It was seven in the morning, and the hospital was starting to fill with murmurs and hurried footsteps. Anya was in her usual routine, reviewing patient files before starting her rounds. She had learned to adapt to the organized chaos of her environment, but that morning there was something different on her schedule: working with Ellen.
It had been a few weeks since the engineer arrived to implement an advanced AI-driven prosthetics system. Since then, they had exchanged a few words in meetings and briefings, but Ellen always kept a calculated distance, almost as if she were surrounded by an invisible wall. Anya was determined to get closer, not because it was necessary for the job, but because she sensed that behind that reserved attitude, there was someone worth getting to know.
First Encounter in Action
Anya arrived at the tech lab, an impeccably organized space with tools and devices that seemed straight out of a futuristic movie. Ellen was bent over a workbench, carefully adjusting the components of a prosthetic. The blue glow of the monitor illuminated her serious and focused face.
"Good morning, Ellen," Anya said with a warm smile, placing her tablet on the table.
Ellen didn’t look up from her work but gave a slight nod. "Good morning, Doctor."
"How's the model development going? Is there anything you need from me?" Anya asked as she observed the scattered tools on the table.
"Everything is under control," Ellen replied automatically, with an almost unsettling calmness. She adjusted the final piece and finally lifted her gaze to Anya. "Do you have the new scans of Curly? I need to make sure the measurements are accurate."
Anya pulled out her tablet and showed her the data. "Here you go. But if you need more details, I can personally explain what I found during the last consultation. Curly is making great progress thanks to the prosthetics."
As the days passed, Ellen began to open up more, not with words, but through small gestures: an unexpected comment, an occasional smile, even a sarcastic joke that left Anya laughing out loud. It wasn’t a rapid or dramatic transformation, but it was enough for both of them to understand they were building something unique.
Anya was persistent, but also patient. And Ellen, though reserved, couldn’t help but feel drawn to the warmth of the doctor. Together, they found comfort in the cracks of their souls, knowing they were not as alone as they once thought.
Ellen took the tablet, scanning the data without making eye contact. "That's good. Anything else?"
Ellen's coldness would have discouraged anyone else, but Anya wasn’t just anyone. She was used to dealing with reluctant patients and knew that there was more to this attitude. So she simply smiled.
"Nothing else, for now. Although I should give you credit where it's due. The prosthetics you designed are incredible. Curly can't stop talking about how they’ve changed his life."
Ellen furrowed her brow slightly, as if not accustomed to receiving compliments. "I’m just doing my job."
"And you're doing it well," Anya insisted before turning to leave. But she couldn’t help but add, "Though you should learn to accept a compliment now and then. They don’t bite, I promise."
Ellen didn’t respond, but Anya noticed the faintest curve at the corner of her lips before she returned to her work.
The Crack in the Wall
A couple of days later, Anya found Ellen in the break room for the tech staff. She was sitting alone, coffee in hand, her gaze lost on the screen of her tablet. Anya approached with her own coffee and sat beside her without asking for permission.
"I hope you don't mind me sitting here. You seem like you could use some company," she said with a kind smile.
Ellen slowly lowered the tablet, looking at Anya with the same bewildered expression she always had when someone broke her bubble of isolation. "What makes you think that?"
"Call it intuition. I’m a doctor, remember? I’m trained to notice when someone is more tense than usual."
Ellen sighed, as if deciding whether it was worth continuing the conversation. Finally, she put the tablet down and took a sip of her coffee. "Are you always this persistent?"
"Only when I think it’s worth it," Anya replied, direct but with a friendly tone that didn’t invite rejection.
Ellen studied her, as if searching for any trace of sarcasm or ulterior motives. She found nothing. That disarming honesty was something Anya was starting to notice, though Ellen wasn’t sure how she felt about it.
"Well, if you insist on sitting here, at least don’t try to pry personal information from me. I’m not one of those people who opens up easily."
"I already noticed that," Anya said with a small laugh, but quickly added, "You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to. Sometimes, it just helps to be with someone who doesn’t expect anything from you."
Ellen didn’t reply, but this was the first time she didn’t look away when Anya spoke.
Unexpected Connection
That same night, while they worked together on the final adjustments for a prosthetic, the atmosphere between them shifted slightly. Ellen seemed less tense, as if she had finally decided that Anya wasn’t a threat to her peace of mind. Anya, for her part, seized the moment to try something she had been wanting to do for days: understand Ellen a bit more.
"You know, you remind me of Curly in some ways," she said suddenly, without taking her eyes off the hologram projected in front of them.
Ellen raised an eyebrow. "Really? How am I supposed to take that?"
"It’s a compliment," Anya assured her with a smile. "Curly also has a… unique way of protecting himself. Always on the defensive, but deep down, he just wants to make sure he’s not hurt again."
Ellen fell silent, her hands stopping over the keyboard. "Curly and I don’t have anything in common," she murmured, but her tone lacked conviction.
Anya decided to risk a little more. "Maybe not in everything. But I think you both have scars you try to hide. Am I wrong?"
Ellen pursed her lips and looked away. For a few seconds, Anya feared she had crossed a line, but finally, Ellen spoke, though in a whisper. "Have you ever felt like if you talk about what's inside you… you’d break?"
The question took Anya by surprise, but she didn’t hesitate to respond. "Yes. Many times. But I found out that talking didn’t break me. On the contrary, it helped me rebuild myself."
Ellen nodded slowly, without looking at her. She didn’t say anything more, but Anya knew that, even if just a little, she had managed to break through Ellen’s wall.
As the days passed, Ellen began to open up more, not with words, but through small gestures: an unexpected comment, an occasional smile, even a sarcastic joke that left Anya laughing out loud. It wasn’t a rapid or dramatic transformation, but it was enough for both of them to understand they were building something unique.
Anya was persistent, but also patient. And Ellen, though reserved, couldn’t help but feel drawn to the warmth of the doctor. Together, they found comfort in the cracks of their souls, knowing they were not as alone as they once thought.