Love in Scutari

The footsteps of the enemy drew ever nearer. Suddenly, the tent hos pital became a blazing inferno. Burning canvas collapsed onto itself, smothering soldiers in a fiery embrace, their pain extinguished only as their souls ascended skyward. The acrid stench of burning fabric and charred flesh filled the air, suffocating every breath and revealing the full horror of the catastrophe. With tears streaming down his cheeks, Ahmet Cemal staggered away from the flattened area of smoldering tents. His mind raced anxiously to thoughts of Sevket Süreyya and Fatmira, the compassionate nurse who had given him a fleeting taste of hope. "Had they escaped this nightmare?" he wondered, as he cautiously pressed forward, leaving behind the ruined eamp. Ahead lay the dense, wooded area where Turkish soldiers desperately held their ground. It was the final refuge the last sanctuary for survivors fleeing the burning hospital tents.