*** Sarah's P.O.V ***
"No, not really my mother and father just take care of the place, the mansion and the estate grounds belong to Van hoven family" Cody explained.
"Oh.. then where do the real landlords live?" I wasted no time in asking him that.
"I'm not sure maybe somewhere in Europe? I never really saw them. Our great grandfathers settled here a long time ago and since then many generations of our family have been working for the Van hoven's" Cody explained.
"Oh, I see" I paused.
"By the way don't you think the rules of the house are a bit funny" I voiced out my concern.
"They are, but it's kinda important as there are a few dangerous animals wandering the woods on the mansion grounds at night, so since I was a kid I was never allowed to be on the grounds in the dark. Once I did, I was almost attacked by a wild dingo, after that, I never thought of breaking the rule" Cody laughed.
Ah, so it was a Dingo I saw last night!
"So what about the upstairs is off-limits situation," I impersonated the stern voice of Albert in a funny way.
Cody laughed his ass off and bent over the table leaving only a few inches between us and whispered slowly with a mysterious look in his eyes."It's actually a family secret. My mom told me that there's some kind of Van hoven's family treasure up there. So it's always protected and no one's really allowed to go there, not even me".
That's it! a fuckin treasure, it makes much more sense not some ghost rumors Leisle referred to. I let out a deep breath as at least some of my questions have been answered.
"Actually I never really spent much time at the mansion. I grew up at my grandmother's near Melbourne and used to visit my parents in the summer holidays. But after gran passed away recently I want to be a little close to my parents so I applied to university here" he said.
Right! Any sane person can't be brought up in that place. Personally, I wouldn't raise my child in a place like that like never ever.
"I reckon it might be difficult for you there, I understand my parents were the not the most expressive bunch" Cody shrugged.
What can I say, a wooden plank has more expression in it.
"But they are warm at heart" Cody continued.
"They have been very kind to me" I smiled. After all, they did save me with the rental situation and even providing food and a car for my sorry ass. I'm really not in a position to ask for more.
"They'll warm up to you no time" Cody gave an affirmative smile.
"I hope so. Alright, I think I've got to go back to the lab now, nice to see you again Cody" I left with a bright smile on my face.
"See ya around Sarah" he waved me goodbye and I ran for the lab to prepare for the presentation.
"So my hypothesis is that Vampire fish aka Payara fish which are abundantly found in the Amazon basin were also a native to the south coast of Australia. Somehow their population declined and almost extinct around the 17th century. If we could establish for a fact that indeed Vampire fish dwelled in the south sea's of Australia, we can analyze the samples to find out what was the cause of their extinction. From that we could even link a possible geological connection of the Australian subcontinent with South America" I ended my presentation.
Leisle was very excited about the idea but judging from Brian's expression he was not a fan of it.
"And on what basis do you suppose Vampire fish dwelled in South Sea's or in Richard's town?" Brian asked almost irritated.
"According to the research done in Melbourne last year, they found fossils of an extinct species which is a close cousin of Vampire fish. Also, there are records of the travelers from the early 17th century regarding different aquatic life they found here in Richard's town and some of the descriptions are very similar to that of a Vampire fish. So, there's a high chance that we can find Vampire fish fossils here in Richard's town bay."
"I'm still not convinced if we should look into the Vampire fishes story based on some outdated records" Brian scowled.
"Alright, everyone! thanks for your inputs. I personally think Miss Sarah's research is worth pursuing and given that the grant for the project is also allocated I think we should help her our best. Miss Leisle, you will be assisting Miss Sarah in fieldwork and Brian, I hope you would help her in analyzing the samples regardless of your differences in opinions" Professor Jonathan concluded the discussion.
While I'm about to get off work Brian visited my space and said: "Sorry Sarah I might have come off as rude but I really don't think you are gonna find any answers here regarding the Vampire fish". He left not even listening to what I have to say.
I don't know what went wrong with Brian, he was very sweet to me yesterday and he even dropped me off at the mansion in his car. But he looked seriously displeased when I said I want to research about the Vampire fishes, it was like I struck a nerve.
****
PS: I'm neither a Paleontologist nor a Geologist so please don't take the stuff I wrote literally, it's just for the sake of storytelling!
YOU ARE READING
Enamoured of a Vampire
Vampire"First, no one except me enters the upstairs. Second, the estate grounds are off-limits at night and third, you have to come back here by dusk." He continued "If you think you can follow these rules then you are welcome to stay here" Normally here...
