Dr. Kavya Malhotra, First‑Person POV

Dawn arrived with a brittle hush over Leh, as though the world itself hesitated before unfolding. I slipped into my clinic robes and checked my reflection in the tent window—eyes rimmed with fatigue, hair escaping its braid. Today was the first day of the Siachen rotational shift: six new officers would arrive to relieve the medevac teams, and I'd run intake interviews all morning. In the afternoon, I was to lead a group session on coping with extended separation—ironic, given my own restless heart.