The doorbell rang, pullingn back from his thoughts. He got up, walked to the door, and opened it to find a delivery person holding a bag of food.


    She was staring at a screen,pletely engrossed in a string of data, so deep in thought that she didn''t even notice him standing in the doorway.


    Under the warm glow of the deskmp, Eleanor rested her chin on her hand,pletely immersed in a sea of numbers. Her profile was soft, a few strands of hair falling forward, her brow slightly furrowed.


    The scene ovepped withn''s memory of that quiet girl reading in the library.


    The emotions stirred by his recollection washed over him again. He took a deep breath, schooling his features, and raised his hand to knock twice on the doorframe. The sound startled Eleanor, and she turned to look at the doorway.


    "The food''s here. Come eat something first,"n said.


    Eleanor nced at the time. She had been working for half an hour without realizing it. She stood up and walked toward the door, casually tucking her long hair behind her ear.


    So natural, so casual, yet she carried an invisible air of distance.


    Downstairs, Eleanor saw the neatly arranged dishes on the table. She got up to pour two sses of water.


    They sat across from each other, a silence settling between them.


    They ate in silence. Eleanor didn''t have much of an appetite. The meal came with two small bowls of soup; she finished one and barely touched anything else.


    "Close the door on your way out," Eleanor said calmly over her shoulder as she headed upstairs again.


    "Don''t stay up toote,"n called after her.


    Eleanor''s steps paused for a fraction of a second. Without turning back, she simply hummed in acknowledgment.


    ***


    The next day, Eleanor felt much better. With the chip issue resolved, she needed to get back to her best as quickly as possible.


    Joslyn returned early in the morning and made her breakfast. After eating, Eleanor headed to theb.


    She worked until five in the


    afternoon. When she got home, she was greeted by the sound of her daughter''s cheerfulughter. The sound stripped the tiredness right out of her.


    Under the warm light, the sight of her little girl chasing around the room made everything else fade away.


    Eleanor looked at her daughter. It felt like just yesterday she was so small, yet somehow, she had grown taller without her even noticing.


    For any parent, every small bit of their child''s growth is a source of pride and joy.


    That night, Evelyn Goodwin cuddled up to Eleanor and whispered, "Mommy, can you invent a medicine that makes people never get old? I never want you to leave me."


    Eleanor''s heart tightened. "Why do you say that, sweetie?" she asked softly.


    "I don''t want Mommy to get old," Evelyn said sadly. "I want you to be young forever."


    Eleanor sighed softly. For a moment,


    she had worried that she had


    somehow hurt her daughter or made her feel insecure. But her answer er feel


    was a relief; it was just a sign of how


    much her daughter loved her.


    Eleanor hugged her daughter tightly. "Okay," she cooed. "Mommy will see if she can


    find a medicine for immortality."


    ***


    Three dayster, Eleanor received a call first thing in the morning. The chip had arrived on schedule.


    It was being sent directly to the state-of-the-art researchb on the top floor of Meridian Dynamics. The facility had the best testing equipment and environment in the country, making it the perfect ce to verify the Helios chip''s performance.