Flash forward in present time:
The hospital lights flickered faintly above the ICU wing.
Monitors beeped steadily. Oxygen hissed.
Inside ICU-3, Ahaan Shaikh lay unconscious — his body battered, wrapped in gauze, tubes running from every direction. Blood loss. Internal damage. His pulse was weak… but holding on.
Outside the ICU, the world didn't stop.
The loud bang of the ER doors echoed through the sterile hallway.
Nurse (shouting):
"Dr. Mahi! We need you immediately — it's an emergency!"
Mahi stood near the window, a single tear silently slipping down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, pulling herself back into the moment.
Mahi (softly):
"I'm coming..."
She entered the trauma bay, her eyes locking on the man lying on the stretcher — blood soaking through the sheets, his arm gashed open, leg bruised and swollen.
Despite the injuries, he wore a strange calm on his face. Almost… intrigued.
His name was Saif.
A feared gang leader in the underground.
But to her… he was just a patient.
Mahi (calmly, professionally):
"How did you get hurt this badly?"
Saif (smirking slightly):
"Ah… Doctor. Injuries come and go. I'm used to it."
She glanced at him — sharp tone, reckless confidence — but there was something quiet in his eyes too. Something different.
Mahi (with a small smile):
"And what did you say your name was?"
Saif:
"Saif."
She nodded, turning to prepare the injection.
Mahi:
"I'll give you a painkiller… It'll hurt a little, but you'll be fine."
She leaned in, gently cleaning the wound with steady hands. Her touch was soft. Her focus unshaken.
Saif stared at her.
The way she moved. The calm in her voice. The warmth in her silence.
She didn't flinch at the sight of blood. She didn't ask unnecessary questions.
She just… cared.
And in that moment, he thought:
> "Even if she gave me poison... I'd take it without hesitation."
He watched her carefully, a faint smile creeping onto his lips.
Saif (whispering, almost to himself):
"You're strange, doctor… You give pain… and yet bring peace with it."
Mahi looked up briefly, confused for a second by his words — but then turned away.
She didn't realize it yet…
But something inside that man had just shifted.
Not because of pain.
Because of her.
🌑 Scene Title: "The Shadow Behind Her"
Present Time — 2:43 AM
Care & Love Hospital – ICU Corridor
The hallway was nearly empty, dimly lit by cold white lights. The world had gone quiet, except for the soft humming of machines and the low beeping from ICU monitors behind the glass.
Mahi stood alone.
Outside the ICU.
Outside his room.
Her white coat hung loosely on her tired frame. Her eyes—bloodshot. Her hands—trembling just slightly as they gripped the cold railing.
Inside, on the bed, Ahaan lay still. Machines breathing for him. His face pale. His pulse thread-thin.
Mahi whispered under her breath, tears welling in her eyes again.
> "Why did you come back like this, Ahaan...?????
She bit her lip to hold the sob in.
Behind her… someone watched.
A tall figure leaned silently against the wall at the far end of the hallway, hidden in the darkness where the light didn't reach.
He didn't move. He didn't blink.
It was Saif.
But not the man she had treated earlier with bloodied arms.
This was the man behind the shadow.
His eyes didn't leave her.
Not even for a second.
As he stared, his mind drifted back...
---
🌫️ Flashback Begins – Years Ago
Rain poured heavily in the streets of kanyakumari.
She ran across the road holding an umbrella, her hair wild, her laugh like wind chimes.
He stood across the road, soaked in the rain, never blinking.
> "She gives medicine to strangers and smiles like she knows their soul,"
"She feeds the orphans with her own hands..."
"She walks past me every day. Never sees me. But I see her. I always did."
He was the man in the shadows.
Behind trees. Across the road. Among the crowd. In temple courtyards. In hospital waiting areas.
> "I never touched her. Never dared. She was a prayer I never deserved to finish."
But he watched. Every day. Every year.
He saw her smile. Cry. Work. Dance in the rain when she thought no one saw.
Until one day...
> "He entered her life. Ahaan."
"And everything changed."
---
🌑 Present Time – Back in the Corridor
Saif clenched his jaw, fingers curling into fists in his coat pocket.
He looked at Mahi, who stood so broken… still in love with the man who lay dying.
> "You cry for him… but you never knew I bled for you long before he did."
"You were mine in silence. Mine in darkness. I watched you when the world didn't care."
"You saved lives. And without knowing… you saved me."
But he said nothing. Just stared.
His shadow stretched across the floor… but she never turned around.
Because like always…
He existed behind her. Not beside her.
And in that moment, as Ahaan fought for his life inside…
Saif stood in silence. Worshipping the woman who never knew he existed in the dark.