The Alchemists

This gesture didn't miss Marie's eyes. She felt touched that Nicolae chose the most beautiful and expensive casket for her mother. She knew how kind this man really was.

Marie tried to hold back her tears while bidding her farewell to her mother one last time. She placed a bouquet of flowers on the beautiful casket and prayed silently before finally nodding to the crematorium staff and letting the man took her mother's coffin toward the furnace.

"The cremation process will take around two hours. We can wait here to take the ashes immediately or go somewhere while waiting. Do you want to go for a walk to get some fresh air?" Nicolae asked Marie. "The staff said we should go back in three hours to give them time to prepare the ashes for us to take and a nice container."

Marie looked pensive at Nicolae's words.

"Let's not wait here." Finally, the girl made a decision.

"Where do you want to go?" Nicolae asked. He grabbed Marie's cold hand to give her support because he saw that the girl looked weak. "Do you have a favorite place that you go to when you're sad? What's your favorite place in Singapore?"

"Hmm ..." Marie frowned. "When I'm sad, I usually go to Universal Studios alone."

Nicolae nodded. "That's not a bad idea. Let's go there so you can forget your sadness."

Mary looked at Nicolae in disbelief. "My mother just died, and you want to take me to Universal Studios? Don't you have a heart?"

Nicolae shrugged. "You said it yourself, that it was one of your favorite places in Singapore, and when you were feeling sad, you would go there to cheer yourself up. I'm sure your mother would prefer to see you happy and try to overcome your sadness by screaming your hearts out in a roller coaster ride, rather than try to kill yourself like last night."

Marie looked at Nicolae with a baffled expression. "How can I have fun when my mother just died?"

"It all depends on your perspective. You are trying to forget your pain for three hours. You can hypnotize yourself and say that today nothing bad happened; today is a happy day and you can vent your sadness and anger by screaming when we are taking the rides. What do you think?" Nicolae asked Marie gently.

Merry pondered for a while, trying to see Nicolae's logic. On the one hand, she felt ashamed for having fun while her mother's body was being cremated and turned to ashes. But on the other hand, she knew her mother would prefer if Marie find consolation rather than keeping herself immersed in sadness.

Finally, the girl nodded weakly. "Okay"

Nicolae squeezed Marie's hand and smiled broadly. He pulled the girl into his car, and he immediately drove to Universal Studios. He had three hours to help Marie forget her sadness, even if only for a moment.

Before they went to Universal Studios, Nicolae stopped by a shop to buy clothes for Marie because the girl was wearing a black dress for the crematorium.

"It's not practical to play at Universal Studios wearing a dress," he commented, pointing to the row of clothes racks in the store. "You can choose the black shirt if you want, but my advice is ... you don't have to wear all black. Your mother certainly doesn't want you to be sad."

For some reason, since Nicolae appeared in her apartment and took care of Marie who was grieving, then drove her to the crematorium, and now bought her clothes ... Marie's c.h.e.s.t began to tremble.

Was this what it's like to have a man in her life? She peeked from behind the dressing room curtain and saw the man sitting patiently on the sofa, waiting for her.

For a moment, Marie was mesmerized and looked at him with her sparkling brown eyes. At present, Nicolae was her husband, in name, before Marie annulled their marriage.

My husband ...

She subconsciously smiled as she whispered those words.

Somehow, she really liked hearing the sound of it.

She came out of the dressing room in casual attire, but still dark in color. Nicolae said nothing, only nodded and ruffled her hair gently, then pulled Marie's hand back to the car.

Ten minutes later, they arrived at Universal Studios and queued to buy tickets. Nicolae purchased the express tickets, which allowed them to skip the queue and cost very expensive. Once they were inside, he immediately looked for the area map to determine which rides they should take.

"There is Life Simulation on Mars, then the world's longest roller coaster, Ghost Sh.i.p.s, Space Pirates Expeditions, Battle of the Stars ... all of them seem quite interesting. You can scream your heart out in there."

Marie just nodded. She followed all of Nicolae's suggestions, and they quickly walked toward the most exciting and thrilling rides. Nicolae treated Marie very well because he understood that the girl was having a tough day. He bought her ice cream, candies, and various snacks that made the girl finally smile.

Because Nicolae was used to playing with Altair and Vega and entertaining the two children, Nicolae knew what foods and activities could put a smile on someone's face. Marie felt very touched when she walked following Nicolae, who kept holding her hand, from ride to ride.

Somehow, today, her world wasn't too dark and sad, Marie thought.

During these three hours, her world turned beautiful and exciting like Universal Studios they were at. Marie screamed and let out all the pain from her c.h.e.s.t in all the rides they took, and slowly, she felt lighter. Her voice had turned hoarse, but her eyes were filled with joy.

Ah, Mother ... thank you for making me meet Nicolae ...

Today, I am very happy ...

If only today would never end.