Chapter 376: SPOILER Alaric in Medici Castle
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This event will happen sometime in future. How far in the future? It's still a secret. This chapter is fun and heartwarming and personally one of my favorite scenes throughout Volume 2.
This chapter is quite long (10 SS), but I assure you, it's worth the SS.
Please respect the others who don't want to read spoiler by not discussing the contents of spoiler chapters in other (regular) chapters. =)
.
*********
.
Alaric walked slowly along the path. The feelings rumbling in his head were difficult to describe with words. This was the castle owned by his father's family, and for some reason, knowing that made him feel sad.
He did not need this castle, nor all of the Medici family's wealth. He himself was already one of the richest and most powerful men in the world.
He knew that there are things that couldn't be bought with money, including family and love, and he didn't have both. Sometimes, this fact made him feel like he was the poorest person in the world.
The only thing he had was his ambition and his dream to rule the world under his feet.
"Whoooooo .... !!!!"
For a moment his reverie was intrigued when he heard someone's joyful screams to his left.
Among the orange trees on the edge of the forest, he saw a little girl having a lot of fun chasing butterflies. Her hair was platinum and it went down to her shoulders.
She was probably around 9 or 10 years old and had a very casual appearance; she wore a pink short-sleeved shirt with white shorts and white shoes.
Actually, her appearance was quite strange considering how cold the temperature already was that autumn, but it seemed that the child was not bothered at all, even though the her clothes were more appropriate to wear in summer.
Alaric quietly watched the little girl play with all the butterflies that were flying among the orange trees. It turned out that she was just chasing them so they would fly - she didn't really want to catch the butterflies. For a moment Alaric was fascinated because the whole sight in front of him looked like a beautiful painting.
He was curious who this child was, roaming so far to the edge of the forest. It seemed impossible that she came from the surrounding villages, because from what he had seen, the security around the castle was very tight.
Was this the child of one of the families who arrived early for the party? Then why wasn't she wearing party clothes?
Could this be a relative of the host? Hmm ... this was the most reasonable explanation, he thought.
Who are you related to, Little girl? The groom ... or the bride?
He was so mesmerized by the child that he did not move a single muscle for 10 minutes. He had never seen an Alchemist child before. This child looked like Tinkerbell, the little fairy, he thought. So beautiful and so agile, jumping there and here.
When the little girl noticed that someone was watching her, she stopped chasing the butterflies and looked at Alaric curiously.
"Hello," she said in a very friendly voice. Alaric was momentarily surprised to hear the little girl's voice. Indeed her voice was still high-pitched like a child's voice ... but when Alaric listened carefully ...
The child walked toward Alaric and narrowed his eyes, then asked enthusiastically, "Do you also like butterflies???"
This was not a girl. This child was a boy!
For a moment Alaric felt cheated by the boy's appearance; he was wearing a pink T-shirt and white shorts after all. Moreover, his beautiful hair grew all the way down to his shoulders, making him appear like a girl in a glance. Alaric did not expect that this child was actually a boy.
After he spoke, Alaric noticed that his attitude was actually very relaxed and light, just like a boy, and not at all feminine and gentle like girls in general. He only looked like a little girl, but his attitude was of a little boy.
Uhm ... except, when he was busy chasing after the butterflies earlier.
Subconsciously, a smile etched on Alaric's face.
He nodded, "Yes ... the butterflies are very beautiful. I enjoy watching you chase after them."
The boy's blue eyes went round when he heard Alaric's voice. He gave the signal for the man to speak again, "Can you repeat your words earlier?"
Alaric was confused by this unusual request. Did this child have hearing problems? However, he could not resist his angelic and sweet plea, and finally repeated his sentence.
"Yes ... the butterflies are very beautiful. I enjoy watching you chase after them."
"WOWWW!!!" The boy immediately jumped happily. He immediately pulled Alaric's hand and took him to the orange trees where dozens of butterflies were flying. "Try talking again ... Just say whatever. You may even say the alphabet, A to Z, whatever that is, as long as you talk ..."
Alaric frowned in surprise. Out of curiosity, he finally obeyed the strange request of that child and recited the alphabet repeatedly.
He only hoped that none of his men would catch him obeying the silly request of this child.
He then repeated the alphabet several times until the child was satisfied. Every time Alaric spoke, the strange child would look very amazed. He would spread his arms back and forth, and circle with joy. He looked very happy.
"WOW ... Lavenders everywhere!! It's like summer!! Butterflies and lavenders!! So beautiful!" he cried repeatedly.
After repeating the alphabet three times, Alaric finally could not contain his curiosity. He then stopped talking.
"Ouch .. Uncle, why did you stop??" asked the boy with a very disappointed face.
"You have to tell me what we are doing. I feel like a fool, chanting my ABCs," Alaric said firmly. "I won't continue unless you tell me what is 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 have senses that work simultaneously, for example when the 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 must have its own shape or colors. 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 lavenders ... Just like summer!! I've never seen a voice like lavender before, that's why I asked you to keep talking while I chased butterflies. Oh, if you can see what I see ... you will 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 and 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 a 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 always associated himself with dragons. He had long held the highest assassin level in Rhionen Assasins, and he had trained so many men and women to become very 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 was shaped 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 ..." persuaded the boy 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, did not expect that he would be tickled in such a way that he could not protect himself from the attack. He could not 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 could not hit the child to escape, and 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 will say my name, only if you talk for 5 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."
.
.
*Synesthesia is a condition in which one sense (for example, hearing) is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses such as sight. Another form of synesthesia joins objects such as letters, shapes, numbers or people's names with a sensory perception such as smell, color or flavor. Examples of famous synesthetes (people with synesthesia) are Billie Eilish, Hans Zimmer, Pharrel, etc.
Please report us if you find any errors so we can fix it asap!
This event will happen sometime in future. How far in the future? It's still a secret. This chapter is fun and heartwarming and personally one of my favorite scenes throughout Volume 2.
This chapter is quite long (10 SS), but I assure you, it's worth the SS.
Please respect the others who don't want to read spoiler by not discussing the contents of spoiler chapters in other (regular) chapters. =)
.
*********
.
Alaric walked slowly along the path. The feelings rumbling in his head were difficult to describe with words. This was the castle owned by his father's family, and for some reason, knowing that made him feel sad.
He did not need this castle, nor all of the Medici family's wealth. He himself was already one of the richest and most powerful men in the world.
He knew that there are things that couldn't be bought with money, including family and love, and he didn't have both. Sometimes, this fact made him feel like he was the poorest person in the world.
The only thing he had was his ambition and his dream to rule the world under his feet.
"Whoooooo .... !!!!"
For a moment his reverie was intrigued when he heard someone's joyful screams to his left.
Among the orange trees on the edge of the forest, he saw a little girl having a lot of fun chasing butterflies. Her hair was platinum and it went down to her shoulders.
She was probably around 9 or 10 years old and had a very casual appearance; she wore a pink short-sleeved shirt with white shorts and white shoes.
Actually, her appearance was quite strange considering how cold the temperature already was that autumn, but it seemed that the child was not bothered at all, even though the her clothes were more appropriate to wear in summer.
Alaric quietly watched the little girl play with all the butterflies that were flying among the orange trees. It turned out that she was just chasing them so they would fly - she didn't really want to catch the butterflies. For a moment Alaric was fascinated because the whole sight in front of him looked like a beautiful painting.
He was curious who this child was, roaming so far to the edge of the forest. It seemed impossible that she came from the surrounding villages, because from what he had seen, the security around the castle was very tight.
Was this the child of one of the families who arrived early for the party? Then why wasn't she wearing party clothes?
Could this be a relative of the host? Hmm ... this was the most reasonable explanation, he thought.
Who are you related to, Little girl? The groom ... or the bride?
He was so mesmerized by the child that he did not move a single muscle for 10 minutes. He had never seen an Alchemist child before. This child looked like Tinkerbell, the little fairy, he thought. So beautiful and so agile, jumping there and here.
When the little girl noticed that someone was watching her, she stopped chasing the butterflies and looked at Alaric curiously.
"Hello," she said in a very friendly voice. Alaric was momentarily surprised to hear the little girl's voice. Indeed her voice was still high-pitched like a child's voice ... but when Alaric listened carefully ...
The child walked toward Alaric and narrowed his eyes, then asked enthusiastically, "Do you also like butterflies???"
This was not a girl. This child was a boy!
For a moment Alaric felt cheated by the boy's appearance; he was wearing a pink T-shirt and white shorts after all. Moreover, his beautiful hair grew all the way down to his shoulders, making him appear like a girl in a glance. Alaric did not expect that this child was actually a boy.
After he spoke, Alaric noticed that his attitude was actually very relaxed and light, just like a boy, and not at all feminine and gentle like girls in general. He only looked like a little girl, but his attitude was of a little boy.
Uhm ... except, when he was busy chasing after the butterflies earlier.
Subconsciously, a smile etched on Alaric's face.
He nodded, "Yes ... the butterflies are very beautiful. I enjoy watching you chase after them."
The boy's blue eyes went round when he heard Alaric's voice. He gave the signal for the man to speak again, "Can you repeat your words earlier?"
Alaric was confused by this unusual request. Did this child have hearing problems? However, he could not resist his angelic and sweet plea, and finally repeated his sentence.
"Yes ... the butterflies are very beautiful. I enjoy watching you chase after them."
"WOWWW!!!" The boy immediately jumped happily. He immediately pulled Alaric's hand and took him to the orange trees where dozens of butterflies were flying. "Try talking again ... Just say whatever. You may even say the alphabet, A to Z, whatever that is, as long as you talk ..."
Alaric frowned in surprise. Out of curiosity, he finally obeyed the strange request of that child and recited the alphabet repeatedly.
He only hoped that none of his men would catch him obeying the silly request of this child.
He then repeated the alphabet several times until the child was satisfied. Every time Alaric spoke, the strange child would look very amazed. He would spread his arms back and forth, and circle with joy. He looked very happy.
"WOW ... Lavenders everywhere!! It's like summer!! Butterflies and lavenders!! So beautiful!" he cried repeatedly.
After repeating the alphabet three times, Alaric finally could not contain his curiosity. He then stopped talking.
"Ouch .. Uncle, why did you stop??" asked the boy with a very disappointed face.
"You have to tell me what we are doing. I feel like a fool, chanting my ABCs," Alaric said firmly. "I won't continue unless you tell me what is 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 have senses that work simultaneously, for example when the 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 must have its own shape or colors. 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 lavenders ... Just like summer!! I've never seen a voice like lavender before, that's why I asked you to keep talking while I chased butterflies. Oh, if you can see what I see ... you will 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 and 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 a 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 always associated himself with dragons. He had long held the highest assassin level in Rhionen Assasins, and he had trained so many men and women to become very 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 was shaped 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 ..." persuaded the boy 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, did not expect that he would be tickled in such a way that he could not protect himself from the attack. He could not 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 could not hit the child to escape, and 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 will say my name, only if you talk for 5 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."
.
.
*Synesthesia is a condition in which one sense (for example, hearing) is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses such as sight. Another form of synesthesia joins objects such as letters, shapes, numbers or people's names with a sensory perception such as smell, color or flavor. Examples of famous synesthetes (people with synesthesia) are Billie Eilish, Hans Zimmer, Pharrel, etc.
This event will happen sometime in future. How far in the future? It's still a secret. This chapter is fun and heartwarming and personally one of my favorite scenes throughout Volume 2. This chapter is quite long 10 SS, but I assure you, it's worth the SS. Please respect the others who don't want to read spoiler by not discussing the contents of spoiler chapters in other regular chapters. = . ********* . Alaric walked slowly along the path. The feelings rumbling in his head were difficult to describe with words. This was the castle owned by his father's family, and for some reason, knowing that made him feel sad. He did not need this castle, nor all of the Medici family's wealth. He himself was already one of the richest and most powerful men in the world. He knew that there are things that couldn't be bought with money, including family and love, and he didn't have both. Sometimes, this fact made him feel like he was the poorest person in the world. The only thing he had was his ambition and his dream to rule the world under his feet. "Whoooooo .... !!!!" For a moment his reverie was intrigued when he heard someone's joyful screams to his left. Among the orange trees on the edge of the forest, he saw a little girl having a lot of fun chasing butterflies. Her hair was platinum and it went down to her shoulders. She was probably around 9 or 10 years old and had a very casual appearance; she wore a pink short-sleeved shirt with white shorts and white shoes. Actually, her appearance was quite strange considering how cold the temperature already was that autumn, but it seemed that the child was not bothered at all, even though the her clothes were more appropriate to wear in summer. Alaric quietly watched the little girl play with all the butterflies that were flying among the orange trees. It turned out that she was just chasing them so they would fly - she didn't really want to catch the butterflies. For a moment Alaric was fascinated because the whole sight in front of him looked like a beautiful painting. He was curious who this child was, roaming so far to the edge of the forest. It seemed impossible that she came from the surrounding villages, because from what he had seen, the security around the castle was very tight. Was this the child of one of the families who arrived early for the party? Then why wasn't she wearing party clothes? Could this be a relative of the host? Hmm ... this was the most reasonable explanation, he thought. Who are you related to, Little girl? The groom ... or the bride? He was so mesmerized by the child that he did not move a single muscle for 10 minutes. He had never seen an Alchemist child before. This child looked like Tinkerbell, the little fairy, he thought. So beautiful and so agile, jumping there and here. When the little girl noticed that someone was watching her, she stopped chasing the butterflies and looked at Alaric curiously. "Hello," she said in a very friendly voice. Alaric was momentarily surprised to hear the little girl's voice. Indeed her voice was still high-pitched like a child's voice ... but when Alaric listened carefully ... The child walked toward Alaric and narrowed his eyes, then asked enthusiastically, "Do you also like butterflies???" This was not a girl. This child was a boy! For a moment Alaric felt cheated by the boy's appearance; he was wearing a pink T-shirt and white shorts after all. Moreover, his beautiful hair grew all the way down to his shoulders, making him appear like a girl in a glance. Alaric did not expect that this child was actually a boy. After he spoke, Alaric noticed that his attitude was actually very relaxed and light, just like a boy, and not at all feminine and gentle like girls in general. He only looked like a little girl, but his attitude was of a little boy. Uhm ... except, when he was busy chasing after the butterflies earlier. Subconsciously, a smile etched on Alaric's face. He nodded, "Yes ... the butterflies are very beautiful. I enjoy watching you chase after them." The boy's blue eyes went round when he heard Alaric's voice. He gave the signal for the man to speak again, "Can you repeat your words earlier?" Alaric was confused by this unusual request. Did this child have hearing problems? However, he could not resist his angelic and sweet plea, and finally repeated his sentence. "Yes ... the butterflies are very beautiful. I enjoy watching you chase after them." "WOWWW!!!" The boy immediately jumped happily. He immediately pulled Alaric's hand and took him to the orange trees where dozens of butterflies were flying. "Try talking again ... Just say whatever. You may even say the alphabet, A to Z, whatever that is, as long as you talk ..." Alaric frowned in surprise. Out of curiosity, he finally obeyed the strange request of that child and recited the alphabet repeatedly. He only hoped that none of his men would catch him obeying the silly request of this child. He then repeated the alphabet several times until the child was satisfied.Every time Alaric spoke, the strange child would look very amazed. He would spread his arms back and forth, and circle with joy. He looked very happy. "WOW ... Lavenders everywhere!! It's like summer!! Butterflies and lavenders!! So beautiful!" he cried repeatedly. After repeating the alphabet three times, Alaric finally could not contain his curiosity. He then stopped talking. "Ouch .. Uncle, why did you stop??" asked the boy with a very disappointed face. "You have to tell me what we are doing. I feel like a fool, chanting my ABCs," Alaric said firmly. "I won't continue unless you tell me what is 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 have senses that work simultaneously, for example when the 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 must have its own shape or colors. 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 lavenders ... Just like summer!! I've never seen a voice like lavender before, that's why I asked you to keep talking while I chased butterflies. Oh, if you can see what I see ... you will 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 and 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 a 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 always associated himself with dragons. He had long held the highest assassin level in Rhionen Assasins, and he had trained so many men and women to become very 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 was shaped 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 ..." persuaded the boy 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, did not expect that he would be tickled in such a way that he could not protect himself from the attack. He could not 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 could not hit the child to escape, and 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 will say my name, only if you talk for 5 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." . . *Synesthesia is a condition in which one sense for example, hearing is simultaneously perceived as if by one or more additional senses such as sight. Another form ofsynesthesiajoins objects such as letters, shapes, numbers or people's names with a sensory perception such as smell, color or flavor. Examples of famous synesthetes people with synesthesia are Billie Eilish, Hans Zimmer, Pharrel, etc.
