Here is my novel for English students about a man who
lives for many centuries. He was born in 1331 A.D. The book tells the story of
history.
Confessions of a Time Traveler by John Scheck
Chapter One
That which does not kill us makes us stronger. - Friedrich Nietzsche
I have had many different names in my long life, but you can call me Marco Polo, like the famous traveler. I’ve traveled to a lot of places in the world, but I have also traveled in time. Perhaps it would be more correct to say that I have traveled through time. Let me explain.
I was born in London in the year 1331 A.D. Yes, you read that correctly. We are now in the year 2018 which means that I am 687 years old. I’m not a vampire, I’m not a zombie, and I’m not any kind of monster. I developed a strange “problem” from an illness (disease, sickness). I live for a long time. Living for a very long isn’t something that most people would call a “problem” but take it from me, it is a big problem.
I am not immortal—at least I don’t think that I am. I will probably die one day. I am getting older, but I age very, very slowly. I only notice small differences in my appearance over the course of a century, more or less. I am just beginning to understand what happened to me.
Scientists think that some bacteria may be 500,000 years old. Pando is tree system that may be 80,000 years old. The oldest living tree in the world is thought to be over 5,000 years old. Many giant turtles live for over 250 years. Perhaps it isn’t so strange that a human can live as long as I have.
You can’t understand my story unless you know something about the Black Death, sometimes called the Black Plague. The Black Death was an epidemic that began in Europe in 1347. The disease has
three forms and is caused by bacteria called Yersinia Pestis, which is carried by fleas on rats. In some parts of Europe the Black Death killed 75% of the population.
The disease originated in China and moved towards the West. In 1347, an army of the Kipchak people under a Mongol ruler attacked the port city of Kaffa on the Black Sea. Kaffa was controlled by the Italians from the city of Genoa at this time