His eyes met hers and the stage was set. He was a soldier and she was a nurse at the local hospital. While patrolling in one of the lonely streets of that border town during a fortunate ceasefire period, when the town used to sleep comfortably under a blanket of peace, he had seen her for the first time ever while she was indulging herself in her daily classical dance practice. The window was open and he stood there, looking at the various intricate expressions forming on her beautiful face. As her slender and tall body moved around in the central part of that room with no audience, the musical sounds emanating from her dancing anklets sent out an invitation to him as she rhythmically swayed her feet just inches above the floor. He observed her and a seed of desire was sown in his heart at that moment. He had never known love before in his life as he had lived his life running from one orphanage to another, torn apart in finding the meaning of love and life. All he knew was desire, assuming it to be the same as love, unaware of the fact that love was all about shedding your desires. She stopped and felt him looking at her, scared at first and then instantly comfortable in that soldier's curious and careless gaze. He looked like a baby to her, a small sapling needing the nourishment of love. They stood looking at each other and both knew that they had to be together. At that same time the soldier received an announcement on his walkie-talkie mentioning about the observation of enemy movement on the other side of the border. He was summoned instantly. Any other time, he would have given no thought to this and began following the orders instantly but not now. He was a changed man. He had tasted a desire so strong that he was sure was love. He wanted peace in his life now. He didn't want to care for the impending rain of violence that was to fall on that small town. The outer violence was not more important than the inner peace. Should he run away with her? Or, should he go away to complete his duty towards his country? In that instant, a war began inside him amidst the war that was to start outside. She smiled at him and at the same time the voice of the announcement turned more worried pleading all the troops to instantly gather at their firing posts. Her smile had locked him and he muted the walkie-talkie and started walking towards the window. She sensed the love emitting out of that formerly brave soldier's face and came near the window, unlocking it, opening it to meet him and talk to him. Though he was walking nearer, he felt a round of questions being shot at his heart by his more rational mind. As he moved forward ignoring all those questions, both of them heard the loud sound of an airplane not so high above them. Both looked upwards but before the rational mind of the soldier could fathom everything, the enemy plane had already dropped a bomb and as he came back out of his dreamy world, he could see other planes flying in the sky above him filling up that good sunny afternoon. An instant later, the bomb had exploded near this nascent stage of love and had started a violent fire, that acted as death to this peaceful love that was to blossom if the war had not come yet.