Dr. Kavya Malhotra, First‑Person POV

The morning sun sliced through the tent flap in pale blades as I arrived for my first session of the day. Outside, the Siachen wind had calmed to a restless breeze, scattering patches of dirty snow among the footprints in the mud. Inside, the heater hummed, and the familiar cavalry of gurneys and stretchers lined the canvas walls. I carried my leather satchel as though it contained my own heartbeat, my thumb grazing the cool metal of Shashwat's "lucky rupee" tucked inside.