Scene 1: A Reunion in UniformLocation: Central Military Base – South Division Medical Briefing Room
The air was thick with tension and antiseptic. Hana stood still as boots echoed behind her. She knew that rhythm—sharp, grounded, steady. She turned.
There he was.
Ayaan.
He looked every bit the soldier he had once sworn he'd stop being. Hair slightly longer, face sharper, but his eyes—those stormy eyes—still carried the same quiet chaos that had once unraveled her world.
"Doctor Hana.""Captain Ayaan."
Formality. A wall they both tried to hide behind.
The silence stretched, thick and awkward.
"I didn't expect you to say yes," he finally said, adjusting his black field cap.
"I didn't say yes for you," she replied. "I said yes for the people who still need help."
But both knew—those words weren't entirely true.
Scene 2: Mission BeginsLocation: Border Village, 50 Miles from Main Base
The journey was long, the roads half-broken, nature creeping into the wreckage left behind by war.
Children ran barefoot beside the convoy, waving. Men stood silently, eyes full of years they'd never speak about. Women carried water in rusted cans, their saris stained by dust and survival.
Ayaan watched Hana from the side mirror. She was different here. Calm. Unshaken. He remembered how, even under fire, she never trembled. She was a storm in the skin of peace.
He wanted to speak. To tell her about the nights he'd whispered her name into the dark, hoping it would echo far enough to reach her.
But he stayed quiet.
Scene 3: The Patient That Broke HerLocation: Makeshift Medical Tent – Nightfall
A 10-year-old boy lay unconscious, burn wounds across his side. A leftover landmine had exploded while he played near the river. Hana worked quickly, hands stained with blood, but her face unreadable.
After hours, she stepped out of the tent, collapsed on the dirt, her gloves still on.
Ayaan approached.
"You did everything you could."
"I didn't," she whispered. "I was supposed to prevent this. I was supposed to make the world safer. But here we are. Again."
He sat beside her, close but not touching. "We can't undo the past, Hana. But we can stand in its ashes and build something better."
She turned, finally meeting his gaze. There was no more anger. Just weariness.
"Why did you really call me?"
He didn't hesitate.
"Because I couldn't save them alone. And because I never stopped loving you."
Her eyes glistened in the dim light of the lanterns, and for the first time in months, she didn't look away.
To be continued...