The Alchemists

Aleksis was surprised to see her brother came home from the exhibition looking dreamy. He had this silly grin on his face that looked suspicious because Rune was usually a serious man.

So... did something happen in the exhibition? She was wondering. Her question was answered when the twins told her that Uncle Rune met Auntie Rose in the exhibition and they spent time in a cafe to catch up.

"They were so cute together," Ireland said. "Totally looked like two people in love."

"I think they got back together, Mom," Scotland added.

"Oh my..." Aleksis was very happy to hear that. She pressed her lips in excitement and quickly went to Rune's room to talk to her brother. She was astonished when she entered the room and saw Rune was packing up his stuff.

"Where are you going?" she asked Rune curiously. 

"Home," Rune replied with a smile.

He put the last item in his suitcase and then closed it. His answer made Aleksis feel confused.

What? Rune wanted to go home? Why??

Didn't his conversation with Rose go well? So, why did he decide to leave New York? Were the boys mistaken?

"Why?" She couldn't help but ask.

"Why not?" Rune asked back.

Aleksis let out a long sigh. Ahh.. this can't be. It seemed her sons were wrong about Rune and Rose getting back together. She now felt sorry for her brother.

But.. if that's what happened, why on earth did he look happy and dreamy? Was he happy to meet Rose and get his closure... so now he could finally move on?

Oh... if that is the case, then Aleksis felt happy for him, even though deep inside she actually hoped Rune could have ended up with Rose and be happy together.

However, fate might say otherwise.  No matter what happened, she would always support Rune to find his happiness.

Maybe he would really feel happy to go back home to his experiments in Germany.

"What time is your flight?" Aleksis asked Rune after the man finished packing his bag. "I will go with you to the airport."

Rune looked up and furrowed his brows. "Airport? Why would I want to go to the airport?"

"Huh? Didn't you say you wanted to go home?" Aleksis asked back.

"Yes."

"Don't you need to take the plane to get to Germany?" Aleksis asked again. "Unless you plan to swim to Europe."

"Oh..." Rune chuckled when he heard her question. He finally realized Aleksis had misunderstood him. "No. I am not going home to Germany..."

"So...? Where are you going?"

"I am going home to Rose's place," Rune replied with a big smile on his face. His answer was really unexpected and, for a moment, made Aleksis dumbfounded.

"Are you serious?" She finally asked after she found her voice. Aleksis felt so moved. She loved her youngest brother so much and really wanted to see him happy.

It looked like being with Rose truly gave him happiness, so she wanted him to get back together with Rose. And it was finally happening. She was over the moon.

"Oh my god... Congratulations!!" She jumped in joy and hugged her brother excitedly. "I am so happy for you!!"

"Ahaha.. thank you," Rune grinned happily. "We have talked and realized we love each other and want to be together. So, I will move back in with Rose.... as soon as possible."

"That is so great!" Aleksis pressed her lips and shook her head in disbelief.

So, this was really happening, she thought. Her little brother was really in love and would settle down with Rose. This was such a good day!

"So, when are you going to tell her about us?" Aleksis asked again. "You haven't told her about our secrets, right?"

"Yeah... I initially planned to bring her to Germany and see mother and father in Christmas and then take her to our family year-end holiday to introduce her to the whole family and tell her our secrets, but..." Rune sighed. "But things happened. So, now, I will have to find the right moment. It might take a while."

"Ah.. okay. I am sure you know better," Aleksis patted her brother's shoulder to give him support. "I am happy for you. I hope you can bring her to see our family and she can be part of us soon."

"I hope so too, sis," Rune replied. He hugged Aleksis. "Thank you for supporting me."

"You are welcome, Rune. That's what a sister does, in case you don't know," she said with a laugh. She pulled Rune's arm and sat on the bed. "Now, tell me what happened between you and Rose. How did you two get back together? I know she is quite stubborn. So, I am curious to know..."

Rune explained everything to Aleksis. His eyes lit up and his face was beaming with happiness when he spoke about Rose. It was obvious that he was truly in love.

All these made his sister feel extremely happy. She was glad to Rune finally experience love and his love story got a happy ending.

"Congratulations!" She said again and hugged Rune. "Now, got get her back. Don't forget to keep me updated about what happens."

"Of course," Rune nodded. "What do you think if I come here with Rose to have dinner together sometime?"

"That will be wonderful," Aleksis said. "I would love to meet her in person."

"All right. I will talk to Rose. I will let you know when we can come for dinner here."

Rune bid his sister goodbye and went to Rose's apartment. His bag felt so light when he took it out of the car and he pressed the bell in front of her building. The door opened and he took the elevator to get to Rose's floor.

"Rune, welcome home," Rose smiled broadly when she opened the door for the man.

Rune put down his bag to the floor and pulled Rose to his embrace before he landed a sweet kiss on her lips.

They kissed passionately for a long time, to vent their longing for each other.

.

.

***********

From the author:

Yes! Finally, Rune is getting his happy ending. We are sooo close to ending his story. I will just need to write a few chapters for him to bring Rose to meet his family, tell her their secret, and probably the wedding.

PAPERBACK COPY:

By the way, I have good news for you. allows us authors to print the book in a small quantity for giveaways. So, I have printed "The Alchemists" volume 1 (Caspar's and Finland's story) to gift you for being so supportive with this book after, gosh... more than 1000 chapters!

I have 30 copies to gift. So, they are VERY LIMITED. You won't find the paperback anywhere in the world, because they are not for sale.

You can have one copy IF:

1. You are willing to pay for the shipping from Bali, Indonesia, to your place (I think it's around $20 to Singapore and $50 to USA). Sorry, I can't pay the shipping for all the books. I already paid for the printing on my end. If you want the paperback, you have to cover the shipping.

2. You write a review for this book. We are now at 312 reviews. So, if you want the paperback copy and you are willing to pay for the shipping, you can write a review for "The Alchemists" and then send me an email with your details ( username and address) to: [email protected] to arrange the shipping for the books.

This is a first-come-first-serve basis. So, if you see that the review already reaches 342, it means you cannot write a review to claim the paperback even if you are willing to pay for shipping.

PS: Attached is the covers for the book.