บท 4: Baptism (2)
Austria, August 25th 1788
4:34 PM
The carriage which was transporting four nobles right now moved rather calmly. There was no reason to hurry after all. There was still plenty of time.
In the carriage, Frida was reading a book, Karl and Elias were having a talk that couldn't be heard since it was being spoken very lowly, however, they seemed mad.
Meanwhile, Lukas was just zoning out, after all, there was not much more he could do, he was a baby who couldn't even understand why his mother was looking at a bunch of attached papers so attentively. Lukas thought they were called books.
Lukas then tried to peek over at what Frida was looking and he came across a... bunch of random symbols?
'What in the world is this? Is she just looking at these symbols because they're beautiful? What? That doesn't even make sense! What's that?! I've seen those symbols before!'
Lukas tried to remember when he realized that those symbols were in many places. They were mainly in papers and in books. Could it be some kind of paintings? No, people spend way too long looking at them. There must be some meaning behind those symb... Oh! Of course! Each symbol must be a word? Or a sound? Well, it sure is something like that.
Why did Frida look so attentively at it, though? Was it telling some kind of story? Oh, well, it must depend on the book as well.
While Lukas was still zoning out, Karl and Elias seemed to have ended their argument. They were just looking at the window on their side without saying a word.
Lukas realized the sudden stoppage of the whispering, so he looked at both adult men in the carriage. They seemed mad..Actually, Karl seemed to be... sulking?
Oh, well, that's new. Lukas's creepy uncle was behaving like a child? Lukas still didn't know much about behavior of young children or even of people in a whole, but he could see that was not very mature.
As Lukas watched the whole scene, he couldn't help but give it a slight chuckle. He immediately disguised it with cough. A classic move, but it never let him down. The first time he did that, it was ridiculous, but now, he feels like it turned out pretty good.
'I'm thinking about it like I've been doing it for quite a while. It was just the second time in my entire life... actually, my entire life is about seven days, so twice in seven days is a lot... I mean I don't have much experience to say it for sure, but I believe so.'
Elias noticed Lukas's cough and decided to step
up.
"Lukas has been coughing quite a bit lately, hasn't he?"
Frida looked at Lukas doubtfully and nodded slowly. "Yes, that's true. Well, we don't have to worry about that. We'll meet Father Schmidt soon enough. Besides, Lukas will be baptized, so he'll be okay."
Lukas looked at Frida.
'Who's that Father Schmidt? Is he like... someone who heals people? Besides, that baptism is making me each time more curious! Can that heal any disease?'
Lukas was still not very familiar with what diseases are, he only knows that when you have it, you cough and feel bad.
Elias didn't answer Frida's sentence. He just proceeded to look out of the window. That was something that Lukas also enjoyed to do, but he had started feeling a bit dizzy after doing that for too long.
The carriage suddenly started going through a downhill in a very rambunctious way, the carriage was completely shaking.
As Lukas felt that, he started feeling a bit insecure. He figured that they were probably going through a holed road or something, but it still was a brand new feeling to him.
The carriage finally stopped in front of the church and the old man leading the horses who pulled the carriage started speaking.
"We are here. You can leave."
Karl was the first one to leave, followed by Elias who thanked the old man and Frida was the last one to leave.
"Thank you for your services, Rambert!"
Rambert took off his beret.
"You are very welcome, Mrs. Von Neumann."
Frida smiled at him and proceeded to walk to the church, where Elias and Karl were already on their way to.
Lukas watched that impressive building with bewitchment. It looked rather grandiose.
When the four of them walked into the church, a weird smell invaded Lukas's nostrils. He couldn't discern its scent.
'What is this smell?! Oh gosh, this smells awful!'
Lukas showed an expression of uncomfort on his face, he wasn't enjoying the scent at all.
An old man, with white hair and white beard left by the altar of the church and started walking towards the nobles. When he got to a suitable distance between him and them, he bowed.
"I'm very pleased to meet you after a long time, Mrs. Frida! And Mr. Elias and Karl Hügel."
Lukas found it strange. It was rare for Frida to be called like that. Either it was "Mrs. Von Neumann" or just Frida, never "Miss Frida".
'Weird, I wonder if he's known her for longer, but they don't have that much intimacy? I understand that they called my father and uncle for their first names because they have the same surnames, but I don't know about my mother. And by the way, this building looks pretty creepy in the inside. There are a lot of weird dolls here.'
Lukas looked at a porcelain figure of a saint with a cautious face. He found it really scary, but then he went back to pay attention to the conversation between Father Schmidt and Frida.
'Oh, well, it was just in case it starts attacking me all of a sudden.'
Frida nodded along with Elias, Karl didn't even react.
"I'm very pleased to meet you too, Father Schmidt.
The last time we met was 9 months ago, at my wedding with Elias."
Father Schmidt nodded.
"Indeed. It's been a long time. But it seems like we're here for a similar reason."
Father Schmidt looked at Lukas with a smile.
'Don't look at me like that, you creepy, old man! Your face is scary! Looks like it's melting!'
Father Schmidt noticed Lukas's grumpy face and chuckled.
"Well, looks like he took after his father."
Elias rolled his eyes. Everyone knew the reason he was mad all the time.
Father Schmidt raised from his bow and cleared his throat.
"Well, let us start, shall we? I know Ms. Freuda is not here due to health problems, so let us begin with Mr. Lukas Von Neumann Hügel's Baptism."
Lukas almost coughed out blood. That was his name?!
'It's kinda long, besides, it looks too posh for me.'
Frida smiled and nodded. She handed Lukas to Father Schmidt.
'What?! No! She's not going to give me to this old man is she?! Mama, I'm sorry for trying to sneak out of my crib all the time! Please, don't give me to him!'
Despite all of the inner complaints coming from Lukas, he still ended up in Father Schmidt's arms.
'F*ck.'
Father Schmidt picked Lukas and gave him a kind glance.
'That's not calming, it just creeps me out even more! Please, do that damn "batpism" or whatever already and let me go!'
It really looked like Father Schmidt had heard Lukas's thoughts because he didn't waste any time and proceeded to Lukas to an altar with a bowl of water on it.
"Lukas should have been baptized yesterday, Mrs. Frida."
Frida chuckled in embarrassment.
"I know, I know baptisms should occur on Sundays, but yesterday was a very long day, Lukas didn't stop crying! He didn't want to leave his crib at all!"
Elias and Karl frowned and Lukas had an astonished expression on his face.
'What the... ME?! It was you who slept all day! Olivia called you a bunch of times and you didn't want to leave the bed! It was you who asked her to postpone the baptism! I couldn't wait to see what it was! ...Oh, by the way, I'll find out what it is just now. What is this? Will he like... yeet me into this bowl and I'll leave with blue eyes like mama or something?'
Father Schmidt moved Lukas closer to the bowl and started pouring water over Lukas's head thrice while mumbling some words which Lukas couldn't understand due to the noise of the water, which made him quite annoyed.
Father Schmidt raised Lukas with him turned to his family.
"It's over. Your child's baptized in the name of God."
Lukas looked rather disappointed.
'That was it?! He poured water over my head a bunch of times and he said I was baptized?!
Anyone could baptize me at home then! No way, no way! I've been waiting for this for literally my whole life and it is just this! I can't wait to ask what the f*ck this was for when I'm old enough to speak without anyone having a heart attack!'
Frida clapped her hands in glee. Her cheeks even got a bit red due to her excitement.
"Thank you very much, Father Schmidt! I believe Lukas is a bit sickly, so this will be of much help!"
Lukas straightened his eyes.
'I really hope this gives me super strength or like... eternal health!'
Father Schmidt chuckled.
"There is no need to thank me, Ms. Frida. It's just the job God has bestowed upon me."
'Well, I have no idea what that last part of the sentence means, but I'd love to have the job to pour water over babies too!'
Lukas took a deep breath while being careful for nobody to notice.
'Okay, Lukas, calm down. This was totally disappointing, but at least I got to see the outside of my house, I saw new animals, good stuff happened today! Yeah! Not everything was bad!'
Father Schmidt handed Lukas to Frida.
"I'm impressed. When I heard the reason you postponed the baptism yesterday, I thought Lukas would cry, but he hang in there very well!"
Frida smiled nervously.
"Hehe, well. You know how it is, Father Schmidt, there's no reason to cry when you're under the protection of God."
Father Schmidt nodded.
"Indeed."
Elias sighed and started talking.
"I believe it's about time to leave. We don't want to bother you any longer, Father Schmidt."
Elias was actually just too tired of standing there without doing anything.
Father Schmidt nodded.
"Very well, then. It's a shame that you didn't want to celebrate the baptism. Is there any particular reason for that?"
Frida shook her head nervously.
"No, no, it's nothing. We just are not very fond of celebrations, Father Schmidt."
Lukas looked at Frida.
'You lie very badly, y'know, Mama? I have no idea of your reason, but I'm sure that's not the real one.'
Frida sighed.
"Well, we are leaving. Goodbye, Father Schmidt!"
Frida waved at him along with Karl and Elias.
Father Schmidt bowed.
"Good trip, Mrs. Frida, Mr. Elias and Karl Hügel!"
The three of them nodded and proceeded to leave the church towards the carriage. When they entered the carriage, Elias sat on one of its couches with a sigh.
"At last, it was too uneventful."
Frida chuckled.
"Come on, it was not that bad."
Lukas straightened his eyes.
'Oh, of course not! It was just heinously
underwhelming!'
Frida smiled brightly. She was noticing that Elias looked each time closer to them. He even said some words. The day they got married, he didn't even look at her face, so it was a great advancement.
Lukas, on the other hand, didn't know why in the world his mother was smiling like that. She actually seemed to have a very special talent in smiling at the most random moments someone could possibly imagine.
'Oh, well, there must be a reason for that... I hope.'
The carriage eventually started moving towards their mansion.
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