The Angel of Death

Part -4

They sat eating dinner silently. The food was delicious, potato gravy, soft bread, deviled eggs and awkwardly cut salad.

Tessa never thought a man like her host would be able to prepare such a tasty and filling meal.

"The food is delicious sir" she said to break the smothering silence.

"Stefan"

'What?"

"My name. Its Stefan."

"Oh... the food is delicious Stefan" she said smiling.

He didn't look up but kept eating.

"My name is Tessa" She said deciding to forget her full name as it was no longer hers. Taken away by her father along with everything else that was given to her by him.

"Tessa..." he said as if testing the word on his lips for the first time. "Isn't it short of your real name?" He asked.

"No" she lied deliberately and waited for him to confirm his ability to read her mind.

"Tessa" he said again.

"Yes"

"Hmm.. nice name" he said making her smile again.

Suddenly he stood up from the chair without excusing himself and carried his plate to the basin.

For a huge man like him, he eats very little she thought, or maybe she was too hungry after not eaten anything whole day.

Stefan washed his plate before keeping it with other utensils and dried his hand with the kitchen towal, hung by the basin.

Tessa's eyes followed him as he moved about in the room, clearing away everything.

Dished washed and kept away, stove wiped clean, sheet arranged neatly on the mattress. Then he walked towards the overstuffed table and emptied the contents of his pocket on it. A few coins, a set of shining keys, some folded papers and a chain with a round medallion.

He then took out a big bowl from under the table and started pouring steaming soup in it with chunks of something that looked like meat.

She knew it must be for his dog. She has seen the dogs at the Mansion get slump like that to eat. All though she doesn't know how or with what it was made with.

"You can sleep in there when you are ready." He said with a jerk of his head towards the wall next to the overstuffed table.

"There on the floor?" She asked unable to decide why he suddenly wanted her to sleep on the floor where yesterday he gave her the mattress to sleep on. Maybe he wants his mattress for himself tonight. Last night he must have slept on the floor. It made sense.

"Huh? Oh no. Not on the floor. There is a bedroom of a sort."

"Where?" She asked unable to see anything but the solid wall.

He stood up and walked towards it then gave a push on the wall with one of his hand, revealing a well hidden door, which opened towards inside without any sound and closed soundlessly as he moved away from it.

Wonderful, the door just vanished in the striped design of the wall, who must have built such an extraordinary house in the middle of the jungle? And why Stefan lives here all alone? She wondered but didn't asked him as he picked up the bowl and went outside calling his dog for food.

Tessa emptied her plate and took it to the basin to wash it. At the Mansion she has never even thought what happens to her dirty dishes after the meal time. Well know she knows, it has to be washed, dried by wiping with the cloth and kept with the other plates to be used again.