Five minutes later, an exhausted Friedrich arrived in front of the Kata estate. Looking at it, he murmured, "Isn't Albert supposed to be a struggling merchant."
Around the estate, was a low brick fence with short, metal spikes sticking out of it. They met in the middle, connecting to a double wooden gate, with the image of a bird of prey carved into it.
A one-story brick manor stood proudly on the estate's ground, its shadow falling over the gate like a silent guardian.
"This doesn't exactly scream struggling merchant." He muttered under his breath.
Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he approached the slightly open gate, and pushed it forward.
A low, coarse groan rolled through the air, as the gates swung inward, its base tracing an arc across the ground.
Inside the courtyard, a wooden carriage with two black horses stood a few meters from the manor's entrance.
The carriage's coachman looked up from the horse he was tending to, and turned toward the gate.
As he stepped through the gate, Friedrich's locked eyes with the crooked-nosed coachman. For a brief moment, they both stared at each other.
Am... am I in the wrong house? Friedrich thought, after a minute of silent staring. Taking a step back, he peeked at the gate.
Seeing the all too familiar bird of prey insignia carved on it, and the word scribbled in Hungarian beneath it, he shook his head. Nope. Definitely in the right place.
As he stepped back into the courtyard, a brown-haired young boy kicking around scattered gravel, appear from the corner of the manor.
The boy's eyes followed one of the gravels which rolled to a stop somewhere around the gate. Slowly looking up, his eyes locked onto Friedrich.
First with surprise, then slowly morphing into recognition.
The next instant, the boy spun on his heels, and screamed toward the house, voice piercing the quiet courtyard.
"Mom! Friedrich is here! He's here!"
The shout seemed to distort the air, with a spell that shattered the world. The coachman finally broke his gaze, turning to placate the horses that had been startled by the scream.
Frantic footsteps followed shortly after, and barely a minute later, Heinrich, Maria, and the rest of the family appeared.
Upon sighting Friedrich, Maria rushed forward, her hand quickly clasping around his cheeks.
Before his mind could register what was happening, she murmured, "You really are alive." Relief evident in her eyes.
Her hands were warm against his dust-stained, sweaty skin, and the scent of lavender from her clothes was a stark contrast to the stink of the street on him.
*Uhm... What the fuck?* Friedrich thought, his eyes darting between the brown haired middle-aged woman firmly holding him, and the people closing in on him.
Following the thought, flashes of memories immediately surfaced in his mind, before coalescing and pointing to a singular entity; The Keese, a family friend of the Kata's.
"Where exactly have you been?" Heinrich's voice cut through the haze of memories swirling in Friedrich's mind. "We were told you left half an hour before our arrival at the church. How are you just getting here now?"
Seeing the entirety of the Keese family's gaze converge on him, Friedrich awkwardly scratched his head, and replied, "I uhm... got lost on my way home."
A stunned silence filled the area. Barely a second later, a stifled chuckled resounded from somewhere in the back.
"Johann!" Maria chided, while Heinrich gave him a look of disappointment, followed by a sigh of exasperation.
Hannah on the other hand, glared at him.
Friedrich cleared his throat, immediately diffusing the boiling kettle of glares.
Seeing Heinrich about to ask another question, he gestured toward the manor's double doors, and said, "I know you all have a lot of questions on your mind, but why don't we head inside first."
Pointing to the dust stained gauze peeking out at the top of his shirt, he said, "I'm not exactly fit to do too much standing."
Without waiting for a reply, he walked toward the door, with steady steps. On getting to it, he reached into his pocket for the key.
The moment his hands touched the key, a flash of memory appeared in his mind, of a middle-aged woman with piercing brown eyes, handing him the keys on their way to the Elbe port.
Shaking off the image, he slid the keys through the door hole, and turned it. A second later, he pushed the door back.
A warm current of air immediately rushed out, wrapping around him like a blanket.
Adjusting his cloth, he walked into the house. With Heinrich and Maria leading the Keese family procession.
As she passed through the doorway, with Johann beside her, Hannah consciously stepped on his foot, cashing him to let out a sharp, involuntary "Ouch!" that, while hushed, was still loud enough to make Maria turn and glare.
Hannah, meanwhile, continued walking without a backward glance, her posture the picture of dignified composure.
•••
The manor's living room was dimly lit, and filled with the taut scent of dust mixed with cold, still air, almost like a scene frozen in time.
Coughing slightly, Friedrich moved toward the singular source of light in the room; a sliver of light peeking through a corner of the large curtain draped over an equally large window.
As he pulled back the curtain, the suddenness of the motion stirred dust motes into the air, in a frantic dance captured by the stream of light pouring into the room.
For a brief moment, Friedrich stood in front of the frame, letting the light wash over him.
The resounding foot steps of the Keese entering the room jolted him back, causing him turned around, and fully take in the sight of the room.
A brick hearth with a vertical brick façade running from its top, all the way to the ceiling adorned the middle of the room. A handful of grey ash and soot could been scattered on the wooden logs inside it.
Under the watchful eyes of the Keese, he walked toward one of the chairs in the living room; a single high back chair that sat slightly askew, a tale of how its previous occupant had left in a hurry.
On the intricately carved wooden desk serving as the room's center piece, lay an open ledger that was filled with Albert's signature blocky writing.
As he sat down, he gestured for the Keese to do so. Heinrich briefly swept his gaze briefly around the room, before sitting down.
Maria and the rest of the family, joined them, like domino's falling into place.
For almost half a minute, a heavy silence gripped the room, as the Keese stared at Friedrich, and he returned their gaze.
After another half a minute of silence and shared grief, Heinrich cleared his throat, and said, "When we first arrived and was told of your survival we where all shocked. Even more so when we learnt of your early discharge. But Father Bekker assured us of your recovery. He said it was... remarkable. A true miracle."
"Looking at you now. It seems very much so." Taking a deep breath, he stared intently at Friedrich. "But you must remember to take it easy Friedrich. It is human to heal. And no one will blame you for taking your time with it."
"Your uncle is right, Friedrich," Maria chimed in, her voice filled with a mother's gentleness. "You cannot rush healing."
"Thank you for your kind words, Uncle Heinrich," Friedrich replied, bowing slightly. "I truly appreciate it."
Maria's face briefly lit up with a smile, while Heinrich said, "Good."
A moment of silence punctuated by the soft rustle of the curtains, and the low chirping of birds settled over the room.
"When I heard the news," Maria began, her shaky voice breaking the silence. "I thought you were all gone. To have that pain, and then this hope. The lord's mercy truly is magnificent."
Taking a deep breath, she continued, "What exactly happened that, day. All we've—"
Her sentence trailed off, as her eyes moved from Friedrich's face to her husband's who was already looking at her. His gaze filled with a silent conversation that brooked no arguments.
Almost instinctively, their attentions shifted to their children.
Johann was idly tracing the carving on his arm chair with a lost expression, his ears however was perked up, clearly listening in to the conversation.
Hannah on the other hand stared intently at Friedrich while the second son Viktor was wrapped up in breaking up a fight between the twins, over a carved wooden horse.
Catching the subtle glance between Maria and Heinrich, Friedrich cleared his throat, and proposed, "Perhaps, my father's study would be a better place to answer that question."