The Plague Doctor [RATED R] ✓

XLVIII: de Vincenzo I

DISCLAIMER: The places, dates, and events that happened in this book are fictional, so any mention of historical wars or locations is not accurate to real life. Thank you.

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IN THE YEAR 1873, Fortunato de Vincenzo, a retired doctor who helped cure victims of the bubonic plague, moved to a small town called Capo di Monte with his wife.

     Due to the nature of his previous work, Fortunato was subjected to skin deformations, which caused him to be shunned by society. In fear that the people in the new town they moved in would consider him a monster and attack his family, Fortunato bought a barren land far from the main residences of the town; land just on top of a hill where all the townspeople could see.

     For two years, a magnificent structure was built on the said land. The manor was grand, a home that Fortunato dreamt of for his wife and son. But unfortunately, such a structure would spark curiosity among the townspeople who resided below them.

     The de Vincenzo lived in secrecy. It was a quiet life that they desperately wanted, but people didn't want quiet. They wanted to be part of the story. They wanted to be part of other people's stories as if they helped write them.

     Rumors started to spread that a powerful man built the manor on top of a hill to feast over the townspeople. Day by day, Capo di Monte's fear grew. The manor was used for stories to scare children, but no one dared visit the manor because you had to enter a dark forest first. It was something no one wanted to risk.

    The maids and butlers—refugees who knew and followed Fortunato even before his retirement—wanted to defend the kind couple, but Fortunato didn't want to make unnecessary noise. As long as they quietly lived their lives at their manor, everything was okay.

     And so everyone in the manor lived in peace and harmony. Every year they would add a section in the manor, and more refugees would come and live with them. But as the manor and its residences grew, the rumors grew with it. 

     Since the refugees would arrive at the manor at night, some residents in town would spot them and make even more absurd stories. One time, Fortunato even went out of their manor wearing a mask to hide the deformities on his face, but this also sparked more rumors. Eventually, people started calling the manor the 'Hell House.'

     But despite what was going on in town, everyone in the manor was happy, and this happiness grew when Fortunato's wife finally gave birth to a young and healthy boy who they named Francesco de Vincenzo.

     Francesco was kind like his mother and curious like his father. He was a boy who wanted to learn new things, so the ideal life that Fortunato wanted was far from what Francesco wanted. The young boy didn't want to be quiet. He wanted to explore. He wanted to learn and see the world. He had endless questions, questions that even his father could no longer answer.

     "Father, why did you choose to be a plague doctor?" Francesco once asked while his father was reading a book in his study.

     "Well, I studied medicine and had the ability to help. You see, son, if you have the ability to help others, that is a gift that you must share," Fortunato explains, making the young Francesco pout.

     "But because of that, you have scars all over your face and body. One of the maids told me that that's the reason why we're not allowed to go out of the manor. This gift you speak of...it has given you nothing," Francesco complains.

     Fortunato sighs and puts his book down. "Francesco, come here."

     Francesco doesn't say anything and walks towards his father before getting lifted up so he can take a seat on his lap. Fortunato then opens a drawer, showing letter after letter that came from people all over the country.