Our Paths Will Never Cross Again

In my third year at the front as a military doctor, a bomb dropped from an aircraft struck our makeshift medical station. I ran desperately toward the military vehicle outside, trying to find my fiancé, Robert. Then I saw him barreling toward the medical station through the incoming fire. Tears immediately filled my eyes. But when he was barely fifteen feet away, he suddenly swerved and drove straight past me. He was heading toward Nora. He threw open the door, reached out, and pulled Nora from the ground into the vehicle before wrapping his arms tightly around her. He looked straight through me, even though I had been standing directly in his path only moments earlier. Someone shouted hoarsely, “Run! The second shell is coming—” The warning was swallowed by the explosion. Robert turned his head. Our eyes met. For the first time, I saw genuine fear in his eyes. The next moment, the shock wave hurled me through the air. When I slammed into the ground, the last thing I saw was a single tear sliding down the face of Lieutenant Robert, the hardened soldier known for never showing weakness. Yet his first instinct was still to step on the accelerator and drive Nora toward safety. As blood ran into my eyes and blurred my vision, memories from the past three years flashed through my mind. If I lived to see tomorrow’s sunrise, Robert could go his way, and I would go mine. Our paths would never cross again. Chapter 1 I woke to the bright white glare of a penlight in my eyes. Dr. John Hughes was checking my vital signs. When he saw that I was awake, he let out a sigh of relief. “You’re finally awake. You’ve been unconscious for an entire day and night. Thank God.” “Aside from a concussion and the wound on your head, there doesn’t appear to be anything seriously wrong. You were extremely lucky.” My eyes instinctively turned toward the entrance of the tent. John immediately knew who I was looking for. He stood up. “Don’t worry. I’ll get Lieutenant Robert right away.” I shook my head to stop him. “Don’t go looking for him.” John looked at me in confusion. Everyone in our unit knew how much I relied on Robert. Normally, I was the doctor responsible for caring for the wounded. But whenever I was injured, I allowed myself to ask Robert to take care of me. I had always cherished those opportunities to be close to him. But this time, even though the pain had drained the color from my face and left my entire body trembling, I refused to see him. John tried to explain. “Actually, Lieutenant Robert stayed by your side all morning. It was only a moment ago that Nora sent a guard to call for him…” “It doesn’t matter anymore,” I interrupted. At that moment, the tent flap was thrown open, and Robert rushed inside. A faint scent of rose essential oil clung to him. It was Nora’s most precious possession. Even with John standing there, Robert came straight to me and cupped my face in both hands. “Catherine, can you see me clearly? Does your head hurt?” “Don’t worry. The wound is hidden beneath your hair. Your face wasn’t injured.” My eyes stung. Once, this was exactly what I had wanted from him. I had wanted him to show me this kind of concern. But most of the time, he lectured me like a rigid traditionalist who valued rules above everything else. “Catherine, you are a soldier. Other people need my help more than you do.” “And you are my fiancée. If I give you special treatment, people will think I’m being unfair.” “You are a doctor. You can handle a minor injury like this yourself.” I had always believed he was right. That was why I handled everything on my own and rarely asked him for help. Only when I was injured did I allow myself to be a little selfish and ask for some tenderness from my fiancé. I thought that was simply who Robert was—a man who strictly followed his principles. Until Nora appeared six months ago. She was the younger sister of our comrade Mark. Mark had died saving Robert. Before he died, he left Robert with one final request. “Find my sister and take her somewhere safe.” Because of that promise, we came to this town, found Nora, and brought her with us. Robert originally planned to send her to a relief station behind the front lines. At the time, it was the only place that could still be considered safe. But Nora refused. She clutched Robert’s sleeve and cried. “Lieutenant Robert, the safest place for me is by your side. I don’t trust anyone else to protect me.” “Wherever you are is the safest place. You promised my brother.” Seeing how helpless she looked, Robert finally gave in. “Then stay with us until your injuries heal. After that, you can remain in the local safe zone.” A month later, Nora had recovered. I suggested that she leave the military unit. But she wrapped both arms around Robert’s and started crying again. She said she had studied psychology and could help soldiers suffering from combat-related trauma. She wanted to stay and continue fighting alongside us. Robert spent the entire night thinking it over. Nora spent the entire night crying. In the end, Robert agreed to something that clearly violated the rules. He said our unit truly needed a psychological counselor. When I objected to allowing an untrained civilian to remain with us on the battlefield, he said: “Catherine, you are a soldier. You cannot understand Nora’s state of mind. She only feels safe when she is by my side.” “I need to take care of her.” So that was his idea of principle. Rules he refused to break for me could be broken without hesitation for Nora. When she said she was afraid of the dark, he ignored the risk of enemy detection and allowed her to keep a lamp burning throughout the night. When she said she was cold, he disregarded our marching speed, stopped the entire unit, and personally built a sled for her. Then he pulled her himself so that her feet would not have to sink into the knee-deep snow. No matter how many times I questioned him in private, he insisted that he was not giving her special treatment. He said Nora was simply too fragile. Everyone else was stronger than she was, so it only appeared as though she was receiving more care. Every time, he gave me the same explanation. “I promised Mark that I would keep Nora safe.” I clutched the engagement ring hidden beneath my collar and forced myself to believe him. I comforted myself with the promise Robert had made when he proposed. Once the war ended, we would return home, get married, have children, and live an ordinary but happy life together. But this time, when faced with a choice between life and death, he chose Nora without the slightest hesitation. That was when I finally realized that his heart had long since turned toward another woman. Chapter 2 I raised my head and looked into those blue eyes I had once loved so deeply. “You saw me.” Robert looked at me helplessly. “You’re throwing another tantrum, Catherine. I chose to save Nora first because she was weaker than you.” “And I’ve told you many times. I promised Mark I would protect her.” I was done. I no longer wanted a fiancé who kept choosing to care for another woman. I said nothing more, and the room fell silent. Robert seemed to think I had finally accepted his explanation. He was about to sit beside me when the radio on his chest crackled with Nora’s tearful voice. “Robert, where did you go?” “I woke up and couldn’t find you. I was so scared.” I stared at him in disbelief. “Radios are already in short supply. You gave one to her?” He ignored my question and pressed the communication button. There was a tenderness in his eyes that even he did not seem to notice. “I’ll be right back. Be good and wait for me.” After releasing the button, he looked at me as though his decision were perfectly reasonable. “Nora was badly frightened and has developed PTSD. She may need me at any time, so I gave her a radio.” Even as he explained, he was already heading toward the entrance. “Catherine, you’re a soldier. You can handle an injury like this yourself. I need to get back to Nora.” “Her psychological trauma is far worse than yours. She needs me more.” I watched him leave. My heart felt colder than the freezing wind outside the tent. The next day, the siege around our position was lifted, and the fighting temporarily subsided. As soon as communication with the outside world was restored, I sent two telegrams. The first was a request to transfer back to a rear hospital as medical support. The second was sent to my father, asking him to end my engagement to Robert. A reply would take several days, which would give my injuries enough time to stabilize before the journey. My nurse, Emily, had followed me from the rear hospital all the way to the front lines. She was also my closest friend. As soon as I was strong enough to walk, I went looking for her. There were so many wounded soldiers that it took me a long time to find her in a makeshift medical station set up inside an abandoned warehouse. The moment I saw her, tears rushed into my eyes. Emily’s left hand was gone. The explosion had torn it away, and large patches of blood stained the bandages wrapped around the wound. I rushed toward her, but my hands stopped halfway. I did not know where I could touch her without causing more pain. My lips trembled, but I could not force out a single word. Emily wiped away my tears with her right hand and smiled brightly. “Catherine, we’re both still alive. That’s what matters.” “I still have one hand. We can keep fighting together!” I sobbed as I stroked her face. I knew why Emily had followed me to the front. She had come because she wanted to stay by my side. She had no parents and had long regarded me as her older sister. To me, she was family, too. “Emily, let’s go back to the rear hospital. Let’s go home.” Emily stared at me in surprise. “What about Robert? You love him so much. Can you really bear to leave him?” Everyone in the unit knew how deeply I loved Robert. No one believed I would ever leave him. Robert himself had always believed the same thing. Our families had arranged our first meeting. I fell in love with the handsome officer the moment I saw him. I never tried to hide my feelings, but he rejected me. He told me he had his own ideals. He wanted to devote himself to the war, defend his country, and protect civilians who could not protect themselves. He said he did not want any weaknesses, and if he died on the battlefield, he did not want to leave me a widow. Instead of making me give up, his rejection only made me fall more deeply in love with him. I chose to support his ideals. Against my family’s wishes, I left behind the safe, privileged life I had known. I endured brutal training, joined the military, and became a military doctor. After surviving battle after battle, I earned military honors of my own. Gradually, I began to see admiration in Robert’s eyes. Eventually, he accepted my love. During one attack, Robert was buried beneath the rubble. I dug through the debris with my bare hands for hours, refusing to stop until I found him and pulled him out. He held my torn, bleeding hands, deeply moved, his eyes filled with love. “A doctor’s hands are precious. You should never hurt yourself like this.” I leaned against his chest, overwhelmed with relief at having the most precious person in my life back in my arms. “Nothing in this world is more precious to me than you.” Chapter 3 That was when Robert proposed to me. It happened in a forest far from the rest of the unit, on a dark night when we were completely alone. He promised that once the war ended, we would get married. He would take good care of me, and we would live an ordinary but happy life together. But now, he had given the care he once promised me to another woman. After talking things over with Emily, I returned to my hospital bed. Exhaustion quickly pulled me into sleep. The explosions, the cries of the wounded, and the scorching waves of heat surrounded me again. The comrades who had died appeared in my dreams one after another. They groaned in pain and begged me to save them. But I could not. I could not save everyone. They cursed me, blamed me, and tore at me. I woke screaming, pounding my fists against my head. People carrying trauma from war were often too afraid to face it. We hid it from everyone as a form of self-punishment, as though silence could somehow ease the guilt. I had seen the trauma treatment plans Nora had written. Her hollow, shallow reassurances meant nothing. “It’s okay. It wasn’t your fault.” “Everything will be fine once the war is over.” “They have gone to heaven. They won’t blame you.” After that, sleep was impossible. I put on my coat and walked out of the makeshift medical station. The snow had stopped, and the moon hung high in the deep blue sky. A campfire flickered near the edge of the forest in the distance. I slowly walked toward it. Five or six people sat loosely around the fire. Robert and Nora were together, her head nestled against his shoulder. John was the first to greet me when he saw me approaching. “Catherine, come over here. How are you feeling?” After a brief hesitation, I walked over and sat down. “I’m fine.” There was no point making things more complicated. I would be leaving in a few days anyway. John took a clear glass ampoule from his pocket and handed it to Robert. “Robert, the morphine you asked for. It’s the last one.” Robert accepted it. “Thanks, brother.” John waved him off. “If you ask for something, you get first priority. No need to thank me.” Robert gently handed the ampoule to Nora, whose face lit up with delight. “Look. Now you can sleep well tonight without your nightmares waking you.” My fingers rose to the wound on the back of my head, where I had received twelve stitches. Rage nearly swallowed me. I remembered John telling me while he stitched the wound that there was no morphine left. So he had been saving it for Nora. I had been forced to endure the pain without relief, my eyes bloodshot from the effort. Emily had lost her hand in the explosion. Even when the pain left her pale and trembling, she had not been given any morphine either. I could not listen anymore. These people made me sick. I stood and walked away without another word. Robert followed me and caught my arm, frowning. “Catherine, are you throwing another tantrum?” “Can you stop targeting Nora all the time? She’s different from us. She needs more care.” Nora followed behind him, lowering her head as tears slipped down her cheeks. “I’m sorry. I don’t deserve this. Give it to Dr. Catherine instead.” She threw the ampoule into the snow, then ran away sobbing and wiping at her tears. Robert shoved me away, furious. “Catherine, do you really have to bully Nora like this?” “She’s just a helpless girl who needs someone to protect her!” He turned, picked up the morphine from the snow, and chased after Nora. I watched him hurry away. My heart had already gone numb. There was not a trace of attachment left. Chapter 4 Before dawn, while the sky was still dark, a telegram arrived. My engagement to Robert had been formally dissolved. I was free to go home. I left the engagement ring on the bedside table, picked up my luggage, and strode outside. Emily was already waiting for me in the vehicle. Together, we drove away from the snow-covered forest. As the freezing wind swept powdered snow through the window, I watched the scenery pass and felt the past three years fading behind me like a dream. Halfway through the journey, we were forced to stop. An avalanche had struck an hour earlier and completely blocked the road ahead. It would take at least three days to clear a path. With no other choice, we returned to camp. The moment I stepped out of the vehicle, Robert blocked my path at the entrance to the camp. His eyes were bloodshot as he demanded through clenched teeth: “Catherine! What did you mean by leaving your engagement ring behind?” “Were you trying to threaten me?” I had no desire to argue with him. I tried to walk around him and return to camp. “No.” Robert caught my wrist and yanked me toward him. “Stop denying it. All you wanted was for me to come after you and comfort you, wasn’t it?” “Otherwise, why would you pretend to leave only to come back?” Looking at the man I had loved for three years, I felt only sadness. He truly believed I would never leave him. Meeting his eyes, I told him seriously once again: “Lieutenant Robert, I already told you. Our engagement is over.” Robert only smiled and placed several pieces of chocolate in my hand. “All right. Stop saying things like that just because you’re jealous.” “I’ll arrange a radio for you, too. That way, we can communicate whenever anything happens. I’ll even tell you everything I do in advance. Would that make you happy?” Nora stood behind him, wearing his officer’s coat and holding an entire bag of chocolates. With supplies so scarce at the front, Robert must have called in a great many favors to get her that much chocolate. Only then did I realize how completely he had misunderstood me. Our engagement was already over, and I would be leaving again in a few days. There was no point arguing with him anymore. I walked around him and headed straight toward Nora. Robert immediately called after me in alarm. “Don’t take Nora’s! If you want more, I’ll find a way to get some for you!” Instead, I dropped the chocolates he had given me into Nora’s bag. She could have the chocolates. She could have the man, too. I looked up at Nora and smiled calmly. “You can have all of it.” Over the next few days, the radio crackled to life at all hours. “Reporting in. Nora’s PTSD flared up just now, so as commanding officer, I provided routine support.” “Reporting in. A mouse got into Nora’s quarters, so as commanding officer, I provided routine assistance.” “Reporting in. Nora wanted hazelnuts to make jam, so as commanding officer, I provided routine assistance.” ... Emily looked baffled. “What exactly is Lieutenant Robert trying to accomplish?” I shook my head. “He doesn’t matter anymore. Just ignore him.” Emily tilted her face upward, anticipation shining in her eyes. “It’s nice knowing we can finally go home tomorrow.” Then she turned to me. “Do you think Lieutenant Robert will regret it after you leave?” I pulled her into my arms. “I’m not leaving because I want him to regret anything. I genuinely miss my family, and I want to go home.” The next morning, the same vehicle pulled up outside our quarters. Robert stood between me and the vehicle, his expression cold. “I’ve already gone this far for you. What more do you want from me?” Nora hurried over in tears and reached for me, her knees buckling as though she were about to kneel. “Dr. Catherine, please don’t leave. I won’t let Robert take care of me anymore. Would that be enough?” “Please, stay!” Robert immediately pulled her upright, his concern obvious, but his voice toward me was as cold as the snow. “You haven’t done anything wrong. You don’t need to beg her.” “If you insist on leaving, then don’t come back. Don’t expect me to come after you again!” I pushed past the two of them and climbed into the vehicle without hesitation. Robert watched the vehicle disappear into the distance. Catherine had not looked back even once. A sudden uneasiness rose inside him, though irritation quickly followed. Catherine had never behaved like this before. She had never challenged the limits of his patience again and again. She had always been understanding and supportive. Jealousy was her only flaw. Fine. When she came back, he would comfort her one more time. Maybe he would propose again in front of the entire unit. That should finally satisfy her. Robert took out the ring, already considering it a concession on his part, when the radio suddenly crackled. “Lieutenant Robert…” The static was so heavy that he could barely make out a woman’s voice. A faint smile crossed his face. Just as he had expected, Catherine had only been throwing a tantrum. Once her anger faded, she would come back to him on her own. Still unwilling to forgive his willful fiancée so easily, Robert answered coldly: “Regretting it already? Don’t expect me to come pick you up. Come back on your own.” The channel finally cleared, and Emily’s voice came through. “We were attacked by enemy deserters. Catherine pushed me out of the vehicle. By the time I caught up, all I found was the vehicle—burned to a blackened shell by a bomb!” Robert’s hand went slack. The ring slipped from his fingers and fell to the ground. The radio struck the ground beside it and shattered.