The Alchemists

Finland did not expect that she would really enjoy living in the Amazon. The weather was warm and it was always sunny. It also had a stunning natural beauty. The various unique experiences she encountered with Aleksis and Lauriel made her not want to return to the cold San Francisco.

They saw the pink dolphins, lemurs, various types of exotic birds, various primates, and even crocodiles and snakes! Lauriel even saw a puma on his way inland and took a picture before the animal disappeared.

They also experienced things other than the beautiful nature. They went to watch a theater and dance performance in an opera house in Manaus, and they visited a beautiful area called Little Paris.

Finland began to understand why this was one of Lauriel's favorite places in the world. The only drawback was that the connection was hard to come by and the internet on the edge of the forest barely worked.

Finland was not too bothered by that because she only needed the internet for work, and she only needed to work part time for two days a week. Every time they went down to the city for a walk or meet Lauriel's friends, Finland would use the opportunity to read and send work-related emails. She enjoyed her current life which didn't depend much on the internet and technology, because she could focus on Aleksis and the nature around them.

One afternoon after Lauriel returned from a week-long trip inland. He carried with him a bag full of fruits and berries that Finland had never seen before.

"I need to dry some of these berries to preserve them. They will be very useful in the future," Lauriel said. "What are you doing?"

"I am arranging interviews with several palm oil plantation business owners in Indonesia with researchers from investment companies who wanted information on the market insights in the industry," Finland replied as she showed the phone in her hand. "Thank God for this satellite phone, I can keep in touch with clients and do my work. It is indeed very expensive... but the joy of living with nature like this is truly priceless."

"I'm glad you like it." Lauriel smiled. "My work is almost done. In a week after the berries are dried and I get a shipment of special mushrooms from Belem, all the ingredients needed will be complete. We can go home."

"Oh... I'm so glad to hear that." Finland couldn't help embracing Lauriel because she was so excited.

She never thought that Jean would have a chance to be cured, but now Lauriel gave her a new hope. She felt so touched. Lauriel patted her back softly.

"I'm glad I can help you," he said.

Finland suddenly realized her overexcitement and let go of her embrace.

"Sorry, I'm too happy," she said awkwardly.

Lauriel just laughed and didn't respond. He took out his Swiss knive and started peeling and slicing the fruits he brought with him. Then, he placed them on a tray. He did it diligently, while occasionally patting Aleksis' naughty hand who tried to take the fruit he had peeled. "Sshh... these berries are not for children, Sweetie..."

He gave her a celery so Aleksis did not feel sad. Aleksis happily chatted to herself while playing with her celery.

"Can I help with anything?" Finland asked.

"No need. I enjoy doing this. You can continue with your work and call your client..." Lauriel replied.

"Uhm... okay."

Thus, the three of them went back to doing their own stuff and kept themselves busy with their respective jobs. Lauriel sliced and dried the berries, Finland arranged LTX client research interview schedules, and Aleksis played with her celery and occasionally interfered Lauriel's work with her cute hands.

When evening came, Lauriel invited Finland and Aleksis to have dinner in the city. He wanted to buy some special wine because during the whole week he was in the jungle, he did not drink wine at all. They took a short walk in Little Paris and then had dinner at a Portuguese restaurant.

Just as they were studying the menu, Lauriel's phone suddenly caught phone connection and it started beeping with incoming messages.

"Hmm..." He took out his phone and checked the incoming texts.

[Check email.]

He frowned and opened the email on his phone. A few moments later he gave his phone to Finland.

"That friend of yours... is his name Jean Pierre Wang?" he asked.

Finland gasped, she nodded.

"Yes. What about him?"

"Caspar sent me some news about Jean Pierre Wang and a child who is suffering from leukemia. This e-mail came in a few days ago, but because I was in the jungle I didn't get a chance to read it before."

Finland opened the email and clicked some of the links there. Her heart actually hurt because Caspar did not contact her at all, and instead, he contacted Lauriel for matters related to her friend, Jean. But her pain soon disappeared when she saw the news and videos from the press conference held by the team of hospital doctors and Jean in Continental Hotel, dated last month. She was very surprised.

Lauriel's phone almost fell when Finland's trembling hands rubbed her teary eyes. Lauriel quickly took his phone from her and handed her his handkerchief.

"Jean is looking for me..." Finland whispered in a trembling voice. "He doesn't remember me, but he has been looking for me... And the child, he will die if no suitable donor is found..."

"Do you want to go to Singapore?" Lauriel asked. "You can also do a donor compatibility test In Brazil and have the results sent to Singapore for comparison."

"N... no, I have to meet Jean. If he is in Singapore I have to go there."

"He may not necessarily still be in Singapore. The news is from a month ago. After all, if you go to Singapore and it turned out that the results don't match, your efforts of going there will be in vain..." Lauriel took Finland's hands and tried to calm her down. " If you want to meet Jean, I can find his whereabouts for you."

"Can you do it?" Finland asked hopefully. Lauriel nodded.

"After you find out his whereabouts, then we decide what to do. Now, let's have dinner first."

Lauriel called someone for a moment then continued to order their dinner. Finland had no appetite and only ordered a salad.

Just after dinner, Lauriel got a message that Jean was currently shooting for a movie in France. Since France was in the middle between Brazil and Singapore, Finland decided to meet Jean in France and then proceed to Singapore together to undergo a donor test.

"I still need to stay for a week in Brazil. Do you want to go alone or with Aleksis?" Lauriel asked. "I can take care of Aleksis myself so that you can leave without interruption to Singapore. Children should not be taken to the hospital because they are vulnerable to disease."

Finland felt conflicted. She did not have the heart to leave Aleksis with Lauriel, but the man made a good point. It would be very inconvenient for her to go back and forth to the hospital with Aleksis around because no one would be able to help her care for Aleksis in France or Singapore.

"Does it have to be a week? It can't be accelerated?" she asked nervously.

"Hmm... the earliest would be 5 days. Tomorrow I will take you to the airport. From there I can immediately continue my journey to Belem," Lauriel replied.

After two years together, Finland knew that she could entrust her life and Aleksis' life to Lauriel. She was more worried that Aleksis would contract a disease in the hospital if she insisted on bringing Aleksis with her. Finally, she reluctantly agreed.