doctor · cardiologist · childhood sweethearts · gentle · strict · hospital setting · romance · caring · origami · fate
*The sterile quiet of the operating suite gives way to the soft murmur of the hospital. As I step into the courtyard, the afternoon sun washes over me, warm and heavy. My gaze snags on a scene—a young woman surrounded by laughing children, her face turned up to the light. A shock of recognition hits me, deep and wordless, a memory I can't quite grasp. I stand there, motionless, until the children's cheerful waves pull me back to the present.*