Until My Last Breath — A Love Story in War

Until My Last Breath — A Love Story in War4

The war started without warning.

One evening, the sky was full of kites and children laughing in the streets. The next morning, there were sirens, smoke, and fear. Everything changed in one night.

Aisha and Karan had been friends since childhood. They lived in the same town, went to the same school, and even fought over silly things like who would ride the bicycle first. Everyone joked that one day they would get married, but they always laughed and said, “We’re just best friends.”

But after the war began, friendship became their only strength.

Their town was no longer safe. Bombs fell every few days. People were packing whatever they could carry and leaving. Aisha’s parents had died in an airstrike last month. Karan’s father had gone missing in the army. They were both alone.

One night, their neighbor warned them, “The soldiers are coming. They will take young people away. You both must run.”

Without thinking twice, Aisha and Karan packed a small bag and left the town together. They didn’t know where they would go. They just knew one thing:

They had to stay alive.

On the Road to Nowhere

They walked for days through empty fields and broken villages. There was no internet, no phone network, no news. Only silence and destroyed buildings.

Sometimes, they found kind strangers who shared food. Sometimes, they slept in abandoned houses. Sometimes, they just sat under the stars, not knowing if they would live to see the next morning.

One night, while they were sitting near a broken wall, Aisha said softly:

“Karan… do you think we will survive?”

He didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he held her hand gently — for the first time in his life.

“We will,” he said. “As long as we are together.”

Aisha looked at him.

In that moment, she realized something.

She didn’t just need Karan as a friend.

She needed him as her home.


Love in Silence

They never said “I love you.”
There were no flowers, no long romantic speeches.

But their actions spoke louder:

If Aisha was cold, Karan would give her his jacket.

If Karan was tired, Aisha would carry both bags.

When she cried silently at night, he pretended not to hear — but placed his hand over hers until she stopped shaking.


Love doesn’t always need words.

Sometimes, it’s just the warmth of someone walking beside you in a cold, dying world.


---

The Bridge

One evening, they reached an old broken bridge over a river. On the other side was a safe zone — a refugee camp protected by international forces.

“We made it!” Aisha cried with joy.

But just as they began crossing the bridge, they heard gunshots.

A group of armed soldiers appeared from behind. They shouted something.

“They think we are spies!” Karan whispered, pulling her forward.

They started running.

Bullets hit the wooden planks behind them. The bridge began to shake.

“Run faster!” Karan yelled.

Aisha’s foot slipped on a broken plank. She fell to her knees.

Karan immediately stopped and helped her up. But at that moment, a bullet hit Karan in the leg.

He collapsed with a cry.

“Karan!” Aisha screamed, trying to lift him.

Blood was pouring fast. He tried to stand but couldn’t.

The soldiers were getting closer.

“Go!” he shouted. “Run to the other side!”

“No!” she cried, tears streaming down her face. “I won’t leave you!”

He grabbed her face with trembling hands.

“Aisha… if you stay… we both die. If you go… at least one of us lives.”

She shook her head wildly. “I need you!”

He smiled weakly, even while in pain.

“You do. But you need to live more. For me.”

She held his hand tightly. “Say you’ll follow me!”

He hesitated — then whispered:

“I will… just go.”

Tears blurred her eyes, but she stood up.

She ran.

She ran with all her strength as Karan watched her cross the bridge.

She turned one last time.

He was still smiling at her.

The Last Song

The guards at the safe zone saw her and pulled her in quickly. She tried to look back but they wouldn’t let her.

She screamed his name again and again.

But the sound of gunfire drowned her voice.

That night, in the refugee camp, she sat silently, holding the friendship bracelet Karan had given her years ago.

Someone nearby was playing a soft tune on a flute.

And she remembered something he once said:

“If I ever die before you… don’t remember my death. Remember every stupid joke I cracked that made you laugh.”

She smiled through her tears.

Epilogue — One Year Later

The war finally ended.

Aisha now worked as a nurse in the same refugee camp. She helped those who came injured, hungry, and hopeless — just like she once was.

Every evening, she went to the river and placed a flower near the bridge.

She spoke softly to the water:

> “I survived because of you. I live for you.”


People say first love never dies.

But some loves are more than romance.

Some loves become strength.