I Married An Immortal (The Alchemists)

Chapter 123 - Hello, Father...

"There's someone I want you to meet..." Jean said when they entered the car. He drove his vehicle out of the village to a winery located at the foot of the hill, then stopped in front of a farmhouse.

"Whose house is this?" Finland asked in a hoarse voice.

"I managed to find your father's tracks here and met his best friend who was with your father at his last moment." Jean helped Finland get out of the car and knocked on the front door.

The door opened, and Finland saw a rather bulky man in his 50s. His face looked very friendly.

"Eh, Jean Pierre, it's nice to see you come here again. Come on in."

"Good evening, Monsieur Fournier. This is my best friend, Finland. She is the daughter of Aleksis Makela." Jean helped Finland, who still looked absent-minded, to go inside and sit on the couch. Monsieur Fournier looked surprised to see Finland.

"Oh... welcome, ma cherie. I was your father's friend. Call me Uncle Etienne." Monsieur Fournier hugged Finland tightly for a few seconds then rubbed his wet eyes. "Ah... I didn't expect to meet Aleksis' child after decades..."

He prepared some glow wine and cakes and asked a lot about Finland. With difficulty she tried to answer, but tears welled up and she finally could only shake her head.

"Sorry... I am so sorry, Uncle Etienne... I just found out that my father is dead. I am still in shock... I thought he left us because he did not want us. My mother did not know that he was gone..."

"Sshhh... don't apologize. I'm sure this must be very hard for you. Too bad I didn't have Laura - your mother's contact at the time... I couldn't pass her the news of his passing. She must have been very sad because she didn't hear from Aleksis for decades... That was how it was in the past, there was no internet, we could only rely on postal mails and telephone..."

"Why did father leave my mother?" Finland asked after a short pause. This was a question that had been troubling her mind for years. She wanted to know why her father left...

Uncle Etienne took a deep breath.

"Aleksis was an adventurer... He wanted to travel around the world and write his adventure books. We traveled together around Europe, China and down to India. We parted in India, where I returned to France, and your father continued his adventure to Southeast Asia with our friend, Lauriel.

I didn't hear from him again, until he came to my house 24 years ago. He told me that he fell in love with a girl in his travels and wanted to marry her... Unfortunately, before he could take care of everything, his mother fell seriously ill and he had to go back to Helsinki.

Your grandmother died shortly after Aleksis returned and so he decided to return to Indonesia. He came to Colmar and worked picking grapes to save money for tickets. He had no intention of leaving you. At that time his mother was seriously ill and in dire need of his care... Too bad, he suddenly fell ill and died here..."

"How did you find my father's trace, Jean?" Finland asked, turning her head to Jean. "I once tried to trace him via the internet, but I didn't get any information..."

"Uhmm... I sent a letter in the mail to everyone with the last name Makela in Finland, asking if anyone knew your father..." Jean said in a low voice. "Just last year a distant relative responded to my letter and said that your father had died at Colmar. So, I came here..."

"Oh..."

No wonder Jean had come to Colmar several times. He was seeking information about Finland's father. Finland knew how busy Jean was with work... but he was willing to do all this for her...

Finland didn't know how she could ever repay all of Jean's kindness.

Uncle Etienne went into his room and came out carrying a package, then handed it to Finland.

"This is your father's legacy. His notebook and a few photos... These are all that's left. Take them..."

Finland accepted the package and took out the contents. A book full of writings in English and Finnish which she did not understand. It seemed like her father was a writer who wrote a lot of poetry and prose during his lifetime.

Tears slowly fell down the paper she was holding. Finland hurriedly wiped her eyes away so that her tears would not drip on and damage her father's old book. In the middle of the book there were two photographs, and for the first time in her life, Finland saw her father's face...

There was a picture of her father in Paris with Uncle Etienne and another picture of him standing in front of the Taj Mahal in India. Finland was very moved because she recognized that face. Her father's face was very similar to her own, except that Aleksis had blond hair and green-blue eyes.

She was touched to see a handsome young man in his 20s on this photo. The young Aleksis seemed full of excitement and adventure, and his smile greeted her for the first time...

Hello, Finland... finally we meet, my dear daughter...