Chapter 4

"She's always alone. She says she's waiting for the right time to go home. She never stays with anyone. Always alone."

"On a late night like this? Did the girl mention her reason?" Alex muttered to himself again. What kind of parents let their daughter wander around until late at night? Ahh... parents these days, I just don't understand.

The Captain shrugged as he opened the car door for Alex, "I don't know. Maybe there's an issue at her home. When the time comes, she always walks home alone."

"Is her home nearby?" Alex got into his car in the passenger seat, leaving his wheelchair outside.

"It's about six kilometers from here. At least half an hour to an hour's walk," the Captain folded Alex's wheelchair and lifted it. He walked to the back of the car to put the wheelchair in the trunk and then moved to the driver's seat.

"Why doesn't she take public transportation?"

"Maybe it's a money issue," the Captain explained lightly as he started the car's engine. He quickly pulled the car out of the university parking lot. "I never asked her."

That night, Alex couldn't stop thinking about the girl. There was something about the student that bothered him. Maybe it was the sense of loneliness and solitude emanating from her. Alex ran his hand through his hair. He truly didn't know why he suddenly felt drawn to the student. All he knew was that the girl's face kept haunting him even in his dreams.

Even in the morning when he opened his eyes, the image of the white-skinned girl in the west corridor lingered in his mind. An unfamiliar feeling had grown within him, and he couldn't do anything about it. Frustrated, Alex turned on a radio that he rarely listened to. Just to have something distract his mind from the image of the student.

"I didn't choose her, but love chose her for me, and I'm powerless..." a voice from the radio drama responded. Alex fell silent, staring at the object, pondering whether he should throw this stuff away or not.

***

Around 1950.

Harrison Bolton, the father of Jackson and Alex, was an active government official in the judiciary field and also a prominent politician in the capital city. Their family has been actively involved in government and politics for generations.

A few years after his birth, Alex Bolton was affected by polio, which left both of his legs paralyzed forever. His grandfather added the name "Alexander" to him, taken from Alexander the Great, the ruler of the Macedonian kingdom.

"You must be strong and brave like that king," his grandfather comforted him. "Never give up just because you lost both of your legs. As long as you have a strong heart, you can still become anything you dream of."

Alex, as he was always called afterward, was forced by his grandfather to attend public school just like normal people his age. The difference was that he always had to be in a wheelchair. What always annoyed him was when his school friends mocked his paralyzed and small legs.

"We won't be friends with someone whose legs are small and can't run."

“I never needed you all either! Who needs friends?” Alex replied in anger.

Another frustrating thing was during school holiday seasons. He would always see his older brother, Jackson, and his friend, Michael, playing in the front yard and running around. Sometimes they played with Lily, their youngest sister. Meanwhile, he could only stay in his room and watch it all from his second-floor window.

"Mom, I want to go out and run with them."

His mother could only look at him meaningfully.

One day, when he was 11 years old, his mother bought a set of chemicals wrapped in a package complete with instructions for making simple bath soap. It was a science kit that his mother bought because it had a special discount and was half-heartedly pushed by the seller—who dedicated his life to his work.

Since it was school holiday at that time, Alex felt bored and had nothing to do. He saw the chemical package lying on the kitchen table and took it to start making his first soap. He followed the mixing instructions carefully and added the small packages inside the package with great care. The result was amazing.

"Did you make this soap?" his father asked, looking at a poorly made soap and trying to praise it. "Mom, we should stop buying soap and use Alex's homemade soap."

"Right, Alex's homemade soap is very good. I'm so lucky to have a child who can make soap. I don't need to buy soap anymore."

Alex felt proud. Although the soap wasn't as good as the usual ones they used, his parents praised it to the sky. Suddenly, he felt like doing more. Of course, his parents didn't really stop buying bath soap. However, Alex's interest in chemistry grew even bigger, and he finally found something to do during the school holiday season.

In the following months, he was often seen reading the chemical ingredient notes on every household product they used, such as laundry soap, cleaning fluids, chemical fertilizers, drinks, and so on.

If he couldn't find a list of chemicals from a product label that caught his interest, Alex would force Jackson to take him to the public library or force his father to buy chemistry books on similar products. His grandfather who lived abroad often brought chemistry books for Alex when visiting. Alex somewhat forced him through his letters.

Alex has his own notebook containing descriptions of the chemical ingredients of every household product he managed to break down. He finds it extremely enjoyable to describe the chemicals contained in each product. It's all a game for him and becomes even more captivating after he successfully makes each product from chemical basics.

At that moment, he realized that making chemical products was not difficult at all. The key was knowing the chemicals needed, the right proportions, and with careful mixing, those substances would produce the right product. Just like cooking. He just needed to mix them because chemical stores sold every chemical he needed. And his mother was always ready to buy any chemicals he requested.

The only thing that could hinder his progress was himself.

His experiments progressed to a higher level when Alex obtained permission to use a small warehouse next to their house as a simple laboratory. This was after he pleaded with his grandfather, who eventually convinced his mother. His grandfather himself bought him a dozen gloves, protective goggles, and a lab coat, just to ensure that Alex wouldn't lack these protective items.

Alex's mother always felt strange whenever she received orders with chemical names written on them that she had to buy from the chemical store in the city center. She often asked the seller, "Are these substances not dangerous? Not toxic? Won't they explode?"

Meanwhile, Jackson always felt annoyed when he had to accompany Alex to the local library. Lily, who was only six years old, always enjoyed following them wherever they went. Regardless of whether she was invited or not, she would continue to tag along.