NOSFERATU: The Beginning

NOSFERATU: part-4

Florence spends her days reading George's books. The sky was cloudy all day today. Morning turned into evening, and it's still drizzling with strong gusts of wind. She was reading her grandfather George's Diary. Florence saw Anastasia standing at the door with their pet cat. Florence asked her, "What's wrong?"

Anastasia replied, "Sister, Jonas Grandfather Jonas hasn't come home yet. It's raining heavily outside and it's already late."Just as Anastasia finished speaking, a loud crash was heard somewhere nearby. Anastasia flinched slightly at the sound. Florence, trying to reassure Anastasia, said, "Don't worry, Grandfather probably went to the market to get food for the chickens and ducks. He'll be back as soon as the rain stops."Just then, Florence glanced at the wall clock and saw that it was 7:30 PM. Now, Florence started to worry about her grandfather, Jonas.A few moments later, there was a knock on the large wooden door. Florence quickly went and opened the door to find her grandfather, Jonas, completely soaked from the rain.Florence exclaimed, "Oh, Grandfather Jonas! You're completely soaked! Come inside and take a bath. I'll make you some tea."Jonas replied, "There's no need to be so worried, Florence. I'll be fine after I wipe my head." But Florence, ignoring his words, forcibly sent him to the bathroom to take a shower. Then, she went to the kitchen and started cooking.Florence thought to herself, "Jonas Grandfather is getting old. It's not right for him to be doing so much work. Starting tomorrow, Jonas Grandfather won't have to work anymore. I'll do all the work myself. I've lost my parents, I only have Jonas Grandfather and Anastasia left. I can't lose them."After saying this, Florence started cooking dinner. After finishing dinner, everyone went to their respective rooms. Jonas lay down on the bed and fell asleep due to exhaustion. After he fell asleep, Florence closed the door and went to her grandfather George's room. Going into the room, she started reading her grandfather George's Diary. April 9,1798 AD: After waiting all day, we set out on our hunt as night fell. We wore garlands of garlic flowers around our necks and carried holy water. These were essentially the weapons we used to destroy the evil spirits.After walking for quite a while, we arrived at the main gate of a large walled cemetery. The cemetery was located far from the village, deep in the forest. The village chief, Sheri, had sent a message to our vampire hunter organization requesting help to rescue the villagers from Nosferatu.The village chief also mentioned the ancient cemetery in the Mushroom Forest several times in his letter. Every morning, we would find bloodless corpses on the road. So, we didn't delay and immediately set off for this forest in Romania.Leaving Bucharest, I had planned to meet with the gentleman, but later learned that he had gone out on urgent business late at night. We proceeded towards the cemetery.The graves looked like no one had been buried there for ages. All of them were from before the 17th century. Some were not even marked, probably because they were unclaimed bodies.Florence wakes up to the sweet morning sunlight. Opening her eyes, she sees the eucalyptus tree outside gently swaying in the light breeze. Florence then exits her grandfather George's room.Florence went to her grandfather Jonas's room and saw him curled up asleep on the bed. When she reached out to wake him, she felt that he was burning with a fever.Florence exclaimed, "Jonas is burning up with fever!" With that, Florence went to call Anastasia.Florence called out to Anastasia, "Anastasia, wake up! Grandfather Jonas has a high fever. Go check on him." Florence then went to the kitchen to make soup for Jonas. Anastasia went to Jonas's room.Jonas woke up and said, "Good morning, Anastasia."

Anastasia replied, "Good morning, Jonas Grandfather. Are you feeling very unwell today?"

Jonas said, "No, no, nothing much to worry about. It's just a slight fever."Anastasia said, "Please sit here, don't get up. I'm bringing soup for you."

Florence entered the room with a bowl of soup. She had made pigeon soup.Florence said, "This is a special pigeon soup. Eat this, and you'll feel better." As Florence was about to hand the bowl to Anastasia, Jonas said, "Where are you going? Sit here with me."Florence replied, "No, Grandfather, I can't sit now. I have a lot of work to do. I'll talk to you after I finish my work." With that, Florence left for the farm.After feeding the chickens and ducks at the farm, she went to the garden and picked some fruit. On her way back to the house, she noticed a tall, broad-shouldered young man standing there. He had brought a carriage with him.Florence noticed that the carriage had six seats arranged in two rows. She approached the man and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

The man replied, "Are you Miss Florence?"

Florence answered, "Yes, I am Florence. But who are you? I don't recognize you."The man said, "I am Ștefan, from Slovakia. Your grandfather George was my muster Dimitri Rafmam's trusted friend."Florence said, "Oh, alright, please come in and have a seat."

Stefan thanked her, and Florence opened the door and entered the house.Following him, Florence entered the house. Addressing Stefan, she said, "Mr. Stefan, please have a seat here. I'll be right back."

Stefan replied, "Alright."

After getting Stefan settled, Florence went to the bathroom.Florence quickly finished her shower and rushed to the kitchen. While preparing the snacks, Florence wondered, "Is Mr. Stefan sitting alone in the room? Should I offer him some refreshments?"

Florence cut some fruit and arranged them on a wooden tray along with the tea she had already made."Upstairs, Grandfather Jonas is resting. I asked Anastasia to feed him the soup, but I don't know if he's eaten it yet. The cat hasn't eaten anything since morning, and on top of that, this fever has come up," Florence said as she walked into the dining room with the food tray.Stefan was sitting in the same way as before. Seeing Florence, he smiled slightly. Noticing the food tray, Stefan said, "Oh, there was no need for all this. I have already had my breakfast on the way."Florence replied, "Oh, it's nothing much. I only managed to prepare a little something." She gave a simple smile and picked up the teacup.Florence thought to herself, "I should go check on Grandfather, but is it right to leave him alone here?"

Interrupting her thoughts, Stefan asked, "Is there no one else at home?"Florence replied, "Actually, Grandfather Jonas is a bit unwell, so he and Anastasia are upstairs."

Stefan then asked Florence, "Has he seen a doctor?"Florence replied, "No, not yet. I just gave him the soup. I'm hoping he'll feel better after eating it, but if he doesn't, I'll call a doctor."

Stefan then asked, "May I go see him for a moment?"

Florence replied, "Of course! Let me take you."Florence and Stefan went to Jonas's room. There, Florence saw her grandfather Jonas asleep. He had fallen asleep after drinking the soup.

Anastasia, seeing Stefan, asked, "Sister, who is this? Is he a doctor?"Florence replied, "No, he's not a doctor. He's here for our safety. He's a friend of Grandfather George. His name is Stefan."But as Florence looked at Stefan, the cat suddenly started acting strangely. Picking up the cat, Florence said to Stefan, "Actually, Cijuka is not usually like this. Perhaps she's acting up because she doesn't know you."Stefan gave a polite smile and said, "Oh, I understand." He then put the soup bowl in the kitchen and went downstairs to play with Cijuka."Anastasia said, "Grandfather Jonas has fallen asleep."

Florence then said to Stefan, "Grandfather is asleep. Shall I wake him up so you can talk to him?"

Stefan replied, "No, no, let him rest. Hopefully, his fever will subside after resting."Florence then said to Stefan, "Alright, let's go downstairs."

Stefan replied, "Okay, let's go."After leaving Jonas's room, Stefan and Florence went downstairs. As they reached the living room, Stefan said, "Our master, Dimitri, has sent a letter for you." Stefan then took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Florence.After receiving the letter from Stefan, Florence opened it and began to read."Dearest Florence, I hope you are all well. George and I were very good friends. I have heard a lot about you from George. By now, you must have grown up a lot, although I have never met you in person.I heard that after George passed away, you sold the wolves. After learning about your financial situation, I felt very sorry. That's why I sent the wolves with Stefan for your safety. Stefan is a very trustworthy man. You can trust him.I hope you will consider Stefan as a member of your family. I will see you very soon. Sincerely, Dimitri."Florence read the letter once and then sat down on the bed. She began to count how many times she had read the letter since morning.Florence began to mutter, "Regarding Dimitri, George never told me anything about him. And he was supposedly grandfather George's good friend. And grandfather George even showed him my picture? When did he show it? When? He didn't even mention anything about grandfather Jonas. But anyway, Stefan seems to be a very hardworking fellow. Ever since he arrived, he's been working tirelessly on the farm."It's now 8 PM, dinner time. Florence is cooking in the kitchen, while Anastasia is playing with the cat. Annoyed by the cat's antics, Florence says, "It's time for this creature to be fed."Anastasia replied, "Sister, even if I put Cijuka down, she doesn't want to leave my lap and keeps coming back. No matter how much I try to take her off my lap, she won't go."Hearing Anastasia's words, Florence remained silent. She started thinking to herself, "Should I go call Stefan again? I told him so many times to stay downstairs, but he insisted on staying in the room at the back of the house. He even said he wanted to stay in the room next to where the wolves used to be kept. It's no use trying to force him."Florence, after finishing her cooking, called out to Anastasia, "Let's go, Anastasia. Come on, let's call Mr. Stefan to eat."

Anastasia replied, "Let's go, sister."Florence went to the room at the back of the house to call Stefan. As she knocked on the door, Florence said, "Mr. Stefan, are you inside?"Stefan opened the door and asked, "Yes, Miss Florence? What can I do for you?"

Florence replied, "Actually, it's dinner time. Please come and eat."

Stefan agreed, "Alright, let's go."Stefan went upstairs and sat at the dining table. Florence then served him food on a wooden tray. On the dining table, there were five different dishes: salad, quail soup, boiled vegetables, roasted chicken, and apple juice.After serving the food, Florence went to the kitchen to wash her hands, while Anastasia remained silent at the dining table. Seeing that no one was eating, Anastasia, realizing the situation, broke the silence and asked, "So, what is your name?"Stefan replied, "My name is Stefan," and then fell silent. Anastasia, trying to start a conversation, said, "Your cat is very beautiful."

Stefan replied, "Yes, his name is Fabian Lisko Cijuka. My father, Fabian, gave her to me as a gift for my 11th birthday."Stefan replied, "Oh, I see." Then, Stefan started thinking to himself, "Will I wait for Florence downstairs?"In the midst of her thoughts, Florence arrived. Seeing Cijuka acting strangely, she remarked, "Look how Cijuka is behaving today! And she hasn't eaten anything since morning."

Then, addressing Anastasia, she asked, "give me food in my room?"Florence replied, "Alright."

A while later, Florence took the food to Anastasia's room and, addressing Anastasia, said, "It's getting late. Please have your dinner."Anastasia took the food tray and said, "Alright, sister, you go ahead. I'll eat it."

Florence then left. It was almost 11 PM, and everyone had gone to sleep except Florence, who was still awake. She picked up her journal and began to read again.