Summary:
Cornelius was finishing some sketches for his new invention when his mother Lucille stormed into the room. As energetic as she always was she shouted in pure happiness: "Darling you won't believe who I found in my class at the University today." Cornelius was now picking up the pencil he dropped when his mother crashed into his room. "Who could that be?" Just as he finished saying these words, a beautiful girl, who used to be his best friend in the past appeared behind his mom, leaving him with his mouth wide open. As mysterious as the future was for him he was now left to do the right or wrong choices, which could both lead him closer to her or separate them forever.
Chapter 1: Keep moving forward
Cornelius was driving home from a disastrous experiment at the university. He was supposed to be teaching, helping others open their minds to the wonderful world of the sciences and he was doing it just fine until the damn pistons of the engine got out of place. This led to the complete disarm of the machine itself and the spilling of the fuel inside of it, which caught on fire and every student had to run away from the room before they got burned. Cornelius alone had to take care of it with an extinguisher. With the help of the sprinklers throwing water above him, the young adult managed to extinguish the fire before it consumed the whole laboratory and consequently him too.
Cornelius stopped the car on the driveway of his home but he didn't go out of it just yet. He stood there with his eyes lost somewhere on the front porch. Then he pressed his forehead against the steering wheel with closed eyes and sighed. "Keep moving forward, Neil. Keep… moving… forward." He told himself more defeated than positive. The twenty-one year old then got out of the car and forced a smile when he entered the house, he didn't want to let his mother know how frustrated he really was.
It was almost six o'clock but Bud was already fast asleep on the couch and his mother was dancing in the kitchen while preparing diner. "Neil? Is that you?" asked Lucille from the kitchen door. "No, it's a thief. I enter calmly through the front door just to be decent. Now please hand me all of your money and I won't shoot you." said Cornelius in a joking tone. "Hello mum. How was your day?" then the scientist hugged his mother and lift her a little from the floor. "Oh, it was fantastic. Five days without sleeping on a row, and I feel fabulous. Rather amusing right?" the women talked after kissing his son on the cheek and proceeding with the lasagna she was preparing. "Mum, the lack of sleep can lead to severe damage in your system." said Cornelius "You need to rest. Promise you'll sleep tonight." "Yes honey, I'll sleep like a baby" said Lucille "if you tell me what's wrong with you."
Lucille was now looking deep into his only son's eyes. Her brown eyes scanned him and he couldn't resist spilling all his frustration before her. "I try mum, I really try. But when I try my hardest everything goes wrong. That damn engine, the flying car prototype, the automatic tooth brush prototype… I fail at everything. I know I have to keep moving forward, but man, is it hard to go on surrounded by failure and realizing the only reason it all goes wrong is because of you. There's no one or nothing I can blame but myself. So, why keep trying? Why keep moving forward?"
The lasagna was already inside the oven and long forgotten by the two scientists in the kitchen. Lucille was looking at his son, his desperate eyes, his uneasy hands through his hair, his tapping foot on the floor, and finally a long, exasperated sigh. She kept herself silent for a few seconds, considering deeply her words before saying them. "You keep moving forward because deep down inside your heart you know you were made for wonderful, great, magnanimous things. All this, all of this "failure" you're talking about is just the prelude of exceptional achievements. Life, love, success it's all made of failure after failure. The important thing is to keep moving forward because when you keep going on and trying every day, you end up finding the answer and doing it right. Honey, don't let that calculating head of yours tame your free and unstoppable heart. Our greatest achievements are the ones in which we pour all of our hearts. Never forget that."
Cornelius, though still feeling a little defeated, looked at his mother with some more hope than he had before. A small smile spread through his lips and he walked over to his mom and hugged her again. He had grown up so much Lucille's head rested on his chest when he embraced her. His aging, small, beautiful mother was at once crazy and incredibly wise. "What would I do without you, mum?" "That's a brilliant question, dear. I'd let you find it out yourself, but I'll give you the answer. You'd be irreparably boring. You're welcome very much!" said Lucille with a wide smile while breaking the hug. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" An intoxicating smell of lasagna filled the kitchen and Cornelius stomach growled. "I don't suppose you'd like an answer to that after you eat, would you?" said Lucille radiantly.
"Do I smell some meaty lasagna?" said Bud wide awake. "Yes honey. It's almost ready! We will continue with that later, Neil." she whispered to her son blinking her eyes to him.
Cornelius smiled again. He was lucky to have such great parents.