The Alchemists

Nicolae chopped up some vegetables and meat and prepared the pots and other cooking utensils. Fifteen minutes later, he returned to Marie's room with two bowls of delicious chicken soup for both of them.

For people who were experiencing a sad and fragile situation like Marie now, warm food that they could easily digest like chicken soup would make them feel better. That was why Nicolae intentionally cooked it for Marie. He placed the two bowls on the table by the bed and touched Marie's hand to wake her.

"Eat first; otherwise, you will get sick. Remember, tomorrow we still have to cremate your mother. You also have to take her to sea to be united with your father."

Nicolae was very sympathetic to see how Marie tried hard to pick herself up from her pain. Without saying a word, the girl got out of bed then forced herself to enjoy the chicken soup that Nicolae prepared.

Her mouth muttered a 'thank you' in an unclear voice. Nicolae just nodded. They both then enjoyed the chicken soup in silence. After eating, Nicolae took care of the two bowls and washed them in the kitchen, while Marie snuggled back into her bed.

"You should rest tonight, okay. Tomorrow morning, I'll pick you up to take care of your mother's cremation."

Marie just nodded. She thanked him again in a barely audible voice.

Nicolae left Marie's apartment on the 10th floor and then went up to the 21st floor to his own residence. His tired and sad face piqued Altair and Vega's interests.

They approached their father and hugged him lovingly. The two 10-year-old children took turns going to Nicolae and hugging him and asking how he was.

"Are you okay? Why do you look sad?" Vega asked in an attentive voice. Nicolae just shook his head and kissed their foreheads. He then moved to the kitchen to distract them.

"Did you have dinner? There is food in the fridge that you can warm-up," he said softly.

The two children shook their heads in unison.

"Not yet. We are waiting for Daddy," answered Altair.

"I will make something for us to eat," Nicolae finally said. He warmed up the food from the refrigerator in the microwave, and a short while later, the three of them had sat facing the dining table to enjoy dinner.

Because he had eaten chicken soup in Marie's apartment, Nicolae ate only a little.

"Tomorrow I have to go all day. You don't mind staying home, do you?" he asked after dinner.

Altair and Vega exchanged glances. They were a bit surprised. It's been two days in a row that Nicolae looked really busy. Yesterday, he met with Marie, and today he claimed to go to the hospital, but whom he visited and what he did there, he did not want to give further explanation.

Therefore, the kids could only guess where Nicolae would go tomorrow and why he needed all day. However, Altair and Vega realized that they were only children who may not be able to understand the affairs of the a.d.u.l.ts. They decided not to ask further.

"I will ask your two bodyguards to stay with you in the apartment. They can help you with your study." Nicolae said to his two children.

"Thank you, Daddy. You don't need to worry about us. Just do what you need to do tomorrow," Altair said soothingly. "We can also talk to Mommy through Virconnect."

"Alright, then." Nicolae could only nod.

***

The next day, Nicolae went down to the lobby at 10 am to wait for Marie. He had told the girl last night via SMS that they needed to go to the crematorium. Marie did not reply to his text.

At 10.15, there was still no sign of Marie going down to the lobby, and Nicolae's text was still not replied. He tried to contact Marie many times, but Maria did not answer his calls nor even reply to his texts. Finally, Nicolae decided to go up to the 10th floor to pick up Marie directly in her apartment.

He knocked on the door several times before finally opening the door with Marie's spare key, which he took for precautions. Last night, without permission, he took one of the keys to the girl's apartment. Nicolae didn't mean to be rude. He was worried that something might happen to Marie, and he could not help her if he did not have access to her apartment.

When he got inside, Nicolae was baffled because he didn't see Marie in the living room of her apartment. He called out the girl's name, but no one answered. When Nicolae came into the bedroom, he only saw the messy bed, but he could not find Marie.

He felt worried when he opened the door to the bathroom. Instantly, Nicolae let out a muffled sigh as he found the girl lying in a bathtub with her wrists covered in blood.

"Gosh, Marie ... What did you do?" hissed Nicolae in a worried voice. "Why did you do that? You can't do this ... Didn't you go to great lengths to make your mother happy? Why did you want to kill yourself now that she's gone? Gosh..."

Nicolae felt very worried. He hurriedly lifted the girl's body from the tub, which was filled with water almost to the brim.

Apparently, Marie did that so that the blood coming out of her slashed wrists didn't make her bathroom dirty. Nicolae hurriedly took two towels and pressed them on Marie's wrists to stop the bleeding.

The girl's heartbeat slowed, and her body was very cold, making Nicolae worried. After making sure the blood stopped flowing, he wrapped Marie's body with a thick towel and carried her to her bedroom.

He placed the girl on the bed carefully. Marie had lost quite a lot of blood, but fortunately, she fainted before she could cut the main artery, which could make her bleeding so severe that it could be fatal.

She was also lucky because Nicolae was a doctor who can maintain a cool head even in the most dangerous situations. He could remain calm and not panic. He looked for the first aid kit to treat the cut wounds in Marie's hands.

After returning with the first-aid kit, Nicolae then took off Marie's wet clothes so she wouldn't catch pneumonia due to the cold.

"Why did you do this?" Nicolae repeatedly asked, as if Marie, who was unconscious, could hear him.

Because the girl's body felt very cold due to soaking in water for a long time, Nicolae turned on the AC to the highest temperature to help restore Marie's body temperature.

Nicolae then hurriedly treated the wounds on both of the girl's wrists. He stitched her wounds deftly, gave an antiseptic, and then put on the bandage. After everything was done, he covered the girl's body with several thick blankets and let her sleep.

Nicolae sat on the edge of the bed and waited. An hour later, he heard a soft m.o.a.n from his side. Nicolae, who was pensive, staring at the window, immediately turned and greeted Marie gently.

"You're awake. Don't worry, you'll be fine," he said gently.

Nicolae did not mention anything that had happened, nor did he ask the reason why Marie did it. He knew that family members of recently deceased patients could experience such grief and despair that they didn't want to live anymore ... but he had no idea that Marie would be one of them.

Today, the usually happy girl looked so fragile and lonely.