INT. HOSPITAL CAFETERIA – NIGHT
The hospital is hushed. Just past midnight. Overhead lights buzz softly as Mahi and Saif sit across from one another at a quiet corner table, holding warm cups of coffee in their hands.
The moment feels still. Rare. Uncomplicated.
MAHI (softly):
"There's something about hospital coffee after midnight. Tastes terrible, but somehow… comforting."
SAIF (smirking gently):
"Maybe it's not the coffee. Maybe it's the company."
She chuckles, eyes soft with warmth.
MAHI:
"That sounds dangerously close to cheesy."
SAIF:
"Only if you don't mean it."
A silence falls — but it's not awkward. It's easy. Familiar.
MAHI (sipping):
"You ever wish some moments could stretch a little longer?"
He watches her. Really watches her.
SAIF (quietly):
"Every day."
Just as she lowers her cup, a nurse steps in through the doorway, walking calmly toward them. No rush. No panic.
NURSE (softly):
"Dr. Mahi, sorry to disturb you."
Mahi straightens slightly. Saif remains still, but his gaze sharpens.
NURSE:
"There's a woman outside asking for permission to visit ICU-3."
Mahi frowns just a little.
MAHI:
"ICU-3? The restricted one?"
NURSE (nodding gently):
"Yes, ma'am. She said she wants to see the patient personally. And… she used his real name."
A pause.
NURSE:
"She said she's here for Ahaan."
The name hovers in the air — soft, but heavy. Mahi doesn't move. Her fingers curl slightly around the cup.
Saif doesn't flinch. He just looks down at his coffee for a moment… then back at her.
He knows that name.
He knows what it means to her.
But he says nothing.
MAHI (quietly, calmly):
"Is she waiting outside the ICU?"
NURSE:
"Yes. She's not making a scene. Just asked if she could speak to you or be allowed five minutes with the patient."
Mahi nods slowly, processing.
MAHI (softly):
"Alright. I'll go see her."
She stands, carefully. Her expression is unreadable — not shaken, not composed. Somewhere in between.
She doesn't look at Saif. She doesn't have to.
But he watches her.
And for the first time, Saif doesn't feel like the man beside her.
He feels like the man being left behind.
SAIF (gently, without asking):
"You'll be okay?"
MAHI (pausing at the door):
"I don't know."
(beat)
"But I have to see."
She leaves, footsteps echoing into the corridor.
Saif sits alone, coffee cooling in his hand, the storm quietly stirring in his chest — because he already knows.
Ahaan isn't just a name.
He's the chapter that never really ended.
And now, it's been reopened.