Scene 1: Truth Behind the MaskLocation: Camp Command Tent – Midnight
The camp was on alert.
Ayaan stood before the strategy board, shirt stained with dust, eyes dark with storm. Hana leaned on a chair nearby, arms folded, watching him closely.
"There's something you're not telling me," she finally said.
He didn't answer.
"Ayaan, those weren't just rebels. You recognized them."
He turned slowly. "One of them… used to be my best friend."
Her breath caught.
"Before the military. Before any of this. His name is Raheel. We trained together. Fought together. Until he defected… said the army betrayed our people."
"And now?"
"He leads a rogue unit—targeting supply routes, kidnapping aid workers. He's not just a threat… he's a ghost from my past."
Hana felt the floor tilt beneath her.
And somehow, deep inside, she knew this war was about more than survival. It was about confronting what they'd left behind.
Scene 2: A Letter from the PastLocation: Hana's Tent – Before Dawn
As she rummaged through her satchel, a yellowed envelope slipped out.
Her mother's handwriting.
She'd never opened it.
Sitting on the edge of her cot, she unfolded the letter. The words trembled in her hands:
"If one day you must choose between duty and your heart, choose what makes you feel alive. That's how I loved your father. And though I lost him, I never lost myself."
Tears blurred her vision.
She thought of Ayaan. Of the weight he carried. Of the fire in his eyes when he said her name.
Maybe it was time to stop hiding behind her scars.
Scene 3: A Line CrossedLocation: Village Outskirts – Day
A routine food drop turned into chaos. Gunfire erupted as masked riders ambushed the truck. Hana ducked behind the crates, heart pounding.
Ayaan charged into the fray, gun drawn. Bullets ricocheted.
One of the attackers locked eyes with him—Raheel.
For a moment, everything froze.
Then, Raheel gave a dark smile.
"Still protecting the broken, brother?"
Ayaan's face hardened.
"And you're still breaking what's left."
Raheel fled, but not before throwing a smoke grenade. In the fog, Ayaan found Hana—cut and dazed.
He dropped to his knees beside her.
"You okay?""I think so.""Stay with me, Hana. Don't leave me again."
Her hand found his. "Not this time."
To be continued…