“Everything checks out, Mister Νoyle.” The cashier handed Vince his card. “The expenses for twelve months of Ms. Sophia’s new treatment have been withheld.”

“Thank you.” Vince felt a giant weight leave his chest. Despite having seen the balance on the new card Lana gave him, he was still worried it’d be some sort of scam. Anyone would, when handling such an amount. He placed it back in his wallet and scanned over the cashier. The man was new and didn’t recognise him. Vince wasn’t sure how to feel about it. “Can I see her now?” he asked.

“Of course, Sir.” The man pointed to one of the rooms behind him. “Please wait there. Sophia’s procedure will be over soon.”

“Thank you.” Vince rounded the floor and sat on a sofa outside the door to Accelerated Neurogenesis. That’s what they were going to be doing to Sophia for the next year. It was an experimental treatment. Extremely effective, he’d been told, but expensive. Without the income from Twilight and only a barkeeping job to support himself, Vince had felt the real weight of the word. He’d already sold his car and was about to mortgage the house when Lana and Xua Yu showed up. It was crazy how the world worked sometimes. Sophia’s doctor came out and interrupted his thoughts.

“Mella!” Vince sprung to his feet to shake her hand. “How did it go?”

“Ah, there you are, Vince.” The elderly doctor simply smiled at him. She moved slowly and with a calmness about her, showing no signs of the multi-hour precision surgery that must have taken up her morning. “It was a good first session. No adverse side effects. Relax a little.”

Vince consciously tried to. “How is she?”

“Give her a few minutes. She's dizzy after the procedure,” Mella said as she flipped through some folders. “We’re making solid progress. Her brain is responding surprisingly well to the first batch of iPS cells. That’s a good sign for the future as well.”

That immediately took some of the pressure off his chest. “Any change in the projection?” Vince asked.

“Very slight.” Malla took off her glasses and placed them in her breast pocket. One of the last people Vince knew that clung to them for anything but style. “Two years and eleven months is the current estimate until complete recovery. Of course, that’s just an indicative metric. If it all goes to plan, we should slowly see improvement over time.”

“Wonderful…That’s wonderful news!” Vince found his voice cracking. “Then, will she remember? What I did to her?”

Malla pressed her lips tight and looked up at him. “Do you not want her to?”

“I just–” Vince turned his gaze away. “I’m worried she will hate me.”

“That is her choice to make. In the same way that getting the implant was her choice. She knew the risks and so did you.” Malla said. “Even if she does end up resenting you, would you stop supporting her?”

“No,” Vince replied, “but I was the one who convinced her.”

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

“I won’t tell you how low the odds of such major complications were, even back then.” Malla sighed. “I’m sure you’ve heard it all before. But do you know how many people the same technology has saved? Today alone we treated three cases identified ahead of time by the implants. You were looking out for her, even then. I know you’ve worked yourself ragged for her, so don’t blame yourself.”

Easier said than done. Vince had never managed to rid himself of the guilt entirely. Perhaps he shouldn’t. “As long as she gets better, she can hate me all she wants.”

“Stop that.” Malla placed a hand on his back, urging him forward. “Just go see her.”

Vince took a deep breath and nodded, turning to the door with a smile. Despite the regrets, it made him feel good to know that she was safe and being cared for. He found her laying on her side with her back turned to him.

“Hello.” He called to her softly as he sat beside the medical bed.

“Mmm?” Sophia turned, blinking a couple of times. “Hey,” she mumbled.

“Ah, I’m sorry. Did I wake you?” he asked, even though it was obvious that he had. Even with a patient gown and messy hair, she was beautiful.

“No,” she shook her head left and right and sat up a little, observing him, almost like a curious child. “I’ve seen you before,” she said.

“That’s right.” Vince lit up with a bit of hope. “Can you remember my name?” The question sprung up naturally, and Vince reminded himself to not pressure her for information, no matter how tempting it was to see how much she remembered.

Sophia narrowed her eyes and seemed to really struggle with that.

“I’m Vince,” he said. “Glad to know I’m not alone in forgetting people’s names.”

She smiled at that, and it made Vince feel so warm in the chest. “I forget more than names though. And I’m sure I know you…”

“Want to try and remember how? You can guess too.” Malla had said that memory was more like a maze than a highway, and that even if some paths had been walled off, there could be other ways to reach an end.

“Hmm…” Sophia placed a knuckle to her lips. She must have been used to these mental exercises by now. Almost treated them like a game. “School?”

“School too!” Vince chuckled and pulled his chair a little closer. She did tend to recall memories of her childhood years more often. “Say, do you remember anyone else from school?”

“Cecilia!” Sophia replied almost immediately. “We used to be deskmates.”

Vince tilted his head to stop himself from swearing. That bitch. First she’d abandoned Sophia almost entirely, then she’d betrayed him as well. The only good thing she did was take her stupid boxes and move out of town. At least that way Vince could avoid thoughts of committing a felony.

“Oh, we don’t like Cecilia, do we?” Sophia chuckled.

“Yeah,” Vince replied. It was amazing how after all these years and what she’d been through, Sophia retained her sharp insight. After years of giving press conferences and dealing with sponsors, Vince was used to hiding his emotions, yet she’d seen through him anyway. “Yeah,” he repeated. “We don’t like her.”

“Who do you like then?” Sophia asked, snickering.

“And why should I tell you?” Vince smiled back.

“Come on!” Sophia leaned forward on the bed. “I can keep a secret!”

“I’ll tell you a different secret then.” Vince narrowed his eyes and jokingly looked left and right, trying to seem suspicious. “I recently got a new job. Pays much better too, so I’ll be able to visit much more often!”

“Woo! Congratulations!” Sophia clapped her hands together. “That’s not really a secret, but it’s really good news.” She paused. “Do you like it though?”

That caught Vince by surprise. In his anxious rush, he hadn’t stopped to ask himself the same question. “I think I’ll grow to enjoy it.”