The Alchemists

Caspar was a very efficient person. Within two hours he had finished all his business with the members of his board of directors and handed all control over to Stanis and Kurt.

At 15.30, he had packed his belongings and invited Finland to go home. This time there was no need to meet in the basement parking lot as usual. Ben, who had heard what happened, only smiled when he saw the two of them coming out of Caspar's office.

"Let me carry your bag, Sir," he offered. Ben carried Caspar's bag, as usual, while Caspar carried Finland's bag and took her out in his arm. He had said good-bye to his directors, and for someone in his position, there was no need for him to say good-bye to the staff in the open workspace who did not work directly under him.

However, he took the time to nod toward them as he headed for the elevator. They nodded back and smiled. They were happy to see that the mood of the big boss was so good.

Ten minutes later, they were in the car and on their way back to the mansion. During the time, Finland received an SMS from Ruth and some of her coworkers who apologized for any miswords they had uttered or misdeeds they had done during their work together.

She acknowledged that they had treated her well, only that her pregnancy hormones made her feel sensitive and easily irritated today. She quickly responded by saying that she liked them and enjoyed working with them. She then wrote a personal goodbye for each of them.

Her coworkers felt very touched because Finland was as kind as their big boss, and they were relieved that she had no resentment at all.

Finally, Finland and Caspar would truly resign from working world and live quietly while waiting for the birth of their second child.

***

The Schneider family wasted no time in returning to Germany. They left immediately after a two-day preparation. Winter was almost over and the snow in Germany had begun to melt. In a few weeks spring would arrive. Finland could only imagine how beautiful their castle would be, surrounded by verdant forests and blooming flowers.

Since she was already in her fifth month of pregnancy, Caspar and Finland were able to find out the sex of their child. When the doctor revealed the gender of their child, they were both very happy because, as per Caspar's expectations, their second child was a boy!

Oh, by the way, Caspar, being his typical self who often overdid things, had bought his own ultrasound machine so that they could see their child's sonograms whenever they wanted.

"Have you thought about a name for him?" Finland asked as they stared at the screen, looking at the ultrasound of their son's beating heart.

"Hmm... our first child is named after your father, what if we name our second child after my father?" Caspar asked in a hoarse voice. Finland knew that Caspar was very close and loved his parents, naming their child after his father was an act that showed great affection and respect for his father.

"Of course, I agree," Finland touched Caspar's cheek and smiled softly, "What's your father's name?"

"He was called London," Caspar answered.

"You know, I used to be bullied by my schoolmates because I was named after a country..." Finland reminded, "Is this a wise move, giving him a name of a city?"

"We'll see who dares to bully my son because of his name," Caspar said firmly, "I can even make all the people who used to bully you at school pay for what they did to you, if you want... You just give me all their names."

Finland hurriedly kissed Caspar and stroked his hair, "Hmm... there's no need for that. I've forgotten all the misfortunes of my past. I'm sure no one would dare to bother our son, even if we gave him the weirdest name... ahahaha..."

Finally, they agreed on naming their second child London, after Caspar's father.

Finland was still suffering from her pregnancy hormones which made her very sensitive, prone to pain, and easily irritated, so for the good of everyone Caspar finally asked Lauriel to bring Aleksis on adventures with him while Caspar took care of his wife.

Lauriel was very pleased and he immediately brought Aleksis to one of his favorite places in the Caribbean. He wanted Aleksis to become accustomed to the sea so that later, when she grew up, she would be able to sail and dive well. He hoped that she would love and respect the sea as much as he did.

Understandingly, he called the child's parents every day so they could have a conversation on video. Caspar could only shake his head in disbelief when he saw that after 3 months, Aleksis was already looking like a little pirate with her messy hair and slightly tanned skin.

"Aleksis, you must be good at diving, okay... I hid a lot of treasure chests under the sea and those places could only be reached by well-skilled divers..." Lauriel said as he braided Aleksis' long hair. They were sitting on the boat while waiting for their fishing rod to catch fish. Lauriel really liked the sea because he rarely saw humans there.

In places like these, he really felt like he was living on a vast earth, with only animals in the sea and birds in the sky. He was surrounded by a sea without borders, where the clear blue water sparkled like jewels. The brilliant blue sky adorned with small, swirling white clouds completed the scenery and he couldn't ask for anything more. Everything was perfect, especially since he had his favorite little human sitting next to him, chattering endlessly about everything.

That was when Lauriel made the decision that he would not take Death.

***