one night ,we did hear footsteps.it was scary ! thank goodness the couple i was marrying escaped in time .i was caught .(not quite as light in my feet as i used to be ;i guess) .i was thrown in jail and told that my punishment was death. i tried to stay cheerful.and do you know what ? wonderful things happened .many young people came to the jail to visit me. they threw flowers and notes up to my window .they wanted me to ,know that they ;too;believed in love one of these young people was the daughter of the prison guard .her father allowed her to visit me in the cell . sometimes we would sit and talk for hours .she helped me to keep my spirits up. she agreed that i did the right thing by ignoring the emperor and going ahead with the secret marriages.on the day i was to die,i left my friend a little note thanking her for her friendship and loyalty ;i signed it" love from your valentine".i bellieve that note started the custom of exchanging love messages on valentine's day .it was written on the day i died ,february 14;269,a.d .now ,every year on this day ,people remember.but most importantly ,they think about love and friendship .and when they think of emperor claudius,they remember how he tried to stand in the way of love,and they laugh ¨¨ because they know that love can't be