I stepped toward her and took her hands in mine. “Thank you, Magda, for all you’ve done. You can’t know how much this means to me.” “I had little to do with any of this. Your single-minded focus is rather unusual—it has brought you this far, and no doubt will help you in the challenges to come. But remember, the end of your quest will not be satisfying if it comes at the cost of everything else you hold dear. Your objective is admirable, but it is not who you are.” She squeezed my hands firmly as she offered her warning. What she had said wasn’t wrong, but at that point, I was afraid it had come too late. A man didn’t run a marathon only to give up when the finish line was in sight. Plus, I didn’t think there was anything I held in such high enough regard that I would mind sacrificing it t
