There are stories written to comfort.
There are stories written to resolve.
This is neither.
The Wound We Kept is a historical war romance set in Batavia during the final years of World War II and the violent uncertainty that followed. It follows Amara Wiratama, a civilian medic who treats the wounded without allegiance, and Captain Kenji Takahashi, an enemy officer whose conscience awakens too late to save him from history.
Their connection is not built on declarations or promises. It grows through proximity, shared exhaustion, and silence. In a city shaped by occupation and fear, even closeness carries risk.
This novel exists because history is rarely generous.
Why This Story Had to Be Written
War is often narrated through heroes and villains, victories and defeats. But most people who live through war are neither. They are witnesses. Survivors. Individuals who remain when power shifts and certainty collapses.
Amara’s resistance is quiet. She does not lead revolutions or deliver speeches. She keeps her clinic open. She treats bodies that arrive broken, regardless of uniform or allegiance. She stays when leaving would be safer.
That choice has consequences.
One of the central questions of The Wound We Kept is not how to win, but how to remain human when ethics are punished rather than rewarded.
A Romance Without Illusion
This novel contains a romance, but it refuses fantasy.
There are no dramatic confessions, no belief that love can overpower systems designed to erase people. Emotional intimacy is shaped by shared space and restraint rather than words. The silence between the characters is not emptiness. It is risk.
This restraint is intentional. In occupied spaces, intimacy is often quiet, brief, and dangerous. I wanted the relationship to feel lived-in, not performed.
On Tragedy and Refusal
The ending of The Wound We Kept does not heal. It does not reunite. It does not forgive.
This was not an accident or a failure of imagination. It was an ethical decision.
Many stories soften tragedy to protect the reader. This novel chooses honesty instead. War does not always offer closure. Survival often continues without resolution. Some wounds are not healed. They are carried.
The title reflects that belief.
Why a Wattpad Contest
Submitting this novel to a Wattpad contest is not about virality. It is about testing whether a platform known for accessibility can also hold space for restraint, silence, and moral complexity.
Wattpad has millions of readers, but it also has judges, editors, and curators who recognize intention. Contests are not only about popularity. They are about whether a story knows what it is doing.
This one does.
An Invitation
The Wound We Kept is now available on Wattpad.
Chat via WhatsApp
Komentar
Posting Komentar