Zulekha

AN Unexpected Encounter

Once upon a time, in a small village in Afghanistan, there lived a girl named Zulekha. She was beautiful, kind, and brave. Zulekha grew up in a world of war and conflict, but she always dreamed of a peaceful future

A nurse by profession Zulekha was committed to serve mankind in a country torn apart by war and destruction.

Eldest of four sisters Zulekha had alot of responsibilities, her father had passed away when she was twelve, with no male support in the family she had no choice but to support her family financially and in many other ways. Though Zulekha's mother tried her best to support the family it was very difficult at times.

With no one to turn to often the family would go without a decent meal for days, but they had each other which was great comfort.

Zulekha's aunt was the one who suggested a nursing career would be a good way to help the family and serve humanity at the same time.

Zulekha was intelligent and hardworking and easily sailed through her nursing course. At times it was a challenge with all the chaos of civil war around her. But she had got used to it as she knew she had to be strong for her family.

Life as a nurse has been challenging but rewarding for her, sleepless nights is a norm. The country being at the brink of war and civil unrest she has seen all sorts of patients from wounded soldiers to innocent civilians.

It was a Sunday afternoon and Zulekha had been on duty for twenty-four hours, she could hardly concentrate when suddenly she could hear commotion in the far end of the hospital.

As she rushed down the hospital corridor, she saw a wounded soldier sitting alone in a corner. His uniform was tattered, and his face was etched with pain. She approached him and asked if he needed any assistance. He looked up at her with tired eyes, and in that moment, their eyes met. There was an instant spark of recognition, as if they had known each other for a lifetime. Despite the chaos of the hospital, they were lost in their own world, captivated by each other's presence.

She quickly arranged the ward boy to help her put the wounded soldier on the stretcher and take him to the ER.

Despite his injuries, the soldier is charming and witty, and Zulekha is drawn to him immediately. The soldier introduces himself as Jacob a British soldier on a peace keeping mission.

Zulekha, with her years of experience as a nurse, knew just what to do. She rushed to Jacob's side and began to assess his injury. She saw that the bullet had pierced his leg and had caused significant damage to the bone and tissue. She knew that he needed immediate surgery if he was to have any chance of surviving.

Zulekha sprang into action. She called for a doctor and prepared the operating room. She gathered all the supplies she would need for the surgery, and with the help of other nurses, she carried Jacob to the operating table.

For hours, she worked tirelessly to repair Jacob's injured leg. She carefully cleaned the wound and reconstructed the damaged tissue. Finally, after several hours of surgery, Zulekha was able to close the wound and stabilize Jacob's leg.

But the work didn't stop there. Zulekha stayed with Jacob through the night, monitoring his vital signs and administering pain medication. She held his hand and comforted him when he woke up in pain. Over the next several weeks she worked tirelessly to help Jacob recover. She changed his bandages, administered medication, and provided emotional support.

Zulekha had asked Jacob numerous times if he wanted to contact any of his family members.

She noticed he would get sad and anxious at the same time whenever she asked him the same question, as she didn't want to upset him, she stopped asking.

As Jacob's leg started to heal, he was discharged from the hospital and sent back to the front lines. Zulekha was sad to see him go but felt proud to have been a part of his recovery.

As Jacob was discharged from hospital he reluctantly asked for Zulekha's number, at first, she was hesitant but deep in her heart she wanted to exchange numbers. She felt a deep sense of relief that she would be able to stay in touch with him.