Cornmarket Street was very busy at noon. It was a wide pedestrian street in the heart of Oxford; the very center of the city. I crossed Clarendon shopping center, passing by many people with vacant stares that seemed to go shopping to stop thinking, and exited at Queen Street. It was the continuation of the High Street. It run from Carfax to the Westgate shopping centre, which was the biggest shopping center in the city. Carfax was a tower from which tourists liked to see the sights.

Nora and I went up there when we went to Oxford to visit Worcester College for the first time. It was spring, but the sun irradiated a dim light, and Oxford looked enchanted. Nora said Oxford would be the city she'd fly over every night if she were a witch. I suggested she could rest at the top of the Radcliffe Camera, and at the tower of St Mary the Virgin's church, which was one of the highest points of the city.

"The best thing about flying would be seeing the world from another perspective, in the colours of the sky. Transparent. Honest." she said to me, without looking at me.

She usually did that. She said things that I understood where directed to me, because I was the only one that could hear her, but she whispered, and her words merged with the wind and flew away in it, in a melody of hope, just as she dreamed to do.

"And what would you use your power for, if you were a witch? Taking for granted that you can already fly." I asked her, while her eyes chased the birds that showed off making pirouettes between the spires of the buildings.

She didn't hesitate.

"I'd live forever." she answered, and her eyes finally met mine.

I walked over to her and hugged her.

"Doesn't seem like that much to ask for."

That's when she told me she wanted to be immortal. That's why, in the dream that had triggered my research, she had said: "I'm living forever, just like I wanted...". I hadn't understood that before reminiscing that moment at Carfax.

Six months later, when she told me she was sick, I remembered that evening, and I wondered if, by some sort of signal the wind or the birds or the sun had sent her, she had known all along.

Just as I came out to Queen Street, lost in reminiscence, I saw Lindsay looking at the window of Topshop. I called her and she crossed over to my side of the street, where Costa Coffee was. We went inside and ordered two cappuccinos.

"Tell me all about Kings!" she said, excited.

"It's... a dream come true. There are no boundaries there... Everything is possible."

"I'm so jealous." she said, as she moved her hand across the table and caressed my arm: "And so, so proud."

"I am, too." I admitted. "But there's still so much to be achieved. And I need your help."

She removed her hand from my arm to take a sip of her coffee.

"What can I do?"

"I need..." I started.

I knew it was a lot to ask. And I knew she would do everything in her power to help me. She was devoted to me; to everyone she loved. That was one of the things I admired most about her. She was generous, compassionate, caring... without limits. That's the reason why I wouldn't have asked her if I had had another choice. I didn't want to ask her for anything, because I knew her endless love would oblige her to make it possible.

"A biopsy from Danny." I blurted out.

She sighed. She took another sip of her cappuccino. She was considering it thoroughly.

"I already have a cancer biopsy; Luke... another student at King's... gave it to me." I continued. "It's a lymphoma biopsy. I also have stem cells because they have many there... But if I could just have... I just want to see how telomeres and telomerase work on different situations."

She wasn't listening to me; I didn't need to convince her. She hadn't had a doubt about whether she was going to help me or not. She was lost in thought, trying to figure out how.

"We can go to the hospital after we finish our coffee." she said.

"Of course." I said, skipping that I had very important lessons to attend. I didn't care anymore. This was more important.

"His mum will be there, she always is. We can ask her. I don't think it will be a problem."

"Oh, thank you so much, Linds..."

I got up, walked to her side of the table, and hugged her. She smelled of raspberry and vanilla. Sweet, innocent.

"I don't know if I'll be able to rock this, Linds..." I whispered, my face buried in her platinum hair.

"We believe in you, Tess." she said, and caressed my back. "And remember... Nora always believed in you too."

I walked back to my seat, took a sip of coffee and I almost chocked.

"I know. And I failed her."

Lindsay sighed.

"Remember when we took Nora to the pier, a week before she died? How you tried to make her smile?"

I laughed a laugh in which sadness sounded a lot louder than fun.

"Of course I do. I took that ride that we were always afraid to take, the one that loops and loops and turns you around like a pancake. I think I have never shouted so loud. She was so amused."

"While you were up there, Nora told me something I have never told you: "Please make sure that mad lives and shakes the world up." "she told me, and she smiled a shattered smile.

I broke up crying like a volcano, with rage, endless tears, and I laughed while I cried, because Nora had been herself to the very end. A waitress looked at me as if I really was berserk. Lindsay was the one to stand up and hug me this time, and she joined me and started to sob as well. We looked pathetic, but I felt strengthened. Nora's belief made me powerful.

We finished our cappuccinos and took a bus to the hospital. Danny was awake when we arrived, but alone. His mum didn't seem to be around there yet. He was playing some game on a tablet.

"Hello, sunshine!" Lindsay said, greeting him in the most loving, benevolent tone a pediatrician could use. "How are you feeling today?"

Danny looked up from his tablet. He looked even older than the day I had watched him sleep. His wrinkles accentuated when he moved his mouth to answer to Lindsay's greeting. There were cataracts in his punished eyes.

"This is Doctor..." Lindsay said, not really knowing how to introduce me.

"Tess. It's Tess."

"Hello, Doctor Tess." Danny replied, in a surprisingly cheery, but aching voice.

Lindsay chuckled, and he did too. My heart melted.

"Is that game you're playing fun?" I asked.

"Yes, it's the best! It's about a strong boy... who fights monsters!"

Lindsay and I chuckled again.

"Well, Danny, Doctor Tess is going to be with us today, and she is going to play a game that is even better with you."

"What game?"

"She is going to poke your skin, to test if you are as strong as the boy in your tablet!" Lindsay explained, in a joking tone, and she lifted her eyebrows at Danny to make him excited. She turned to me:  "Danny is very strong. Huh, buddy? Are you going to show Doctor Tess how strong you are?"

"Yes. I am very strong. Doctor Blake, does Doctor Tess know I am going to die?"

I sank. Lindsay's mouth opened, but she didn't say anything. I wanted the Earth to swallow me.

"How's my little boy? You are in great company today, Danny!"

A middle-aged woman entered the room and kissed Danny all over. She was, undoubtedly, the boy's mum. She was dressed in an elegant navy suit, and she wore a lot of make up. I deduced she was trying to hide her pain.

"How is he doing today, Doctor Blake?"

"He's strong as a horse, huh, buddy?" Lindsay answered. The look in her eyes told me that she still hadn't recovered from the little boy's question.  "Can we speak to you outside for a second, Mrs Smith?"

Mrs Smith nodded.

"We'll be right back, Danny." I promised.

As we stepped outside the room, I tried to make a scheme of what I was going to explain in my head. Why would Mrs Smith trust me? I wasn't even a doctor yet. The perpetual problem of medical students came to surface once again: there was no accreditation of my knowledge. Luckily, Lindsay was the one to explain everything to Danny's mum. She showed enormous faith in me as she spoke. I wasn't sure I had that much conviction myself.

"So you're trying to find a cure for Danny's disease?" she asked me.

Her overly made up eyes opened up with hope.

"Yes. Well, I am trying to find a cure for aging. I believe it would cure Danny's disease too, but, in order to do that, I need to see how his cells work... and I can only see that in a biopsy."

"So... you're going to remove a chunk of his skin?"

"A tiny bit. He will only feel a small puncture."

Her eyes had already agreed to do it. I could see she was prepared to hold on to anything. I was her only option, so she was willing to do everything I asked for. I recognized that feeling of desperation, because I had experienced it with Nora.

As I took Danny's biopsy under Lindsay's supervision, the little boy asked me the question again. I couldn't evade this time.

"Do you know I am going to die, Doctor Tess?"

His tone wasn't cheery anymore. He was scared. An eight-year-old boy shouldn't have to deal with that kind of scary. His biggest fears should be witches, vampires, the bogeyman.

" I ..." I held my tears back. "I know we are going to do everything in our power to avoid it, okay?"

He nodded. I wanted to leave the biopsy needle aside and hug him tightly.

"Don't give up just yet, Danny. Don't give up. Please."

He nodded more fervently.

The bus ride to Worcester College seemed to last forever. I arrived at my room, exhausted, and left the envelope that contained the biopsy in the drawer where I kept my most valuable things. I made a list of everything I needed to carry on with my research and realized there were many things I didn't have at the lab.

I decided to call Luke, almost without hesitating. He answered right away, and I heard his undeniably sexy voice fused with the sounds of the traffic in South London.

"Hey, how do I manage to get things that I need for my investigation, if they don't provide us with them at the lab?"

"By seducing Professor Abbey."

"I am serious, Luke. I got a biopsy from a patient with Hutchinson-Gilford. I really need to study it."

"Wow! That's awesome. But I wasn't joking about what I said. I don't mean you should seduce him with your womanly skills, I mean that you should show him how good you are, and how far you could get with your research. You and King's College, of course. International recognition is never a bad asset for a university."

"I already tried to impress him with my record."

"And you did. But no more than the rest of the group. Remember we all have an excellent record here, Tess. Well... except for him. I still don't get why he teaches a group like this, because he's done nothing... But, the point is, being outstanding in this group is almost impossible. Believe me, I've tried."

I didn't pay attention to anything he said after pronouncing "Tess" with that voice. My whole body trembled when he said my name like that. It was the first time he called me that, and it sounded very different to when the rest of the world said it. It sounded warm and made me feel very close to him. I imagined him whispering my name into my ear while he bit my neck. God.

"Tess? Are you there?"

"Yes, I'm sorry. I was going over the list of the material I need, and didn't listen to you." I lied.

"I was saying I could talk to Professor Abbey about how brilliant you are, but I think he'll want proof."

"And I am going to work hard to give it to him. I don't need you babbling out to him like you were in love with me." I joked, and I laughed.

He stayed silent and I started to worry my joke hadn't been funny at all. Why was I such a dimwit? I wanted to be exceptional in a group of Einstein-like students, and yet I couldn't even manage to make a joke without making a fool of myself.

"Okay, then I'll leave everything to you and your irresistible scientist-skills, miss Blake." he finally said, in a sarcastic tone.

I sighed in relief.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Luke."

"Sleep tight."

What did you think of this chapter? Do you think Tessa will be able to save Danny? Do you think Luke will help her? Let me know everything going on in your minds in the comments! I would love to get some feedback. I am entering the Wattys2016, so, if you enjoyed it, please don't forget to vote :)

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