rowan continued proudly. "We are almost at our new home."
As Rowan and his mother approach a small cottage, they were surprised to see that a long line had formed in front of the house. Rowan could hear bits of conversations from the crowd that had gathered around his new home. The crowd of people was wondering if this was the home of the new plague doctor and when he might show up. Moving quickly to the front of the line, Rowan announced that he was the new plague doctor. "Please give me a few moments. I need to settle my mother and things." Rowan quickly walked into the house and set his belongings down in the small front room, where he would see his patients. He immediately pulled out his plague doctor apparel from his sack. He threw on his ankle-length overcoat and slipped on his gloves. He then grabbed the bird-like beak mask that was already filled with herbs and dried flowers and placed the mask over his face. Lastly, Rowan threw on the outer over-clothing garment and put on a wide-brimmed hat.

Wearing his plague doctor garments, Rowan opened the door to his house and began seeing his patients. The conditions of each patient varied. The lucky ones complained of high temperatures, headaches, and fatigue, while the unlucky ones had boils and blackening and death of tissues. However, all the patients had 1 thing in common. They all had a lump, the size of a chicken egg, on their armpit, neck, or groin. Just as the condition of each patient varied, so did the treatment. For those who were less severe, Rowan prescribed vinegar drinks and herbs for them to fumigate their house. Patients with more severe conditions received applications on their skin in addition to the vinegar drinks and herbs. Rowan rubbed onions, herbs, and chopped up snakes and pigeons on the boils and blacked tissues.

The next 2 people who entered the room caught Rowan's eyes. He could immediately tell which one of them was the patient. A well-dressed man carried a young girl, who looked around the age of 6, in his arms. The young girl, dressed in a fine short-sleeve silk dress, had boils and blackened skin all over her arms. Her small face looked very tired and there were traces of dried blood under her nostrils. Like before, Rowan rubbed onions, herbs, and chopped up snakes and pigeons on the little girl's sores and blackened skin. He also gave her father vinegar drinks and herbs to take home. As Rowan was about to send them on their way, the father stopped him.
"Wait," the father said desperately. Rowan could tell from their dress that the man must be from a noble family or at least a very rich merchant. "That's it? Isn't there more you can do?" The man pleaded. "She is my only child. I cannot lose her. I can make you a wealthy man. If you can save her, all this is yours." With this, the finely dressed man threw a sack full of gold coins onto the table.

Rowan was greatly surprised. He had never seen so many gold coins in his life. An inner struggle began inside of Rowan. As a plague doctor, he was paid by the municipality of Florence. He was not supposed to accept any additional payments from any of his patients. More importantly, Rowan knew that there was nothing more he could do for the girl. The girl was going to die.

Decline the gold coins

Accept the gold coins

With great sadness, Rowan declined the gold coins. "I am very sorry, Sir. There is nothing more I can do for your daughter." The well-dressed man, still holding his daughter, picked up the sack of coins and left. Rowan continued to treat the long line of patients, one after another. To his surprise, Rowan received more and more similar offers and in greater amounts. Rowan could see that the patients who were making these offers were going to die. Why not give them some comfort and earn some gold coins at the same time? Rowan thought to himself. So, when the next patient begged for a special cure, Rowan grabbed from his bag a bottle of potion. The bottle contained a combination of arsenic, mercury, and herbs. Rowan knew this was a false cure. The ingredients were poisonous. The potion would temporarily make the patients feel better, but they would eventually die from drinking it.

Yes, the girl was going to die. So, why not bring them some comfort and earn some gold coins at the same time? Rowan rationalized to himself. Slowly, Rowan reached into his bag and handed a bottle of potion to the man. The bottle contained a combination of arsenic, mercury, and herbs. Rowan knew this was a false cure. The ingredients were poisonous. The potion would temporarily make the patients feel better, but they would eventually die from drinking it.
Days passed and word quickly traveled among the townspeople of Florence that the new plague doctor had a secret cure for the bubonic plague. For the right amount of gold coins, the new plague doctor was willing to part with the miracle cure.

"I cannot believe our good fortune!" Rowan's mother exclaimed. Rowan and his mother sat at the dining table having a late supper. "I never thought that I would ever taste white bread in my entire life."
"This is just the beginning, mother." Rowan ate another piece of white bread and washed it down with some red wine. "Before long, we can afford a larger place and bring the rest of the family to Florence."
"Your younger brothers and sisters will love it here."
"Yes, we will all be leading a better life. I am actually feeling a bit tired. I will be visiting another very rich patient tomorrow. I think I will go to bed." Rowan kissed his mother goodnight and went to bed.

Rowan set out on his donkey to visit his wealthy patient the next morning. As he rode, Rowan could feel himself growing weaker and weaker. He began to have a terrible headache. He was having a strange sensation of having both chills and sweats all over his body. His eyes blurred and he tried to wipe away his sweat. As he touched his neck, he felt a lump, the size of an egg, on his neck. With the grave realization of what he had, Rowan fell off his donkey and collapsed to the ground. Barely conscious, Rowan debated on whether to rest for a while or get back on his donkey to return home.

Get back on the donkey to return home

Rest a while

Rowan knew that he could not simply lie on the street. With great effort, he lifted himself onto the donkey and rode home. Upon reaching home, Rowan collapsed onto his bed. Rowan's mom could tell from his symptoms that her son had caught the plague. She immediately pulled the bottle of potion out of her son's sack and fed it to him. The old lady did not know that Rowan had been giving wealthy patients poisionous false cures.

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