Morning light filled the café hall with the aroma of strong coffee and toasted bread. Between the tables, Lily moved confidently — a slender girl with a tired look and a light gait. For three years she had been working here as a waitress, trying not to complain about fate. After each shift, she returned home, where her sick mother was waiting for her.

— Careful, Lily! — shouted one of the regular customers, grinning. — Don’t spill your coffee on me! 😱😱
The company at the neighboring table burst into laughter, but the girl said nothing. She only gripped the tray tighter and calmly continued serving the orders.

Lily froze, unable to pull her hand free. The man held her firmly, but not angrily — rather with fear, as if he was afraid that he was facing a ghost.

— Answer me, girl… — he whispered, looking straight into her eyes. — Where did you see this mark?

She stayed silent. Her lips trembled.

— I… I don’t know… — she barely managed to say. — Just a drawing… pretty.

— Pretty?! — his voice cracked. — That symbol belonged to the “Black Falcon” squad. There were only eight of us. And only five came back.

He released her hand, stepped back, and, as if losing his balance, sank into a chair. Images of the past flashed before his eyes — the desert, the roar of helicopters, screams, blood, and that same symbol burned into the medic’s shoulder.

Lily stood confused before him. The wind from the open window ruffled her hair. A few customers watched with interest, but no one interfered.

— Your father… — the man spoke quietly, as if to himself. — His name was Viktor Savin, wasn’t it?

Lily flinched.
— How do you know that name?.. — she whispered.

The veteran looked up.
— Because he was my commander. He saved my life. And he died there… under that same mark.

Silence fell, heavy as if the walls of the café had moved closer.

— That’s impossible, — Lily said, barely breathing. — They told me he just left… when I was a child.

— No, girl. He didn’t leave. He stayed there. We buried him with our own hands. And it was on his body — that same symbol, a black falcon with a cross. The emblem of the squad. A symbol of loyalty and pain.

Lily’s eyes filled with tears.
— Then why are you sure it was him?..

The veteran took a worn photograph from his breast pocket. In it — young soldiers, sun, sand, and among them a man with the same gaze that now appeared in her features.

Lily covered her mouth with her hand.
— It’s him…

The man nodded.
— I’ve been searching for his daughter for years. I wanted to tell the truth. But fate brought me here, by accident… or maybe not by accident.

She sat down beside him, feeling her knees tremble.
— So this tattoo… is a memory of him?..

The veteran looked at her arm.
— Yes. But you couldn’t have known… no one except us knew that symbol. That means someone told you. Who?

Lily lifted her head. Her face changed.
— A man… came six months ago. Said he knew my father. That I must “continue his work.” I didn’t understand then…

The veteran tensed.
— His name. Do you remember it?

Lily said softly:
— Major Korvin.

The man leapt up.
The blood drained from his face.

— Korvin?! — he whispered. — But he… he’s been dead for twenty years…

The air in the café grew heavy, like before a storm. The veteran slowly lowered his gaze to her tattoo, then met her eyes again.

— Girl, — he said hoarsely. — If Korvin is alive… then everything we thought was past is only beginning. 😱😱

By the window, in the shadow of the curtain, sat a man with short gray hair and a faded camouflage jacket. He slowly drank his coffee, staring thoughtfully into the cup, but from time to time his gaze returned to Lily.

When she bent down to collect the used napkins from the table, a tattoo peeked out from under the sleeve of her blouse — a black falcon clutching a medical cross in its talons.

The veteran instantly turned pale. His hand holding the mug trembled. He could never forget that symbol.
The man abruptly stood, grabbed the girl’s wrist, and yanked up her sleeve.

— Where did you get this mark? — he asked in a low, hoarse voice.

Lily looked flustered but tried to keep smiling.
— Just a drawing, — she mumbled. — Found it online, liked it…

— Lies, — he interrupted. His eyes darkened. — I’ve seen that tattoo before. And I know who it belonged to… 😱😱