The Alchemists

The villa was beautiful because it directly faced the open sea. A neat row of coconut trees decorated its sides. The villa was located on a small island that looked like letter 'F' when seen from the air. The villa could only be reached by boat or helicopter from Singapore.

Caspar often retreated to this island when he didn't want to be disturbed, and lately he had been coming there more often. His tolerance for humans was running low.

After parting ways with Finland, he was not fond of meeting people and no longer bothered to take on a new identity. He had been Heinrich Schneider for too long, but he no longer bothered himself with such things. After all, almost no commoner knew his face.

Now he understood why Lauriel had gone off the grid after he lost his family in the war. Life without a loved one was meaningless.

Caspar gazed far into the sea. He kept pondering why fate played a such a joke on him. He fell in love with the only woman who didn't love him back - or she didn't love him as much as he loved her. And now, the same woman had made Lauriel, whom he admired, fall in love with her.

Of all the people in this world, why did it have to be Lauriel?

When he woke up this morning he found 10 missed calls from Lauriel that came in during the night, indicating that the man must be in a reversed timezone to his. There were also several texts from Lauriel asking for his whereabouts and asking to meet.

[If you still value me as a friend, I want to meet you. We will come to Ned and Portia's wedding.]

That was the content of the last text message from Lauriel.

Lauriel really changed, Caspar thought. Lauriel, who liked to be alone, now he even wanted to come to a clan event like Ned and Portia's wedding, which would surely be very lively, something so out of character for him. Finland was indeed a special girl who could make all these men change. Caspar no longer wanted to hurt women, and Lauriel no longer lived like a hermit.

Falling in love with someone really changed people. If he hadn't experience it himself, Caspar may still look down on people who did stupid things for love or change 180 degrees because of someone they love.

In two months, after officiating the wedding of Ned and Portia, Caspar intended to resign from worldly affairs, just like what Lauriel did in the past. This would be his last public appearance. He smiled bitterly imagining how he and Lauriel switched positions.

Life was indeed funny.

***

Even thought it was still August in San Francisco, which meant that it was still summer, the windy weather in the hilly city made the temperature cold throughout the year. Therefore, when she read that Brazil had a tropical climate like Indonesia, Finland felt happy because she could enjoy the warm sunshine again after years of living in a cold city.

Lauriel advised her to only bring one bag that contained simple clothes made from thin material that would be light and easy to carry. He himself carried a backpack containing some clothes and a book. He also bought a satellite telephone that Finland could use to continue to do her work and stay connected with the company and clients.

"What are these? Solar panels?" Finland asked when she saw Lauriel's backpack patched with unique objects that resembled small solar panels.

"Yes, so I can still get electricity if necessary..." Lauriel smiled broadly, "Technological advancements have made me rather spoiled. I will need electricity to charge my phone, so I can call you."

"Are you leaving us? Aren't we going to be with you all the time?" Finland asked, confused. "Then why should we come, if you will leave us?"

"You will come with me to the edge of the Amazon, but later I will have to walk alone inland. One of the primitive tribes that I will visit has never met other humans from advanced civilizations before. If you and Aleksis come carrying an unknown disease or virus, the whole tribe could be wiped out. I've lived there for a long time, so I am not a threat for them. I only need one week, you can wait for me at the inn and work. The rest of the time we will be together."

"Oh, well understood..." Finland smiled.

After preparing everything, the small group left for Brazil. The Amazon Forest was the largest rain forest in the world and was crossed by the Amazon River, which was also the largest and longest river in the world.

They landed in Brasilia, the capital city of Brazil, and stayed there for two days to adjust to the new country. Thereafter they flew to Manaus. This was where the journey along the Amazon began.