CHAPTER THREE:RUNNING OUT OF TIME

Rina's heart ached as she watched her mother who was once bright and full of life now distant and lost.

"How are you doing mum?"

"I—I don't know," Emma replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Mom you look so beautiful on this new hairstyle, it's looks so nice on you. You remember the first time I saw you curl your hair, I was so fascinated by it and kept touching it," You remember right ?

"I—I can't remember" she said quietly, her voice slightly above a whisper.

"Mmm—its not a big deal not to remember, hun, but you definitely remember the time you used to teach me how to bake cookies, it was so nice, chocolate flavor was my favourite and you made it every time, even though you were not a fan of it"

"I—I don't know—c—ookies?"

"Who are you?" Emma asked suddenly looking lost again.

"Its me mom, Rina look into my eyes mom, your daughter, you recognize me now?" She asked with utmost desperation and almost ready to cry.

"I dont know you" she replied barely above a whisper.

"Mom, look at me," Rina said, her voice shaking. "I need you to remember, it's me your daughter.

You remember me hun? You need to Remember mom, our family, our life together, dad, everything, you do remember right mom?"

Emma's eyes refocused on her face, and for a fleeting moment, there was a glimmer of recognition.

"R—Rina?" Emma whispered.

Her heart leapt. "Yes, Mom! It's me, your daughter"

But the moment was short-lived. Emma's expression faltered, and she looked away, and gradually got lost once more in the fog of her disease.

Rina felt a sob rising in her throat. She had to find a way to stop this, to save her mother's memories before they disappeared forever.

As she hugged her mother tightly, she made a silent vow, she would find a cure for Alzheimer's, no matter what it took.

"I'll do it, Mom," Maya whispered. "I'll find a way to save you."

"It's fine mom"

Rina felt a knob tighten in her chest again. She could barely hold her tears any longer. She felt a sudden sense of urgency and desperation. She was running out of time, her mother's memories were slipping away faster than she expected.

She had quit her job few months ago to properly take care of her mother and to find a cure Alzheimer. She was working as a top researcher at Genesis.

Coincindentally she was part of a team that was developing a cure for Alzheimer, but her mother's rapid decline had amplified her sense of urgency and she grew frustrated with the company's slow pace.

She took the bold step of leaving her top position at Genesis and constructed a makeshift lab behind her house, where she could easily make research without the constraints of a big corporations and all their corruptions.

Rina's plan was to develop a therapy or medication, infact anything she could think of that could repair damaged brain cells and restore lost memories.

She knew it was an almost impossible task to do as an individual with limited funding but she was willing to go any length.

It was a high-risk, high-reward approach, but she was convinced it was the key to saving her mom and millions of others like her, most especially her mother.

She would not give up no matter how impossible the task seemed. She spent hours daily, buried in research. After loosing her dad at a very young age to cancer, she knew how painful letting go of someone you love could be.

She remembered how difficult it was to move past it. Not that she had even totally moved past it. There were still remnant of the sorrows embedded in her, buried in her!!

She couldn't imagine her mom loosing all her memories too, where would she start from?

Not like she was dying but loosing her every memory of her equalizes dying, or what use is a mother who can not even recognize her as a daughter. "She's all I've got," she thought aloud.

Rina's mind continued racing with ideas and theories. She knew that she had to act fast, before her mom's memories would be lost forever.

It was obvious she had very limited time to do that.

"This is my life mission, Rina I will never forgive you, if you leave this mission unaccomplished" She said aloud to herself.

When they reached the room, Maya helped her mom into bed and sat down beside her.

"I'll be back tomorrow, Mom," She said, taking her hand. "And I'll bring you some of your favorite some cookies."

Emma's eyes fluttered open, and for a moment, there was a spark, a glint of recognition.

"C-cookies?" she whispered.

Rina smiled. "Yes, Mom. Cookies."

As Rina stood up to leave, her mother's voice stopped her.

"Rina?" Emma whispered.

Rina turned back to her mother. "Yes, Mom?"

Emma's eyes locked onto Rina's. "I—I remember," Emma whispered.

Maya's heart leapt. "What do you remember, Mom?"

Emma's face scrunched in concentration. "I remember baking cookies with you."

Maya felt tears streaming down her face. "That's right, Mom," she said, her voice shaking. "We used to bake cookies together all the time."

"In the garden in the evenings we would bake together while dad watered the garden."

"You remember dad, don't you?"

Emma's suddenly went quiet again. Her face went back to that blank and almost lifeless expression.

As Maya hugged Emma tightly with tears in her eyes, she knew that she had to keep fighting. She had to find a way to save her mother's memories, no matter what it took she will never give up on her mom. Never!!

The sound of her mom's gentle humming broke the silence, and she looked into her eye with a new sense of purpose. She would find a cure for Alzheimer's, even if it meant sacrificing everything else in her life.

With renewed resolve, she stood up, kissed her mom whose eyes were already closing gently on the forehead "I love you mom, Goodnight." She said while moving out to go find the help and give her some instructions.