The Secret Island
Chapter 74: Back to Her Graduation part i

Bologna, Italy 4 years ago

"We will only give you time today to do whatever you requested. The plane takes off tomorrow morning in Rome. We need to go on as planned." Carlo warned him before he left him alone to contemplate his decision.

Martin gave him a request to postpone his flight to New York. His objective was no other than to attend Celine's graduation. She didn't know that he was joining since he didn't intend for her to know. He just wanted to see her smile again. He missed her too much...

Besides, when he had to go back to the states, he didn't know what he had to face. The case scenario was being shot... He made up his mind and trying not to think about it too much. The past many months made him make peace with what was about to happen. His life was on the line, and that was that.

But because of that, because was nothing certain with his life, Martin wanted to see her again, her face, the woman he loved, the woman that made him smile. He wanted to be there on the day she was happy and basked in the glory of her academic success. Although she didn't have an opportunity to spend his life with her, he wanted to congratulate her today.

He was wearing his favorite white suit. Other than his casual clothes, he had the suits he usually wore to work. And the fact that Celine didn't even know that he was here didn't bother him one bit. He understood the risks, and he didn't want her to get involved.

He wanted to be a part of one of the significant days in Celine's life-that was the main reason he wanted to be here today. The reason that reflected his deepest desire. Martin wanted to be a part of Celine's life, but he knew all too well that that day might never come.

Among thousands of people at the graduation ceremony, it wasn't difficult for Martin to replace her. Looking through the crowd, he spotted her, and Martin thought no matter where she was among thousands, he could always replace her with ease. She was the only color of his life.

There, with that smile, it really didn't take him long to replace her.

She was wearing her graduation gown and standing with her friends. She was in a long line while waiting to be seated inside the ceremony. Her parents were probably around somewhere, she mentioned a lot about them, and he didn't really want to intrude into her private life.

Her graduation ceremony was organized at Piazza Maggiore, a historic square of the city. The area was surrounded by hundreds of years old buildings. He could feel the excitement in the air, yet the mood of the place was sacred that he couldn't replace it at the universities in the states that he was familiar with.

In his own graduation, Martin couldn't remember much, so maybe that was why he didn't catch all the touchy-feely or feel the sacredness of the ceremony. He partied hard. And his friends drank even more. Martin didn't hang out with any group of friends. In particular, he had no groups of friends. He only hung out with Joe. No matter where that guy invited him to, he just joined.

But today was different, the Italian graduation ceremony being more sacrosanct, and the ceremony had every intention to be more sacred. He stood by and listened to the speech, but Martin couldn't remember any since all his attention was on Celine. She was whispering in her friend's ears, and they chatted for quite a long.

He could see her as someone who talked to friends in the classroom. Something that he would never do.

It was something funny to think about. He always sat in front of the class, and he was very disciplined and obedient to school. He could always keep his good image at school, even at his graduation ceremony. No matter how drunk he was, no one could tell that he was hung over. Martin just sat there quietly and kept his look.

The next part of the ceremony was the part in which the graduate had to go up on stage to take a graduation certificate. He could hear the constant cheers in Bravissimo and Complimenti. And when it was Celine's turn, Martin joined in for the cheers. There, he could see her smile brightly.

Congratulation!

He really wanted to go say that to her. He wanted to give her a hug, but he couldn't do that. But everything was complicated. Actually, he had a gift for her, but there was no opportunity to give it to her at all. But still, there was time. He knew he had until the evening to replace out a way. Maybe he could replace someone that knew her and ask that person to hand the gift to her.

Martin got her a luxurious pen, one of its kind, his favorite brand, with her name engraved on it. He didn't know whether she liked it. He didn't know what an appropriate gift to give. Bag? Shoes? Clothes? Whatever object didn't feel good enough. In the end, he chose whatever he liked. He bought pens as a hobby. He wouldn't call himself a collector, just someone who preferred quality luxurious pens. Maybe it was part of him being a nerd. He used specific pens for specific reasons, signing things and writing things, and he thought this gift was appropriate.

He was waiting for hours and watching Celine taking pictures with friends and their parents and her own parents.

He looked on and laughed along with her from afar in some instances. When her parents left, he guessed to go back to their hotel room, and Celine was back to be among her friends, laughing and drinking wine and dancing to the music. He was glad and relieved to see that she was having a good time with her friends. This was proof that our times together didn't have much impact on her life. She could still have fun.

Martin was glad he got a chance to be a part of her life, even if it was just two weeks. And everything had now ended.