**Selected stories from 25 Kes & 26 Kes, translated into English**

A hospital is a battleground.

People with all sorts of wounds and scars – crawling with their pain, fear and hopes – struggle to survive this war. The internal battle of life that seems to never end.

Being a healthcare worker in this battlefield means being allowed a special peek into each of these intricately wounded lives. We watched, we observed, we were allowed to hold their flags, and more often than not, the blood smeared onto our hands, and the paints of our patients forever mingled with that of ours.

That One Case attempts to capture each of these stories, that has left lasting scars on the memories of our lives as healthcare workers.

Every story of patients that we have met, the colours of their lives blending, the blood spilling outside the borders of their picture frames, splashing onto the hospital floor, splattering onto our hands, leaving patterns and images that will always feature in our memories.

When we close our eyes, we will see that one picture, which we will always remember. Irony. Conflicts. Motivation. Inspiration. Anxiety. Panic. Sorrow. Laughter. Lessons. Fear.

That one case.

These are the battlefield of life (and death) that the writers attempt to capture in words, to let the readers see, what we have seen.

What we can never forget.

Ahmad Zakimi