The results are finally in! The standard of entries in this year’s competition was exceptionally high. We hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did.

Beloved Thee,

I can pretend I don’t need you, but I’ll be fooling myself. I can pose I don’t want you, but I’ll be lying to myself. You are the one I’ve been dreaming of since 2017. Every morning I wake up alone, I realize you’re the missing puzzle piece.

Ever since you have stopped favouring through my NMR’s there hasn’t been a single moment passed when I haven’t thought about you. I know you have issue with me and I am apologising to you for the umpteenth failed reaction that happened in the past. I have now realised that I can’t think of my life without you. No matter how much I try but I can’t run away from all those reactions and results. Just as the earth awaits the rain after a long summer day, I wish for you in my life. My Dear Thee, would it be easy for you to forget about all the failed experiments and accidents? Do you remember when I set my first reaction and you gave confirmation through TLC? You were happy enough so you gave me back to back my NMR’s with zero impurities?

It looks that I am fine without you but I am showing off. Every day or night when I set a reaction and after TLC confirmation I go for NMR but I have no idea why it fails or give high impurities even after much vacuum dry. I am so broken nowadays with continuous failing experiments. If possible please, please, please come back to me and I promise I’ll never make you unachievable again.

Yours eternally,

Nav