The monk and the seven seals E-Book

Ernst Schollenberger

• Herausgeber: novum pro Verlag
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 150

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

Unexpected adventures, tricky clues and a dark secret, overnight everyday life becomes an exciting treasure hunt. As chance would have it, an old, broken wooden box provides what is probably the most exciting time for a seemingly ordinary man. He fights his way back into life after a serious illness and suddenly finds himself confronted with mysterious events that turn everything he has ever known upside down. Will he be able to take revenge on his former rivals? When he moves into the monastery, he hopes to finally find peace, but he only succeeds in phases. The dusty old books cast a spell that captivates everyone, and it soon becomes clear that a sensational story is just waiting to be discovered in this place, too.

Leseprobe

Schollenberger Ernst

I sat on the couch in my living room and thought about the last months I had to experience. It started two years ago when I suddenly and unexpectedly became very ill and ended up being in an intensive care unit where doctors were fighting for my life. My body, especially my internal organs, were doing what they wanted, just not what they were supposed to. In the process, my weight decreased rapidly and extremely. I was mentally fully there and got everything that was happening around me. That was the worst thing I had to go through in my life up to that point. I felt like a turtle lying on its back, unable to get up on its own, no matter how hard it tries. During this time, I often heard that I didn't have long to live. You lie in a bed and can't move. Strangers wash you, feed you and you are helpless. I didn't know this feeling until then, it was also anything but nice. I thought to myself, how can it be that such a good guy like me, who was always decent, polite and correct in his life, especially towards other people. Exactly who was punished by the good Lord. I could not understand. The people who had bullied me over many years, insulted or treated like the last dirt, those did not happen something like that. I had many sleepless nights. During this time, I firmly resolved to do two things if I were to survive all this. First, I would fulfill some wishes that I had. Secondly, however, I would take revenge on some people. But for what was in my fantasy, one would need a lot of money, which I did not have. So it remained only a dream.

I survived my illness with a lot of luck and after many weeks of suffering in the hospital, I was allowed to go home again. My discharge papers were ready and I was just about to thank everyone. My thanks first went to the doctors who saved me, not to mention all the nurses and caregivers. Everyone did an insanely good job. You couldn't thank people like that enough, because what they did here day after day was really enormous. My body was still very weak, walking was still out of the question. So I was put into a wheelchair and pushed by my favorite nurse. She took me to the exit, where paramedics were already waiting to drive me home. I gave my nurse another hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks again for everything," I said to her and promised to take her to dinner as soon as I was fit again. When I arrived home, I was greeted quite warmly by friends and neighbors. After such a long time in the hospital, it was a great feeling to be back in familiar surroundings. In order to get really well again, I would now need a lot of rest. The doctors said I was stable and my body would be the same again, it just needed time and rest. After a few weeks I was able to walk again and I felt better every day. As I often do, I turned on the TV and flipped up and down the channels when I finally got stuck on a documentary of antique houses. It was very interesting to see how old pieces of furniture and other things like toys or lamps were restored. Being a skilled craftsman myself, my hands were tingling as I watched.

A short report showed how a restorer restored an old box to its former glory. After the program, I went into my kitchen and made myself a cup of coffee. With the cup in my hand I walked bored through my living room. There was still a free space between the aquarium and my flower corner. So I thought to myself, "An old box like the one in the report, but converted into a small house bar, would definitely be an eye-catcher." In short order, I decided to get a crate and convert it. My plan was to add a mirror to the back of the crate and install LED lighting. I could already picture how it should look like. I had already set up a nice workshop in the basement of my house years ago, now I would just need a box to get started.

So I sat down in my small office at the PC and looked for antique stores in the area, found also immediately a nice store not far from the place where I lived. I called and made an appointment with the owner. Two days later I got in my car and drove there. When I entered the store, I was immediately greeted by the owner, a very pleasant older gentleman. He proudly showed me his store and we talked about this and that. After a while I asked him if he had a box for me. He said, "Come with me, I have something really great for you." Sure enough, in a corner of the store was such a box. It was beautifully restored, a real eye-catcher, but when I saw the price, suddenly my good mood was gone. I told him that I didn't want to spend that much money for my project. In German, she was damn expensive.

After a while, I said goodbye and left the store. Since I didn't smoke in my car, I quickly lit one for myself. I had to come up with something else for my home bar, as much as I would have liked to build one myself. But if you add it all up, it would cost a lot of money. As I pulled on my cigarette and looked around, I saw in the backyard, which was right next to the store, an ancient, but also very defective box standing. Out of curiosity, I walked over and looked at it. It was really in a pitiful condition. But if I could get it cheap, everything would be okay for me. So I went back to the store, asked the owner if I could have the box and how much it should cost. He said I could have it for free since it was in such bad shape and it wouldn't be worth it for him to do it. I got my car and backed into the backyard. The box was too big and wouldn't fit in the car. So together we lofted it onto the roof and I tied it down, before driving there I had already put some straps and ropes in the trunk. I thanked the gentleman quite sincerely. When I got into my car, he still jokingly said, "Drive slowly, otherwise you'll arrive home without a box." With a smile on my face, I drove home quite carefully. After about 45 minutes, I stood in front of my house, rang my neighbor's bell, and he helped me carry the crate to my workshop in the basement. There we placed it on two iron trestles. For me the day was done and when I would start with the crate was not so important. The main thing was that I had one.

In the following days I still had a lot to do, I had to attend several appointments. That meant I couldn't start making the box yet. It was the weekend and I decided to go to the basement to take a closer look at the part. The lid, hinges and hardware were still usable, everything else had to be replaced with new stuff. I took a pad and something to write on. Then I measured everything to get the wooden boards and whatever else I needed from the hardware store. After I got everything, I put the materials in the workshop next to the old box. Somehow it wasn't my day, I didn't feel like doing any handicrafts. So I decided to postpone the start to a later time. Outside the weather was nice and I thought it would be better to go for a walk in the city. A few days later the weather changed. It was only raining and I thought to myself, now I could finally start. I made myself a cup of coffee and went to my workshop, cup in hand. Once there, I removed all the defective parts of the old box, so I could measure it again more accurately to cut the new plates for the floor and walls to fit exactly. I lifted the lid with one hand, at the same time I wanted to grab a tape measure with the other hand. At the same moment, the lid fell back onto the box. When I lifted it again, I was amazed. There was a secret compartment in the lid, which had been loosened by the impact, revealing an old book.

I took it out and put it aside for the time being, then I searched the cover more closely. But apart from this book, there was nothing else in the compartment. The book suddenly had my full attention. My curiosity was aroused and the box and the conversion were only secondary. I pushed everything aside, put my materials in a cabinet, and covered the box with an older cloth. Then I grabbed the book and walked out of the basement up to my office. At that point, I didn't know what I was holding in my hands by accident, and that the rest of my life would soon turn into a great adventure. I made myself another cup of coffee. In the time it took to run through the machine, I flipped through the book like this. My first impression was that it must be very old and might make me some money. It was bound in leather, and what immediately caught your eye were two large symbols of diamonds on the front. There were also a lot of these representations inside the book. I could not read it, I had never seen such writing before. With the cup in one hand, and the book in the other, I went into the office. I sat down at the desk, booted up the computer, and began researching on the net. However, finding such a font turned out to be difficult. It resembled Latin, but something more specific simply could not be found. After two days and many hours in front of the PC, I gave up the search. There was just no success in sight and I didn't feel like it anymore. I put the book in a drawer of my desk and took care of other things.

Four weeks later, I was sitting in my kitchen on a Saturday morning, making myself a delicious breakfast and drinking my favorite hot beverage to go with it. Shortly after, I felt a slight tremor of my floor and it became a little louder in my street. Curious, I got up and went to the kitchen window. A large moving truck arrived in front of my neighbor's house, it looked like I was getting new neighbors. Some time later I went over and introduced myself. The gentleman who moved in was a retired archaeologist. I asked him if he could take a look at my book when he got a chance, which he did after he moved in. But he, too, was at a loss and knew nothing about it. He said, "Wait a minute, I have an idea." The neighbor went into another room and when he came back, he gave me a phone number. It was the number of a professor friend of mine and I should try my luck there. I thanked him and went back home. In my office I called him immediately and described the find and the writing. He said I should send him everything by mail and if he had some time, he would look at it and try to translate it. So I immediately took pictures with my camera and sent them to him. I assured him that I was in no hurry and that he should call me when he knew more. Now it was only wait, I had no other choice. Somehow I sensed that the book must be something special. "If someone takes the trouble to hide it in a secret compartment, there must be a mysterious story behind it," I thought to myself. What I learned a few weeks later confirmed my suspicions. But the news I received exceeded my wildest imaginings and speculations.

It was another one of those days when you don't feel like doing anything. Dishes were piled up in the kitchen and garbage bags were standing around in the hallway. I saw the work, but I had no impetus to make a little order. As often happens, everything remained lying around and I played a game of chess against the computer. After a hard fight and two hours later I had lost the game. I was about to get up and get something to drink from the kitchen when my phone rang. To my surprise, it was the professor. I had not yet expected this call, so I was all the more pleased to hear his voice. I sat tensely in my desk chair and listened to what he had to say. He could translate the book, written by a monk from the Middle Ages. It was about a treasure map, and also about several clues on how to find a treasure chest. But before that, one would have to find three hidden keys. The monk wrote that the riddle could only be solved with common sense and by following the given order. If one could not interpret the clues, it would be impossible to reach the goal. I could hear in the professor's voice that he did not believe in the story. It looked quite different to me. I thought it would be worth a try and if I really found the first key, it would not only be a crazy story, but also the proof of the monk's truth. The professor emailed me the translation and wished me good luck in my search. Before ending the call, I promised him I would keep him informed and get back to him if I found anything. I hung up the phone and immediately looked at the translation. At the same time, I took a small booklet and wrote down all the clues in it.

My state of mind was completely different after the phone call, I was gripped by treasure hunting fever. I went to the kitchen and cleaned my dishes, then I took the trash down and did other things that were left lying around. Meanwhile, thousands of things went through my head. What if, and in general, everything suddenly revolved around the treasure. After an hour I calmed down again, called my best friend and invited him for a coffee. So a short time later, we were both sitting in my office, each with a cup in our hands. Since I hadn't talked to anyone except the professor up to that point, I told him everything from the beginning, about the chance find of the book, the monk and the professor. I looked at my friend and asked what he thought about it and if he would like to go treasure hunting with me. He replied enthusiastically, "That sounds totally interesting! Let's try it, I'm in." He was my best friend and, to be honest, I expected nothing less. We drank our coffee in peace and postponed the search for a few days. The next Sunday morning we sat together again in my office. I took my clue booklet out of the drawer and read the first clue aloud, which read: "You must go to the monks who have been united in the monastery for 1000 years. With the help of the chair and the Bible verse, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive', you will get closer to the first key. Also, look for the diamond shape, it will show you the way. Complete the circle and you will find what you are looking for in Conrad's shield." My friend and I sat across from each other and looked questioningly into each other's faces. I said, "This could be fun. Where do you want to start? But we're not going to fail on the first clues, are we?"

To move forward, we first had to find the right monastery, for this we went on the Internet. It quickly turned out that this would not be so easy, as there were hundreds of monasteries in our country. "A search for a needle in a haystack," we thought to ourselves. We entered search terms such as oldest monastery, special chair, history with diamonds and many more, but we did not find anything interesting or concrete. After a few days and many hours in front of the PC, we both almost didn't feel like doing anything anymore. We didn't even know if we were searching in the right country. It was possible that the box with the book I had found was not from here at all, but had perhaps only come into our vicinity by chance. If that were really the case, we wouldn't have a chance anyway. We now did it as follows: My friend and I looked for the 20 most famous monasteries, and they should be more than 1000 years old. Then we wrote to all of them, hoping to find something. In order not to sit around so idly, we picked out three more monasteries in our area, where we intended to go and try our luck. Soon everything was planned for these monasteries, we were just waiting for nicer weather, because the last few days it had only rained. As soon as a pleasant day was in sight, we decided to leave quite early the night before. Our goal was to visit all three monasteries in one day. But before we started, we first had a coffee in my kitchen in peace and quiet. What madness we would experience in the next few hours, we could not imagine. Only times in advance, that was really no longer normal. We sat down in my car and drove to the first monastery, it was only about 30 minutes drive away from us. We had no stress and the weather was also very pleasant.