A Mathematical Miracle
Carla Kane, a 17-year old girl, enters the classroom along with her new classmates. When all the students sit down, the math professor Mr. Collins joins them.
He puts his briefcase on the desk and leans over. He glances over the first table in front of him and sees Carla, looking up at him with her wide glasses.
He addresses to his students: “Good morning, students. You can call me Mr. Collins. I’m your math professor for this year. But before I continue and get to know you...” He takes a marker from his briefcase and writes an equation on the board. “I’d like you to solve this equation by the end of this scholar year. I wish of course you solve it before. This is not homework but just a challenge.”
Mr. Collins finishes the lesson by showing his students the educational program. After the exit of most of students, Carla goes to Mr. Collins with a paper in her hand. “What’s wrong, miss?” Carla hands him the paper, answering: “I solved the equation.”
Mr. Collins sneers and gets the paper. As soon as he reads, his smile disappears. “I think that’s right...” he murmurs. Carla waits for his permission to dismiss but he just stares at her and the paper. So, she leaves.
On her way to home on feet, Carla passes by a building materials factory ...
***
A few months later, Mr. Collins gives back to the students their tests fulfilled with color red, glaring at them. But at the last paper, he grins from ear to ear and calls Carla’s name.
Carla only stands up to get her paper, as she sits just in front of him. Mr. Collins whispers to her: “You’re my favorite student. You know that?”
The student rejoices and sits back while the professor shouts: “She got the full mark!”
Then, he stands up: “Despite your pitiful marks, I’m obliged to announce, as a math professor, that there’s an international competition between high schools in China by July. And before that, there’s a national competition in our country to nominate, among 150.000 students, only six to represent our nation. The registration’s deadline is by this month’s end, December. The national comp will be set in June. So, from January till June, we have, for the participants, an extreme training I don’t think students with such marks like yours are able to bear. Thus... who would like to participate comes by the end of this lesson to register.”
Later, Carla registers herself while Mr. Collins watches happily. Then, she takes her bag and says goodbye to him: “See you next year, professor!”
***
Mr. Collins stares at the first... empty table in front of him while his students make noise. He orders them later of silence and asks them: “Where’s Carla?”
“We don’t know, sir. She’s not that close to us.” One of students answers.
Mr. Collins remains silent for a while. Then, he gets the marker and writes on the board: “Alright then, let’s start...”
On the weekend, the professor drives to Carla’s house. On his way, he notices the factory.
Mr. Collins enters a building. He climbs few stairs and knocks on the door of an apartment.
A middle-aged woman opens. She shows signs of fatigue and exhaustion. “Is this Carla Kane’s place?” The professor asks.
The woman, Mrs. Kane nods. “I’m her math professor. And I came to see her. She’s been absent for a whole week and there’s no news about her.” Mr. Collins explains.
Mrs. Kane allows him in and calls her husband. Three of them sit in the living-room.
After that Mrs. Kane serves him a drink, the professor asks: “Where’s Carla?” She excuses him to get her from her bedroom.
A few seconds later, Carla hurries toward her professor. But the latter gets shocked; she’s pale, clearly exhausted. The spark in her eyes, disappeared before due to illness, is back once seeing him. “Sir, you came!”
The mother follows her daughter and asks her to carefully sit between her and her father.
“What’s wrong?” Mr. Collins insists. Suddenly, Mrs. Kane bursts into tears. Carla tries to calm her down while Mr. Kane calmly explains: “Our daughter... she’s diagnosed with cancer...”
Mr. Collins freezes, while the father continues: “Doctors... Doctors estimated that she’s in the last stage of cancer and that... she got only few months to live... the chemotherapy won’t save her or any other therapy...”
The professor still gazes at his student during a long painful moment of silence. Then, he barely talks: “What kind of cancer?” “Lung cancer”, Mr. Kane responds. Mr. Collins remembers the building materials factory when he passed by. “It must be the factory...” The family turns to him. “That factory, a few meters before the high school, produces the building materials. And these materials are made basically of Asbestos. It’s too dangerous that leads to cancer and especially the lung cancer by breathing.”
It’s silence again. Mr. Collins breaks it by explaining that the training for the competition has begun and that Carla must attend it be eligible then to participate. “No need for attending it...” the father informs. “Carla will spend her last days with us. The school will exhaust her. Also --” Carla excuses him to talk: “There’s no subject I admire more than math. It’ll be my pleasure to die while solving an equation.”
She turns to her father: “This is my wish you asked me to think about, my last wish; I want to participate in this competition.”
The parents exchange looks while Mr. Collins smiles to Carla. “Alright then...” Mr. Kane announces. “If attending the competition is my daughter’s last wish, I won’t stop her. Dear, you can participate. But for one condition; don’t continue your studies. That will tire you more. Fine?”
Carla shakes her head and kisses her father’s cheek. Mr. Collins meanwhile suggests: “I can come by every night and Sunday morning to train her instead of her going to school.”
The family nods in respect for the professor...
So, every night, Mr. Collins knocks on the door of Carla’s apartment. And he teaches the latter math’s secrets and tricks in Algebra and Geometrics until about 10 o’clock.
In one of these nights, the professor informs his student, who is busy solving an exercise: “Carla... I don’t think you have time enough to participate in the international competition. You can attend only the national one, maximum.”
Carla raises her eyes and indifferently responds: “I know.” Then, Mr. Collins realizes that there’s no point in arguing with her. She insists on participating even if her life time is not enough for the international competition...
***
It’s the beginning of June. Despite her fatigue, Carla sits for the exam between her high school’s students only, to nominate one or two students for the national competition. 3 days later, the results are announced; Carla is the winner and in the first rank. She wasn’t at school to hear the news. But Mr. Collins hurries to inform her.
Neither Carla nor her professor spends all the time celebrating; they have to prepare for the national competition. A week later, Carla gathers all her efforts up to travel to the capital with her parents and her professor.
The competition starts; a test for two hours between 30 competitors. Carla barely solves them of exhaustion while her professor and parents await her.
When Carla stands up to hand her paper, she hits a severe coughing blood and ends up unconscious on the floor.
***
Carla lies, almost in a coma, on a bed dragged by the doctors, along with Mr. Collins and Mr. and Mrs. Kane, toward the recovery room. She hears incomprehensible noise which is the conversation between the doctors and her family.
Since Carla enters the recovery room, her vision blurs gradually and the noise vanishes too...
The Electrocardiography makes a continuous squeak and shows a flat horizontal line, while the doctors try their best to make it move; to revive Carla. But to no avail...
One of doctors exits the recovery room toward Mr. Collins and the parents, and informs them of their daughter’s death. Mrs. Kane hides her face within her husband’s chest, crying. Meanwhile, the professor steps into the room, and catches Carla’s hand: “Rest in peace, mathematical miracle.”
A week later, the six winners are announced. Carla is one of them. The professor informs the competition’s administrators the news of student Carla Kane’s death.
***
Mr. Collins stares at a golden medal with a Pi symbol on it behind a display in the high school, with Carla’s name engraved under it.
He mops his tears away and continues his way to his classroom in a new scholar year...
The End
