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There are secret universes that exist between and within us. A large number of dimensions that surround us, but we don’t have the ability to perceive them. Complex, sophisticated, and elaborate realities with foundations of their own, whose impact is yet to be named, only felt.
Worlds between worlds, some might say.
They also say there are secret worlds that can exist between two people. A shared, private language, an unspoken connection that orbits their interactions, that draws their souls together.
Samira Mohan never believed that to be true. Until she met Jack Abbot.
There was a secret world the first time they worked together. How he paid attention to her every word, hazel eyes locked in her face. Interested, curious, a glint of fascination as she presented the case and her treatment plan. How, without even saying a word, he made her feel understood, valued as a physician. Like what she had to say mattered.
There was another one that emerged years later, when he left her a copy of a case report from South Korea. A thickening of this new dimension when she returned the paper to him, now filled with bright, colorful marks and post-its, passionate words written all over the margins. One that only grew stronger, as this became their most intimate tradition.
And, months later, when he trusted her enough to perform the procedure described in that first article. When her confidence was faltering for a second, fear and insecurity dominating her senses, and he looked at her—as if he really saw her, past the hesitation, past the spiraling thoughts running through her mind. When his unwavering gaze said more than words ever could. When his encouraging nod powered her with the strength and belief that she could actually do it. A trust that made her feel alive, undefeatable.
Another private world came to life when he drove her home for the first time. Born in the way they stared at each other, when he parked in front of her apartment complex. Neither of them ready to let the other go. Or to take the first step towards uncharted territory.
The most powerful world yet only came seven months later, on that fateful 4th of July. One that started to take shape in the vulnerability in her voice as she talked about Mr. Diaz, how helpless and desperate she felt.
Which was followed by a quiet glow, the one that fully ignited the flames of a new reality for her—for them—the second he offered a welcoming ear, a safe space where she could open up without the fear of reprimand. When he didn't question her desire and need to help her patient, and instead encouraged and provided the help she so desperately craved. When she tended to the wound on his back. When he trusted her enough to do it. “Our little secret”, she had said.
It only deepened from then, gathering strength and taking on a new form when she kissed him in the parking lot one week later, after he told her he had written her a letter of recommendation. A world that blossomed from shared glances, quiet understanding, into something tangible—to rumpled sheets, synchronized breaths, and bodies drawn together as one.
A new dimension unlocked when, five months later, she received the confirmation that she had been accepted for a fellowship in California. A silent question dangling in her eyes as she looked at him.
A smaller yet dazzling world of its own gazed back at her. Admiration, enchantment, love—all carved in the gold-speckled galaxy of his eyes. A gentle curve in his lips as he said, “For as long as you have me, I’ll follow you everywhere you want me to, Samira.”
And at their farewell party, when their eyes met across the room. A powerful force that pulls them towards one another, even as they talk and laugh with other people. A secret reality that exists right there, between exchanged looks and soft smiles, in public, completely unbeknownst to everyone else. As if the gods had stopped the turning of the clock just for them.
And later, a secret world in their shared home. In lazy mornings, in the meals they make, in the walks to work, in every look, in every moment spent together.
A world that is only theirs to keep, to cherish, to live. For eternity.