Scene 1: Recovery Room and Restless Hearts
Camp Khidmat's infirmary was quiet, save for the soft beeping of a monitor and the occasional shuffle of boots outside.
Zayan Rauf lay on the narrow cot, chest wrapped in gauze, arm in a sling. His leg, still bruised and stitched, was elevated slightly. But his eyes—they were fully awake. Watching her.
Dr. Hana Mir adjusted his IV without looking at him. "You dislocated your shoulder, lost two liters of blood, and fractured your leg. Any other ways you'd like to stress me out?"
Zayan smirked. "You're cute when you're angry, Doc."
She shot him a glare. "You're alive because I'm not afraid to cut people open."
He chuckled softly, but winced. "Okay… laughing hurts. Don't be funny."
"Then stop flirting and get some rest," she said, brushing a damp lock of hair off his forehead. It was a fleeting touch—but it lingered.
He looked at her. "You really came for me."
"I never leave my patients behind," she replied.
"I wasn't your patient."
She hesitated. Then: "Maybe you were something more."
Neither of them said anything after that. The silence spoke for them.
Scene 2: Unopened Boxes
Later that afternoon, a military courier arrived with a sealed package.
"Dr. Hana Mir?" the soldier asked, holding out a plain, dust-covered box. "This came with a transfer request. Classified documents included. It's marked from Major Rauf's old base."
Zayan frowned from his bed. "That's not standard protocol."
Hana turned it over, her fingers freezing over the return address. "This is... dated two years ago."
Inside, beneath stacks of medical files and dried papers, was a journal. Weather-worn, tied in green string.
It was Zayan's handwriting.
He looked away. "It was never meant to be delivered."
"You wrote this?"
He nodded reluctantly. "Letters I never sent. To people I left behind. People I couldn't protect."
She held it tightly. "Do you want me to read it?"
He shook his head. "Not yet. Maybe not ever."
But that night, she opened it anyway.
Scene 3: The Letter
"Dear Miraal,I see you in every decision I make, every face I protect. I couldn't save you, but maybe saving others is how I ask for forgiveness. Some days I forget your voice. That's the worst part…"
Hana closed the page.
"Miraal," she whispered to herself. "His sister."
It made sense now—the way Zayan fought so hard for strangers. The way he smiled through pain. He wasn't running from death—he was running from guilt.
She walked to his bedside.
"You wrote beautifully," she said. "And painfully."
"I told you not to read it," he muttered.
"You did," she said. "But I'm not good at listening."
He sighed. "She was sixteen. Wrong place, wrong time. A mistake on my mission cost her life."
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"I never told anyone. Until now."
Hana sat down beside him. "Then let this be the first time you don't carry it alone."
He turned his head toward her. "You want to carry my ghosts?"
"I already do," she said. "And they're lighter than mine."
Scene 4: In Between the Lines
Over the next few days, Zayan healed. The bruises faded, but the distance between him and Hana didn't.
They worked beside each other, said very little, but everything was written in how they looked—how they paused before speaking, how their hands lingered too long over a bandage.
One evening, Hana walked to the fence, a letter in hand.
Zayan joined her silently.
"You're not the only one who writes letters they never send," she said, handing it to him.
He read:
"If I could rewind time, I would've chosen to be less guarded. To say yes when you offered coffee. To sit by your side instead of pretending I don't care. But I do. And it terrifies me."
Zayan looked up at her. "You wrote this… for me?"
"No," she said, a small smile tugging her lips. "I wrote it to the version of you I met that first day. The arrogant soldier who didn't shut up. But I think… I'm falling for the man you are now."
He took her hand.
"And I think I'm finally ready to let someone in."
And under the stars, they didn't kiss. They didn't cry. They just stood there, holding hands, writing a new letter without words.
[To be continued...]
Preview: Episode 5 – "The Mission Within"
As Hana and Zayan grow closer, a new mission threatens to separate them again. Meanwhile, someone inside the camp has been leaking intel—and the traitor is closer than they think.