Myth
A boy kicked a rock across the street. The rock rolled across and hit a wall. The boy looked up at the wall. There was some writing on it. The boy did not understand what it meant, so he walked away. He walked for a bit, passing more and more words and sentences along on the wall. The wall eventually curved, disappearing behind a building. Today, he would enter this building for the first time. A few hours later, he came out of the building. This time, he held a piece of papyrus, his homework assignment. When he got home, his mother asked,
"Julius, how was your first day at school?"
"Good."
"Do you have any homework?"
"Yes."
"Alright, then you better start."
"OK."
The following day, the boy walked to school again. Once again, he looked up at the wall.
"S-s-s-salve? He muttered, looking at one of the words. That day, when he arrived at school, he was learning new words to read: mater and pater. Julius loved school, making sure to arrive on time every day. So soon, he forgot all about the wall, racing off to school on the outskirts of town, where he flourished. While the other kids hated school, Julius loved it. He let the words splash around him, lapping up the joy of getting to know all of them. Julius couldn't understand why the other students could despise a place that seemed like heaven to him, and he felt so miserable coming home every day. However, his emotions were always compensated for as he returned to school the next day. He constantly scoured the city for something new to learn, begged his teacher for reading materials, and rose to the top of the class.
One morning, as Julius was about to go to school again, his mother called him back. Sitting him down at their small table, Julius noticed she seemed worried. Her face was drawn, and her hands shook slightly as they reached for his.
"Julius," she began in a heavy voice, "I need to tell you something."
Julius's heart sank. He knew something was wrong; he noticed how his parents reacted whenever money was mentioned and how they looked nervous whenever they bought food. Still, nothing could have prepared him for what she said next.
"We can't afford to send you to school anymore."
The words struck him like a stone hitting his chest. School had been a haven for months, a place where his world grew every day. He was learning not only words and numbers but also the stories of Rome and the wonders of the world around him.
His mother's eyes softened, noticing the despair written across Julius's face. "I'm sorry, Julius. Someday, maybe. But for now, you'll have to help us here."
That night, Julius lay awake staring at the ceiling. He couldn't imagine life without school. He thought about his teacher, Magister Felix, whose voice seemed to bring the words on the scrolls to life. He also thought of the other students– children complaining over having to listen to lessons and not realizing their value.
The following day, Julius stopped as he was passing the wall. He ran his fingers over the grooves of a word etched into the wall he recognized but couldn't pronounce. He whispered the letters to himself again and again until they sounded familiar.
"Even if I can't go to school," he thought, "I'll keep learning."
Soon, Julius was returning to the wall every day. He memorized the words, sounding them out and connecting them to those he had learned. He copied them on scraps of papyrus, writing and rewriting them until they seemed to belong to him.
One morning, he lingered outside the schoolhouse as the other children filed inside when
Magister Felix happened to notice him.
MURUS
LATIN 1⁄2 ; GRADE 6
WORD COUNT: 1035
PAGE 4
"Julius," he called out to the boy, stepping outside. "Why haven't you been at school?"
Julius's cheeks flushed in embarrassment and muttered, "We can't afford it anymore." The
words barely came out in a whisper.
Magister Felix fixed his eyes on him for a while, then nodded. "I see," he said. "But tell
me, Julius–do you still want to learn?"
"Yes, of course!" Julius exclaimed.
The teacher smiled. "Then perhaps we can make an arrangement. If you are willing to
work by helping me clean the classroom, organizing the scrolls, and running some small errands,
then I'll make sure that you can still attend my lessons."
At this, Julius's heart soared. "I'll do anything, Magister. Thank you!"
From that day on, Julius was at the schoolhouse early every morning, sweeping the
floors, getting the ink and styluses ready, and preparing the scrolls. When the other students
arrived, he took his place in the back of the room, anxious to hear every word his teacher said.
MURUS
LATIN 1⁄2 ; GRADE 6
WORD COUNT: 1035
PAGE 5
But Julius didn't stop there: at home, he practiced writing in the dirt outside their house,
copying the words on the wall. He would read out loud for his mother at the market, guiding her
through the various notices and prices she could not read. When his father could not figure out
how many seeds they needed to plant for their crops, Julius stepped in with his math skills.
One day, while arranging a pile of scrolls, Julius noticed a story he had never read.
Suddenly captivated, Julius started studying the scroll.
As Julius read the words, he realized something. All that he was learning—every letter,
every number, every story—wasn't just for himself, he thought; it was a way to shape his world,
to understand it, and to make it better.
Years later, Julius grew into a young man who became a scribe. He sat in his office every day,
ready to give back to the community he had grown up in. Julius would help anybody in need of
assistance, remembering how Magister Felix would so kindly teach him whenever he had
problems.
One day, on the city's outskirts, a man was walking on the street. He kicked a rock, which rolled
and hit a wall. The man looked up and saw that someone had written in bold, sweeping strokes
the words: non scholae, sed vitae discimus.—We learn not for school, but for life.
Summer 2025 · Torch: U.S. · CREATIVE WRITING
14
He couldn't imagine life without school. He thought about his teacher, Magister Felix, whose voice seemed to bring the words on the scrolls to life.
Warren Kong,
Harker Middle School,
California
MURUS
MURUS
Winning 6th grade submission, 2024-2025 NJCL Creative Writing Contest