FLORIOGRAPHS
Chapters 7. A Letter

His steps slid cautiously down the stairs, entering the lower floor that was covered by darkness. The room he faced looked so strange with various kinds of winding pipes, cylinders containing mysterious substances, and some fire torches.

"This must be the lab that Lucas told me about yesterday" he recalled

As he explored the room, behind the rows of glass tubes, he found his friend, Lucas, standing observing the experiment on a table. Lucas seemed completely engrossed in his work, so unaware of his presence.

Soon, however, a barrage of bad words were heard from Lucas as he scratched something quickly on a piece of paper. His voice sounded like one who was completely shocked and frustrated.

"Damn!"

Gillbert couldn't help but smile when he saw his friend's reaction. He could not help but tease to express how funny the situation was.

"Ohooho! There's a curse," Gillbert's tease causes Lucas to jump in shock

"Gillbert! You're scaring me!" He shouted while patting his chest

Lucas, immediately, turned his attention towards Gillbert, and his face was full of shock and a hint of inevitable embarrassment.

Gillbert laughed cheerfully, holding back the feeling of victory in his heart.

"You're really too much of a genius at destroying my concentration" Lucas said

"Of course, my friend. I just want to see how you react. It seems like this laboratory is not only filled with strange tools, but also a strange person, Hahaha"

Gillbert chuckled, "Sorry," he admitted his mistake but with a smile of ridicule

"I never thought that you could curse"

Lucas shrugged his shoulders listlessly,

"I'm just a human being, Gillbert. I tried not to do it while I was in front of my teacher, but this..."

He let out a long sigh while fixing the piece of paper he was holding.

"It drives me crazy"

Gillbert pointed to the table where there were various alchemy ingredients. "You did what?" He asked while leaning and staring at Lucas's desk

"I'm just trying to make a new potion. I want to find a way to heal wounds quickly, without any prolonged pain."

Gillbert's eyes radiated in admiration as he looked at the various mysterious equipment and materials around them. "You really are a brilliant alchemist, Lucas. I'm amazed at your passion for pursuing new discoveries"

Lucas smiled proudly, "Thank you"

Lucas pulled his eyebrows in curiosity. "What did you find?"

Gilbert lifted an envelope from his pants pocket and stretched it out to Lucas. Lucas looked at the envelope carefully. It looked as if it had only been a few days since the letter was made. And moreover, the letter was specifically addressed to him

With a pounding heart, Lucas tore slowly at the envelope he got. He saw a piece of letter with tangled handwriting, like being plundered by an uncontrollable wave of thoughts. His breathing paused for a moment, his eyes fixated on every word written in it. His face slowly reflected confusion and astonishment, his hands trembling as he grasped the letter.

I don't want him to believe what he found. The letter came from Master, someone who was always with him and gave him advice. But this time, Lucas felt something different. The sun felt increasingly dim, the sky darkened above his head, and the world felt as if it was crumbling before him.

Lucas read the letter again and again, trying to find clarity among the tangled lines of words. Every phrase in the letter aroused his feelings, destroying his calmness. He forced himself to understand the intent behind those words, while his heart continued pounding as if waiting for only one answer, one explanation.

Slowly, his once brilliant face lowered its head, suffering an inevitable setback. A look of confusion and loss adorned her once cheerful face. His breathing felt increasingly heavy, as an unexpected heavy weight began to press against his chest.

In a silent silence, Lucas pondered. He realized that the letter was not just a series of words, but a portrait of a life that had just changed. He felt as if time was spinning rapidly, and his destiny was changing in a direction he did not expect.

After a moment that felt like an eternity, Lucas raised his stunned face. He knew, in his heart, that this moment was the turning point of his life. The letter had revealed something that could no longer be ignored. Lucas decides to confront him, with courage left in him.

In hesitant steps, Lucas closed the letter and hugged it tightly. He felt a strong tremor from the letter, as if it was conveying an unspoken message directly. In the darkness that surrounds him, Lucas knows that a great challenge lies before him, yet he is ready to face it with his newfound persistence and determination.

Gillbert grabbed the letter that Lucas had read earlier. Grasping it with trembling hands, he noticed the shattered writing that adorned the surface of the letter. His originally beaming face instantly turned grim as his eyes crept through every word written in the letter.

Unexpected bad news leaping off the sheet struck the heart of Gillbert, his adoptive father or teacher Lucas who was in serious trouble and sentenced to death for the offences described in detail in the letter. In an instant, both of them were blown away by a deep wave of sadness and confusion.

A feeling of fear pervaded Lucas' heart, like a violent storm tearing down the courage within him. He was devastated, not knowing what to do. Afterwards, Lucas realizes that he must act, something important must be done to help his Master who is trapped in this dark circle.

"This is not true at all. I have to go there!" Lucas said

As soon as Lucas breathed a heavy sigh, tears fell down his cheeks.

"It's all written there, Lucas. There's clearly no aberration, Mr. Howard's dead"

With a strong conscience, Gillbert decided to arrest Lucas

In the silence of the silent night, Gillbert stood upright and closed his eyes,

He pondered in silence, thinking about his friend's uneasy journey. In the darkness of the dark night, Lucas sat staring at the nearly dimming candle. The fate he found before him was a steep path, with no clear clues. Even so, the still wet teardrops on his cheek showed that he would not give up.

"Follow your way back," Lucas recalled a word his teacher used to say to him "Find justice wherever it is, huh"

He laughed in frustration.

Lucas sought power within himself. He knew that he could rely on no one but himself on this difficult journey. He had to make use of all his resources and skills to fulfill his teacher's final wish.