Isabella is a very talented young woman... or so she thought until she met Sheila.
From a young age, Isabella was interested in the world of medicine thanks to a TV program. She dedicated herself completely to studying it and even attended surgeries, all with her family's support.
Over the years, to her surprise, her father's condition worsened and no doctor could find an effective treatment for him.
They even said his illness was incurable, but then her family, thanks to a recommendation, discovered an unconventional lab known for its focus on alternative and experimental medicine.
This place, though cutting-edge, was viewed with skepticism by the traditional medical community.
The treatments there combined the latest technologies with innovative natural approaches, and the golden needles were an example of their innovation: designed to enhance conductivity and boost therapeutic effects.
One of the few doctors capable of using those golden needles was Sheila.
At first, both Isabella and several of her family members were hesitant to be treated by Sheila's team due to their strange methods, but the results did not disappoint when treating Isabella's father.
An illness that many doctors considered incurable, Sheila had cured.
In fact, according to her father, his health had improved and his back pain had disappeared.
That's why Isabella made a decision.
No matter how strange it was, she wanted to work in the same place where Sheila worked.
All to learn more about her skills. But when she managed to get in... Sheila already had a disciple.
This stirred some annoyance in Isabella, but her goal remained the same: she wanted to surpass Sheila.
So she ignored all the other girls in the lab who only talked and talked, and she only associated with hardworking people. Even so, she was far from Sheila.
'Where is Sheila...? Did she disappear again for research?' Isabella thought as she put away her phone.
The team Isabella worked with had not arrived yet, so she was sitting in the lab's internal café.
A few seconds later, she saw Emily walking by alone, looking quite exhausted.
Emily went to the counter, bought some burgers, and sat near Isabella, as the other tables were quite full.
"Good afternoon," said Emily before sitting down.
"Good afternoon, Emily. Where is Sheila?"
Emily looked away slightly at that question.
How many times had she answered that question already?
Sighing, Emily replied:
"She's traveling."
'Traveling?' Isabella wondered, confused.
Since Isabella joined the lab, she noticed how distant Sheila was with the staff working there.
Very few had the luxury of interacting with her regularly, as she was mostly working, reading a book, or teaching Emily something.
But the strangest thing of all was that no one knew her birthday.
"Where did she go?"
"It's a secret," said Emily as she began to eat.
A secret?
Then, it wasn't a normal trip?
What if... Sheila was investigating something very important and had to leave so abruptly?
While Isabella concocted a super complex theory, Emily ate her lunch nonchalantly.
She just wanted to go home.
"Hey."
"What?"
"How many patients do you have pending?"
"Why do you want to know that?" Emily asked, frowning.
"Show me," said Isabella, not backing down at all.
If Sheila was gone, it was obvious that her workload would fall on Emily, and if Isabella used this opportunity well, she could learn more and the distance between her and Sheila would shorten.
Seeing the determination in Isabella's eyes, Emily swallowed hard and decided to show her how many patients she would be treating, and the pending research.
'All this... as expected from Sheila...' Isabella thought while making several calculations in her head.
'I can do it.'
"Hey."
"What?"
"I'm going to help you."
"What? Don't you have work?" Emily asked, puzzled.
Emily went on the defensive.
How could she let someone like Isabella get involved in all the work Sheila had left her?
"Let me help you."
Isabella's words were serious and her tone very determined.