Science was her true love. Reading about the wonders of the universe, cosmology, particle physics, calculus, gave her goose bumps. She read books on science like me and you would read Harry Potter.

As luck would have it, she started her study at a small university in the heart of Eindhoven. A dream come true! Day one in the classroom, the engaging lectures kept the adrenaline rush going. She tried to steal a glance from the back of the classroom wondering if everyone was enjoying the lecture as much as she did.

There was this sunken boy, with sparkly eyes sitting there. His helpless eyes wanted to speak out, but couldn’t seem to muster the courage. She had this habit of overthinking and imagining things that weren’t there, so she shrugged it off.

As her attention shifted to the board, she noticed that the professor had made a mistake. Her abrupt interruption startled him, but he thanked her. She looked back at the boy and turned red as she lip-read a pleasant “Thank you so much”. 

Today, as she’s getting ready for work, over the kitchen counter that same sunken boy with sparkly eyes is feeding the baby. Between all the hustle of the morning, as it is time to bid farewell for the day, they look into each other’s eyes and she leaves him with a ‘Thank you so much’-air kiss.