A veil of hearts

•Fragments of frost & memory•

1

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Aina jolted awake, her heart pounding in her chest. The echo of howling wind still rang in her ears, and she could almost feel the biting cold on her skin. Disoriented, she blinked rapidly, her eyes adjusting to the darkness of her bedroom.

Her hand trembled as she reached for the lamp on her nightstand, flooding the room with a soft, warm glow. Aina took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing pulse. The familiar surroundings of her Istanbul apartment slowly came into focus, grounding her in reality.

"It was just a dream," she whispered to herself, running a hand through her sweat-dampened hair. "Just a dream."

But it felt so real. The blinding white of the snow, the sting of icy wind, the overwhelming fear of being lost in a foreign place. And then... warmth. Safety. A figure emerging from the storm, strong arms guiding her to shelter.

Aina frowned, concentrating hard on the fading images. There was something about the soldier in her dream, something tantalizingly familiar. But try as she might, she couldn't recall a name or a face. It was like grasping at smoke.

With a frustrated sigh, she swung her legs over the side of the bed. These dreams had been plaguing her for months now, always the same scenario with slight variations. Each time, she woke with the nagging sensation that she was forgetting something important.

Aina walked to the window, pushing aside the curtain to look out at the quiet Istanbul street below. No snow, no howling wind. Just a peaceful, mild night.

"Why do I keep dreaming of a place I've never been?" she murmured, pressing her forehead against the cool glass.

The doctors had told her she was suffering from an unusual form of amnesia. Entire months of her life were missing, with no explanation for where she had been or what she had done. Her last clear memory was of preparing for a work trip, but after that... nothing until she found herself back in her apartment, with no recollection of having traveled anywhere.

Aina turned away from the window, her eyes falling on the small Turkish coffee pot sitting on her dresser. For some reason, the sight of it brought a lump to her throat, though she couldn't explain why.

As she made her way back to bed, Aina resolved to call her therapist in the morning. Maybe it was time to try a new approach to recovering her lost memories. Because deep down, she knew the recurring dream wasn't just a nightmare.

It was a key to unlocking whatever had happened during those missing months. And somewhere in that swirling snow was a person – a soldier – who had meant something to her. Someone whose face and name remained frustratingly out of reach.

Aina lay back down, leaving the lamp on. As she drifted off to sleep, the image of a snowy landscape she had never seen and a man in uniform she had never met floated through her mind. She knew they were important, but their significance remained a mystery, lost in the blizzard of her fractured memories.

< next day >

Aina sighed, turning away from the window and glancing at the clock. It was barely 5 AM, but she knew sleep wouldn't come again. With a mix of resignation and determination, she decided to start her day early.

As she moved around her apartment, preparing coffee and gathering her things, Aina's eyes fell on the stack of documents on her desk. Admission papers for Almira University stared back at her, a stark reminder of the year she had lost and her decision to resume her medical education.

She picked up the acceptance letter, running her fingers over the embossed letterhead. "Third year of med school," she murmured to herself, "even though it should have been my fourth."

The words of her uncle echoed in her mind: "You had an accident, Aina. You lost a year of school because of it." But try as she might, she couldn't remember any accident. Just the recurring dream of a blizzard, white and overwhelming, with no other details - no car crash, no fall, nothing but swirling snow and biting cold.

Aina's brow furrowed as she tried, once again, to piece together the fragments of her memory. The doctors had assured her that the memory loss was likely temporary, a result of the trauma she'd experienced. But what trauma? The doctors had told her she had gone to North America for a research-related program and had gotten into an accident there. But why was she seeing a blizzard? She had vague recollections of planning a trip to North America for research, but everything after that was a blank.

As she packed her bag for the day, Aina's mind wandered to the challenges ahead. Transferring to Almira University after losing a year wouldn't be easy, especially with her ongoing struggle with the gaps in her memory. But she felt a strange sense of rightness about the decision, as if Almira might hold answers she didn't even know she was seeking.

She paused at her bookshelf, fingers tracing the spines of medical textbooks. Her eyes caught on a small, unfamiliar notebook wedged between two larger volumes. Frowning, Aina pulled it out. The cover was blank, but as she flipped it open, she gasped. Inside, in her own handwriting, was a single line:

"Find him."

Aina's hand trembled as she stared at the words. Had she written this before or after the supposed accident? And who was "him"? Was there someone in her dreams beyond the blinding snow?

////
Joshua Bennett bounded into the lecture hall, his white coat crisp and new, a stethoscope draped casually around his neck. At 25, he was barely older than some of his students, but his confident gait and infectious smile conveyed an authority beyond his years.

"Good morning, future doctors!" he called out, his voice echoing in the vast room. "Today, we're diving into the fascinating world of cardiology. But first, who can tell me the difference between systole and diastole?"

As hands shot up, Joshua's phone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced at it quickly – a text from his best friend, Mike: "Trivia night still on for Thursday? We need your random medical facts!"

Joshua grinned, looking forward to the weekly hangout with his friends. He typed a quick "Count me in! Prepare to be amazed" before turning his attention back to the class.

"Excellent answers, everyone. Now, let's get to the heart of the matter – pun absolutely intended," he said with a wink, earning a few chuckles. As he launched into his lecture, his enthusiasm was palpable. Here he was, living his dream – teaching at Almira University while pursuing his medical career.

Later, as students filed out, one lingered behind. "Dr. Bennett? I was wondering if you had any advice for balancing med school with, well, having a life?"

Joshua's eyes lit up. "Funny you should ask. I'm actually heading to Peru next month for a medical volunteer program. It's all about finding what energizes you outside of medicine. For me, it's travel and spending time with friends. Speaking of which..." He glanced at his watch. "I've got a pickup basketball game to get to. But drop by my office hours, and we can chat more!"

As he packed up his things, Joshua felt a surge of excitement. After basketball, he'd have just enough time to finalize his travel plans for Peru before meeting his sister for their weekly sibling dinner. Teaching, healing, exploring the world, and surrounded by friends – at 25, Joshua was embracing every moment of his vibrant, single life.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

My dear readers, I am going to call you all Frosts. This is my very first story, and I hope you will give some of your precious time to me and my newbie story.
Spoiler alert - Little did Aina know that the blizzard in her dreams wasn't from North America at all, but from the harsh winter landscape of Finland - a country she had no idea she'd visited, where secrets of her lost year lay buried beneath the snow.

GOODBYE FOR TODAY