He had grown up in a modest neighborhood in Philadelphia, raised by a courageous mother who worked tirelessly in a small café. Money was always tight, but he had an innate passion for numbers. While other children played outside, he filled worn notebooks with formulas and equations.

“I’m going to Zurich,” he explained. “I’m competing in the International Math Challenge. My neighborhood paid for the trip. They say if I succeed, doors will open for me.”

Henry gazed at him with admiration. He saw in this boy the same fire that had once driven him to success.

“You remind me of my youth,” he murmured.

In Zurich, Malik shone. His solutions were not just correct—they connected mathematics to the real world, from airplane flights to a baby’s sleep cycles. The judges, impressed, awarded him the gold medal.