Chapter 8 - Starting Point
The wagon stopped in front of the two-story brick house. There was a barn nearby, and hay for horses was scattered nearby.
There was a pig pen on the north side and the fish pond was on the west side of the farm. Trees of all sizes were scattered all over the farm.
Laura and Rosa went down from the wagon and entered the house. They went upstairs in their respective rooms and changed into their farm clothes such as long pants and long sleeve blouses to ward off insects from biting their skin. They also wore a straw hat to cover their eyes from the blazing rays of the sun.
Their farm activities began.
Laura and her mother were having fun visiting the fish pond, the pigpen, and also the horse barn.
They have a picnic beside the lake under the shade of the tree.
Simon, Laura, and Rosa were sitting on the picnic blanket, eating different varieties of food such as fruits, boiled corn, boiled sweet potato, and refreshing fresh buko juice.
They enjoyed the sparkling view of the lake.
A few minutes later.
Laura rode her favorite black stallion horse that was brought by the stable boy for her. She enjoyed horse riding around the farm for one hour.
While Rosa stayed on the picnic blanket near the river bank enjoying the cool breeze and the weather. Simon conducts his usual routine checking the farm and asking the caretaker about the condition of the livestock inside the farm. After finishing talking to the caretaker, Simon rejoined his wife in the river.
Done horseback riding, Laura returned to the picnic area.
The servants served mouth-watering grilled fish and boiled rice at 5:00 in the afternoon.
Simon looked at his daughter. "Having fun with your favorite horse?" he asked.
Laura grinned with her flustered face. "Yes, very much Father!" she replied.
Simon glanced at his wife beside him. "Do you like horseback riding with me, wife? It\'s been a long time," he said and winked at her.
Rosa smiled. "Sure, husband!" she responded in a thrilling voice.
Laura smiled happily looking fondly at her parents.
The farm boy brought his father\'s horse nearby. Laura watched as her parents mounted the horse and enjoyed riding the obedient animal all over the farm.
The couple was wearing a happy smile on their faces trying to forget their current problems.
Her parents have twenty years gap between them. Right now, her father is already 70 years old and her mother is 50 years old. Despite the huge age gap, her parents love each other unconditionally. They were the best of friends and seldom fight. She and Sofia grew up in a peaceful and loving family.
Laura wants that kind of ideal love between her and her future husband. Too bad she might not be able to experience that kind of love in her lifetime.
Then her mind wandered to her sister Sofia. She remembered so well that particular Sunday morning. She was five years old during that time when her mother was alerted by the guard after finding a baby crying outside the gate of the mansion. Sofia was abandoned by her unknown mother a few months from her birth.
Sofia grew up to be a good child and become her instant youngest sister and her playmate. Simon and Rosa adopted her legally.
They have such a happy perfect family.
That was before the vampires located them. Now everything changed.
After she will marry into the vampire clan, she might now be able to come back here to the farm and enjoy her family\'s presence. This might be their last bonding moments with her parents for a long time. She will savor it while it lasted.
Hours went by.
The night was fast approaching when Simon finally decided they have to go home.
One hour later, they finally boarded the wagon back to Hallowpass Town.
There was a full moon during the time of their travel. Their journey went smoothly.
They arrived at the mansion at 7:30 in the evening.
After getting out of the wagon, Laura went straight to her bedroom to rest.
Simon and Rosa went upstairs as well to their bedroom to rest while waiting for the dinner to be served in the dining room.
Rosa was reading the dosage of the sleeping drug while Simon was staring at the full moon in the sky above.
"Just mixed the liquid in her milk. She drinks milk before bedtime. Make sure she drinks it before she retires for the night," he told his wife.
"Yes, husband!" Rosa said.
"I\'m going to the basement to have a last-minute check on the chest and the wagon and give my instruction to the drivers and the servant who will accompany our daughter to her journey," Simon said and exited the room.
Thirty minutes later, dinner was ready.
Rosa knocked at the door of her daughter\'s bedroom. "Laura, come down now. Dinner is ready. Your father is already waiting in the dining room."
"Yes, Mother. I will go down in a minute," Laura said. She gets up from the bed and went to the bathroom.
After getting out of the bathroom, she combed her long wavy hair and styled it on a ponytail in front of the mirror, she\'s done.
She walked towards the door and exited. She strolled in the hallway and went downstairs going to the dining room.
In the dining area.
Laura lowered herself on the chair beside her mother.
After a short prayer, the family began eating their meal.
Laura\'s stomach was still full of the recent grilled fish and rice she had eaten on the farm. She just eats the vegetable stew with chicken and a few spoonfuls of rice. Then she was done eating dinner.
Since her parents eat slowly, she just munched on the cauliflower, one of her favorite veggies. "Mother, we will go to the furniture store tomorrow or the weekend?" she said.
Rosa smiled and nodded her head. "Tomorrow is fine, we will go there after lunch, at 2:00 in the afternoon. I will let you chose all the furniture you like," she replied to her daughter.
"Nice!" Laura said beaming, looking forward to enjoying buying furniture and figurines in Westborough City with her beloved mother. She only has a few days left before the vampires will take her away from her home. She will be feeling utterly sad on that day. She wants to enjoy bonding moments with her mother.
She will be missing her parents and sister\'s presence in her life terribly if she no longer lives with them. She let out a small sigh.
Finally, her parents were done eating dinner. They left the dining room together so that the servants can eat dinner at the table.