The Alchemists

"Ouch... Uncle, why did you stop??" asked the boy with a very disappointed face when Alaric finally stop talking.

"You have to tell me what we're doing. I feel like a fool, chanting my ABCs," Alaric said firmly. "I won't continue unless you tell me what's going on."

"Oh..." The boy then pulled Alaric to sit on a fallen tree branch and sat next to him. "Have you heard of Synesthesia?"

Alaric thought for a short while, then nodded, "It's a neurological disorder that makes a person's senses work simultaneously. For example, when a person hears a particular sound, the person may see a specific shape, picture, color, or even taste a certain taste."

"Ah... So you know." The boy smiled broadly as he brushed his hair, "I can see sound. Every sound I hear has its own shape. For example, the sound of the wind is blue. The sound of our car horn is shaped like leaves. My mother's voice is like strawberry... And well... when you were talking, I saw beautiful lavender... Just like summer!! I've never seen a voice like lavender before, that was why I asked you to keep talking while I chased butterflies. Oh, if you can see what I see... You'll definitely pass out in awe. My surroundings are filled with lavender fields and hundreds of butterflies..."

Alaric widened his eyes at this strange kid's explanation. He knew about Synesthesia, but this was a rare condition. He had never met anyone who had it before.

Inwardly, he felt somewhat resentful, because it turned out, his voice was said to look like lavender.

What look was that? Not at all manly, he thought.

He cleared his throat and tried to say ABC several times with a deeper voice. "A-B-C-D-E... ABCDE... What does my voice look like now? What shape do you see?"

"LAVENDER!!! It's so beautiful!" the boy exclaimed excitedly.

Finally, Alaric gave up.

He was a very masculine man. He had always associated himself with dragons. He had long held the highest assassin level in Rhionen Assasins, and he had trained countless men and women to become greatly skilled at killing. He even met a little girl who insisted on calling him 'Prince Siegfried' because of the scary dragon tattoo on his right chest.

If this child said that his voice had a shape like a dragon, he would be happy to continue chanting ABCs to please this child. But since the boy continued to say that it looked like lavender, Alaric irritably closed his mouth and tried not to speak at all.

"Uncle... Please talk agaiiinnn... Lavender is my mother's favorite flower..." the boy persuaded a few times. But Alaric shook his head and sat frozen, refusing to say a word.

Lavender? Humph!

"Uncleeeee.... !!!" Not discouraged, the boy suddenly attacked Alaric's waist and tickled him without hesitation.

Jeez...!!

Alaric, who had no idea that this child would be so blunt with a stranger, didn't expect that he would be tickled in such a way that he couldn't protect himself from the attack. He couldn't help but laugh out loud due to the child's tiny fingers dancing on his waist.

"Hahahahhaa... Ouch... Enough…!! Stop it…!! AHAHAHA... You... Don't you know who I am? Huh!! You... hahahhaa... stoppp... !!"

As an adult, he couldn't hit the child to escape. So as a last resort, he tried to get up and get as far as possible from the child to avoid his tickling, while laughing out loud.

The boy looked very satisfied, and after two minutes, he became tired and stopped. He then patted Alaric's hand and smiled broadly, "I like your voice, Uncle."

For a second, Alaric was stunned. He just realized that he hadn't laughed in a very long time.

He then smiled to himself and ruffled the boy's hair gently. He was grateful because today, this boy made his heart feel light and happy.

"What's your name, boy?" he asked.

The boy smiled mischievously. "I'll say my name, only if you talk for five minutes. I want to see lavender again."

Smart kid, Alaric thought, at this age he already knew how to haggle.

"All right. If you tell me what your name is, I'll talk for five minutes so you can see lavender again," Alaric nodded in agreement.

But the boy smiled even more mischievously. "I only accept payment in advance."

Alaric massaged his temple. This child was truly a businessman! He just negotiated his price and was now asking to be paid in advance. Alaric became even more impressed.

"All right. I'll talk for two minutes in advance, and I'll do the rest after you tell me your name."

"Three minutes," the boy said again. Alaric shook his head then stood up and pretended to leave. The boy hurriedly called out to him, "Alright, Uncle ... two minutes."

Alaric sat down again and took out his cellphone and selected a news article from the internet and then started reading it, "This is better than the alphabet."

The boy nodded and happily looked at his surroundings as soon as Alaric started reading his article.

The boy was really enjoying the surrounding scenery as if he were indeed surrounded by lavender fields. After two minutes of talking, Alaric stopped. He looked at the boy and raised one eyebrow.

"Now it's your turn," he said.

"All right," The boy smiled triumphantly, "My name is Altair."

Alaric froze in place when he heard the boy say his name.

He remembered that he and Aleksis both liked the constellations of Altair and Vega. They made love for the first time under the stars witnessed by the stars Altair and Vega. It was one of the few happy moments he had experienced in his life.

At that time his heart was filled with love that was so warm and made him forget all the bitterness of life he had ever experienced. When their bodies are united and Alaric pours his love towards Aleksis, his little heart hoped the girl will become his family.

In his head at the time, when he entered Aleksis with great care and love, he imagined that one day they would get married and have children who would make their lives complete. He really wanted to have a family with that girl.

Furthermore, he even thought that if one day they have a child, they will name him Altair if it's a boy, and Vega if it's a girl.

Ten years ago, in London, when he had just left Aleksis behind, he often thought about talking to her about having children after he returned to Singapore.

Unfortunately, he never met again with Aleksis after his departure at that time. They were only given such a short time to be together, and Aleksis was immediately taken from him.

Now, hearing the child in front of him introduce himself as Altair, he could only smile wryly, thinking how fate was mocking him.

"You have a really nice name," he praised Altair, making the boy smile broadly at his words.

For a moment both of them looked at each other and Alaric saw his reflection in the pair of Altair's eyes.

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[1] Synesthesia = anomaly in the nerve that associates sound with other sensory catches, such as the sense of sight and taste. There are several types of Synesthesia, but the most common is the ability to see shapes or colors when hearing a sound.

When listening to music, for example, people who have the condition of Synesthesia can see a variety of colors and shapes both real and abstract.