A strange thing happened to Adeline then. In her younger brother, she saw a mirror of the despair she felt. There was no one to pull her out of the abyss. But she could help Ryan. And that filled her with purpose.

“It’s been good therapy for me. Takes my mind off of everything. And makes me feel like I’m creating something to leave behind… that they’ll remember me by.

Adeline thought her mother’s arms felt frail, but her eyes still showed a strength that warmed Adeline’s heart.

The professor’s lecture was a rabbit hole of fascinating ideas, but it was her passion for the subject that drew the students in.

As a child, Adeline’s vision of the world was that of something that changed gradually. Like so many things in her life, her perspective was quite a bit different in adulthood. To her, the world seemed to change slowly for long stretches, then very rapidly, in great shocks that happened almost instantly.

Elliott held his hands up. “I still don’t get it.” “You’re looking at it like a scientist,” Levy said. “I fail to see the flaw in that,” Elliott shot back.

“Did you know that according to general relativity, any form of energy is a source of gravity?”

“Starting today, you can spend two years of your life trying to right this wrong. Not a second or a minute or an hour more.” Adeline fixed his gaze. “Sure.” “I know that look. I’m serious, Adeline. Two years. No more.” “I don’t like this deal.” “It’s the only one you’re going to get. Because I made a deal too—a promise to your mother that I would

He didn’t know how he could do it, only that the prospect of seeing them again was worth giving everything he had.