Part 3 (5)

The purr of a car caught the attention of Paddy who was sitting in his private apartments behind his desk, waiting impatiently and worryingly for the return of his wife Pola with their injured son, Churchill Junior, from the Mankayane dispensary.

The landlord abruptly got off his chair and ran to the room's window to sneak the dark outside.

He was disheartened when he saw the five-year-old toddler, Churchill Junior, in the arms of the driver completely immobile while his spouse Pola was getting off the vehicle in tears, causing a maid that was wandering in the yard, for she had trouble sleeping, to jog toward the battered Mistress of the house and inquired about what was going on.

So devastated Mrs. Pola was, she couldn't tell anything to the compassionate servant. She moved to the manor house behind the driver who was walking ahead and had received instruction from the Mistress of the domain to go upstairs with the inanimate toddler to the Master's room.

However, Mr. Paddy was already waiting for them at the landing newel of the staircase and his eyes grew even bigger in astonishment when he glanced at his heir in the poorest and worst state the latter ever displayed since coming on the earth.

The kid had a white bandage on his wounded left leg which had been soaked by reddish blood. His hands were extended and hanging in the air.

His head was inclining to the left side and his eyes were closed, nonetheless, they were not shut in a way that would have passed on the message to any looker that the infant was just sleeping.

The eyelids were instead locked in a manner that showed to even the blindest of men that the child was gone to the heavens or hell depending on the belief of each.

The Master of the house Mr. Paddy shouted so loudly that the dead body of his heir for a moment rose like a zombie before going back to its previous state, making thus the driver to panic and drop Churchill Junior's corpse on the ground before fleeing to an unknown place.

On his way out, the old man accused Mr. Paddy of practicing night witchcraft and vowed he would never come back to the whole manor because it was enchanted.

The Mistress of the house Pola crouched to take the deceased infant from the ground and placed him on the sofa in the parlor.

The landlord Paddy descended the stairs to watch the infant closer. He touched him and asked him to wake up but the kid never did, for he had indeed left for the other world.

So the baron questioned his spouse Pola about what had happened in the hospital. Though her mouth was heavy, she forced herself to relate the story to her husband who was demolished as she was, and revealed to him that before they reached the emergency hall of the Mankayane dispensary, the kid suddenly began convulsing.

The staff of the medical center tried everything it could to reanimate him but it was too late. The toddler passed away just after midnight.

The doctor diagnosed him with rage syndrome and mentioned that the virus was however a new variant and was extremely vicious. He needed more time to reach a comprehensive conclusion. Hence he took a sample of the kid's blood.

The physician promised to send the grieving couple a full report of the son's death case by mail two days later.

The long painful night was finally over and a new morning had started. With the help of the faithful employees of the manor house, Churchill Junior was buried under the teary eyes of his inconsolable parents who thus became again childless as they had been over two decades of marriage.

TO BE CONTINUED...